Revolution oldies not free

By Games Industry.biz Published 9 June, 2005

SNES games etc. to cost.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has denied rumours that the company plans to distribute its first-party back catalogue for free on the forthcoming Revolution console, but said that some old games may be used as bonus or trial content.

Speaking to a business strategy conference in Japan, Iwata touched briefly on the topic of the "Virtual Console" - Nintendo's name for the Revolution's ability to download and play the company's old titles.

Referring specifically to online rumours that the company would give away its back catalogue for free on the service, Iwata said that "we have no plans to distribute [our back catalogue] without a fee."

He would not be drawn on what pricing schemes the firm has in mind, but he did concede that some games might be used as promotional bonuses - for example, offering a free download of an old game with the purchase of a new game, or running special marketing campaigns which allow games to be downloaded for free for a limited period.

This is in line with Nintendo's policy on old games at present; while the firm makes a profit from the sale of its back catalogue through schemes like the NES Classics range on the GBA, it's also not averse to bundling old titles as bonus content with their modern updates.

Iwata made clear that the ultimate motive for the Revolution download service is to continue to capitalise on Nintendo's back catalogue, telling the conference that "we hope to create a system which allows both Nintendo and [third-party publishers] to make a profit by using [software titles] from the past."

Interestingly, the Nintendo boss also confirmed that Revolution users will be able to download demos for the Nintendo DS to the console and then transfer them wirelessly to their handhelds.

Much of the rest of the conference, however, was recycled material from Iwata's presentation at E3 in Los Angeles last month, with products such as the Game Boy Advance Micro and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service for the DS, both of which made their debuts at E3, being unveiled for the first time in the Far East.

Picture of Games.

About Games Industry.biz

Read more articles from Games by visiting the Games Industry.biz archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (67) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DaM #1 7 years ago

    curses!
    not really surprising though....

  • Derblington #2 7 years ago

    Could you not DL them to a mem card and distribute between your mates?

  • jellyhead #3 7 years ago

    I probably wouldn't pay more than a few quid for them, £5 max probably.
    Sell 'em cheap nintendo, sell 'em cheap.

  • DaM #4 7 years ago

    Don't think they will be that cheap...look at what they are selling individual NES games on the GBA for.

    These guys don't miss a trick!

    A subscription service might be an idea?

  • tpfkanep #5 7 years ago

    Could you not DL them to a mem card and distribute between your mates?It will have some form of security.

  • gizmo #6 7 years ago

    They really never get bored of peddling that old rope do they?

  • Blerk #7 7 years ago

    Well.. what a shocker.

    No-one ever listens to me. You'd have thought you'd all have learned by now, but nooooooooooooo - Nintendo's in it for the people! They love you! They're giving you hundreds of free games out of the goodness of their hearts, despite the fact that they're currently flogging them to you for 'extortionate-o-price'.

    Tch.

    I'm not bitter, though.

  • jellyhead #8 7 years ago

    I'd love to play the games though, i don't really mind them bringing them out on the new systems etc. It's the cost of the them i'm flabbergasted by!
    Is anyone actually buying the gba releases at £15 a pop or are they forming a protective layer over the DreamCast VMU's at the bottom of the bargain bin?

  • LittleJohn #9 7 years ago

    Would it not be cheaper just to but a SNES?

  • Xerx3s #10 7 years ago

    Ah. So basically the only reason to have the rev is out the window? If the games are anything like the GCN then thats no good. And what makes em think that im gonna pay for old games that I already own?

  • DaM #11 7 years ago

    you can get a snes cheap, but tracking down all the games you fancy may be harder....just thought of downloadable SNES/NES/N64 emulator for the Rev - mind you it must have these on board? Or the download protection being cracked? I'm sure the modders and crackers will have great fun.

  • Markusdragon #12 7 years ago

    I'm assuming that a half a million or so retrogaming fans just said 'Myeh', and went back to their chipped Xboxes loaded with classic goodness. This is going to seriously danage Nintendo's sales of the new console.

  • Derblington #13 7 years ago

    Xerx3s - What? The GCN has some fantastic games.

  • Derblington #14 7 years ago

    "This is going to seriously
    danage Nintendo's sales of the new console."

    How so?

  • Psi #15 7 years ago

    with no hardware or distribution costs above the hosting of the ninty classics. how can they justify charging anywhere near retail cost!!

    oh bugger valve have already done that...

  • tpfkanep #16 7 years ago

    Well.. what a shocker.

    No-one ever listens to me. You'd have thought you'd all have learned by now, but nooooooooooooo - Nintendo's in it for the people! They love you! They're giving you hundreds of free games out of the goodness of their hearts, despite the fact that they're currently flogging them to you for 'extortionate-o-price'.

    Tch.

    I'm not bitter, though.
    Yeah, right. What a sad little man you are. They in it for the money, moolah, dough(he-he), etc. They are not a charity, believe it or not. You do not have to buy the games or the console. There are other options:pS3 and XBox (who will have a free servive, I believe?) Online with Nintendo = Free - 24/7: No subscription, nothing, nada, zilch, zip...! Nintendo does not need you, or your money.

  • Genji #17 7 years ago

    Well, uh, they DO have to make money, after all. I wont judge them until I see some prices. They'd have to be significantly cheaper than the SNES remakes on the GBA.

  • Blerk #18 7 years ago

    You are a very strange person, tpfkanep.

  • bionutz #19 7 years ago

    indeed

  • Derblington #20 7 years ago

    Agreed. Why is 'dough' funny?

  • tpfkanep #21 7 years ago

    Ninten-dough?

    Thanks Blerk! I'll take that as a compliment! My neice told me this morning: "You are crazy!" I beamed!

  • Genji #22 7 years ago

    The question is... why is 'dough' not funny? Huh?

    Well, people do need some way to liken the Nintendo name to money. They don't have an 'S' in the name, after all.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/05 @ 10:01

  • Derblington #23 7 years ago

    "Ninten-dough?"

    Oh ok. You haven't got the hang of jokes have you :)

  • LittleJohn #24 7 years ago

    I sold my SNES and N64, why? - To be able to afford the next gen console with next gen games. If i'd kept my SNES and spent all these years buying SNES games.... oh I can't even be bothered to finish this reply. Aghh!

  • trevd72 #25 7 years ago

    someone mentioned before would it not be cheaper to by a snes.

    I agree, you can get each of the older consoels for cheap and have the games for keeps. not as something a card that can get wiped perhaps. in a way though this is much the same as getting a chipped xbox and downloading a nes and snes dvd with every availalbe game on it. either way N make no money from you.

    if they charge £2.50 a pop it will be good. if they chage £10 for data, no casing, promotion or media then it is a damn rip off.

    I am willing to bet that they will rip us off.

  • tpfkanep #26 7 years ago

    Even if they do: Let your wallet do the talking.

  • Teeth #27 7 years ago

    These threads get pretty strange to read once you've got the lamers on ignore :)

  • #28 7 years ago

    typical eurogamer, always publishing tomorrow what the rest of the net releases yesterday...

  • Genji #29 7 years ago

    Oh, I agree. It makes such a difference to read critical, earth-shattering news items such as these a few hours earlier.

  • Derblington #30 7 years ago

    arnie - why bother coming back everyday then?

  • #31 7 years ago

    i like the feeling of superiority i get when im here.

    wonder how long it'll be until eurogamer publish kutaragi's latest 360 bashing?

  • Markusdragon #32 7 years ago

    "This is going to seriously
    danage Nintendo's sales of the new console."

    "How so?"

    Because everyone I know was interested in getting the Revolution for one reason; free classic Nintendoey goodness. These are the same people that have been stealing these games across the net for years, and many of whom already have some form of dedicated way of playing them (eg. chipped xbox, gaming PC full of emulators, MAME cabinet, GP32 handheld, etc.). For them a system that would allow them to download large numbers of these classic games for free would mean for guilt-free bug-free replication of exactly what they're already doing.

    It's like legal mp3 filesharing. How large a percentage of people who regularly download have actually moved onto iTunes, the new napster, etc? People aren't willing to use a service unless it seems free if there's already a service that is free, regardless of legality.

    "Well, people do need some way to liken the Nintendo name to money. They don't have an 'S' in the name, after all."

    Nint€ndo?
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/05 @ 10:53

  • Derblington #33 7 years ago

    Markus - Right. So how will it damage their sales? Why would someone pay for the console to download free stuff when they can down load it and not pay for the console? If the console is cheap it will sell. If the console plays next gen Nintendo games it will sell. No one is going to buy it just for the back catalogue.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/05 @ 10:54

  • Tonka #34 7 years ago

    I can understand that Nintendo wants to make money (I do have more than one braincell). But since any one similarily equipped(ie, more than one braincell) with a PC and intenet can play the games for free, albeit illegal, I think this is just plain stupid. Give all NES, SNES, N64, GB and GBC games away for free gods damn it. It's a neat marketing strategy. The only games I might consider buying are some N64 ones since I've yet to see a decent N64 emulator. But now that the PS3 is powerfull enough to make a fry up I'm sure that will change. And what sort of signal is that sending? If you want to play Nintendo games for free, buy a MS or Sony console.

    Ahhhhrrrggghh Nintwits!

  • Markusdragon #35 7 years ago

    "Why would someone pay for the console to download free stuff when they can down load it and not pay for the console?"

    Why would people spend $1000-$2000 on a MAME cabinet to play games they don't legally own? Why would people spend £100 on a handheld that has a catalogue of games you can count with your fingers, but a homebrew community that's produced a full-speed Megadrive emulator?
    It's amazing how much people will pay for hardware, but how little they'll be willing to pay for software.

  • JHuxley #36 7 years ago

    Well, not exactly a surprising turn of events to be honest. Still, I think this could be an excellent feature provided Nintendo get the pricing right. But as Bast pointed out, their GBA range of NES 'classics' suggests they'll charge as much as they can get away with.

  • Genji #37 7 years ago

    "Nint€ndo?"

    Interesting idea, but the $ sign is much more recognisable.

  • JHuxley #38 7 years ago

    "a homebrew community that's produced a full-speed Megadrive emulator"

    Hello Markusdragon ^_^

    I presume you're talking about the GP32. Alongside the PSP and Xbox, they'll provide half the service Nintendo is offering for free. The legality of emulators may be in question, but I don't think most gamers will give a toss.

  • ali-uk #39 7 years ago

    I'm happy to pay for Goldeneye and Perfect Dark again.

  • Creedy #40 7 years ago

    I personally will not pay for five, ten or fifteen year old data. If they offered an online buying option where you'd recieve the cart, manual and booklet, then I'd pay.
    But no way in hell I'm paying for mere data of old games.
    When I pay money, I want to feel like I actually own something I can hold in my hand.

  • Derblington #41 7 years ago

    Markus - all of your examples have unique selling points. The 'pay for the Revolution just for free downloads vs. play for free' doesn't.

    edit: plus you've gone completely off point.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/05 @ 11:27

  • Markusdragon #42 7 years ago

    "Markus - all of your examples have unique selling points. The 'pay for the Revolution just for free downloads vs. play for free' doesn't.
    edit: plus you've gone completely off point."

    I have?

    I thought I stayed pretty much on the dot; people are willing to pay for hardware, but not for software, and therefore by charging for the software, the revolution is missing out on a large userbase, mainly the very userbase they were aiming for by bringing up the concept of alllowing you to play old classics on it in the first place. The revolution is predicted to be the cheapest of the next generation consoles, and you wouldn't have to mod it in any way to play the games, that's a considerable saving. You wouldn't have to mess around with a LAN, or spend hours trying to get a particular emulator to work, only to find that the game you want to play isn't supported, or plays, just very slowly and glitchily.
    Unlike with a MAME cabinet, it's not going to burn a hole in your bank account, there's no assembly required, and lets face it, playing N64 games with a keyboard is just frikkin' impossible. You can't emulate well without spending cash in some manner, and for many, it just isn't worth the effort. The revolution would offer an experience through the TV, with controllers (A mean feat to set up with a PC) for an amount of cash even the 'amateur' retrogamer could afford.

    Edit: Oh, and hey JHuxley ^_^.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/05 @ 11:50

  • smelly #43 7 years ago

    Right.. reason gb version of nes games are 15 quid:

    1) the cost of the cartridge is quite high
    2) Retailers take 55% of the price of any game

    Now bearing in mind these games will be on the web.. This says to me a max of a fiver.

    But why not wait and see? For some of the games i didnt play first time around (yoshi, etc) I'll quite happily pay a tenner for, if only because i know they'll last me a looong time.

  • Khanivor #44 7 years ago

    Sounds like Nintendo has some serious corporate issues. If one company man say one thing which is contradicted by another in a few short days then all does not look well at the top.

    Or they've picked up a trick from Sony and are just a bunch of bullshitters.

  • stormcr0wfleet #45 7 years ago

    carnt you already do this with emulators on the xbox?. and for free too :). i carnt see this making more people buy the rev, we buy next gen consoles for next gen games dont we?. not to replay all the oldies from 10 years ago.. i have my mobile phone for that ;).

  • Carrybagma #46 7 years ago

    I suppose it all depends what they charge for them, eh? I might pay £1 to give some SNES stuff a whirl, but Nintendo are as hard-nosed as anyone else, so maybe it's too much to hope for. Maybe if the Microsoft 'Marketplace' idea is successful, Nintendo will loosen up a bit.

    One cool thing may be the ability to download to Revolution and transfer the same games to the DS, but will Nintendo do anything that might make piracy easier? No.

  • ProfessorLesser #47 7 years ago

    /eats words

    /consults probability charts

    /reads '1'

    EDIT: Khanivor "Sounds like Nintendo has some serious corporate issues." This rumour is a result of web-mongering, not official statement. Ninty have about the best organised business hierarchy in the industry.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/05 @ 16:49

  • captain-future #48 7 years ago

    so where's the news?

    Ninty will give away something for free - when hell freezes over. BRAUAHAHAHAHAHA!

    seriously, they cashed a whopping 19 EUR for their classic nes-ports-for-Gameboy...

  • Toonster #49 7 years ago

    if these games cost less than 15$, I guess I ain't complaining.

  • yesidtree #50 7 years ago

    I'm glad they're doing this. Otherwise they coul've harmed my beloved ps3. Now Nintendo is joining Sega in the third party world.

  • DarkAgent #51 7 years ago

    "I personally will not pay for five, ten or fifteen year old data. If they offered an online buying option where you'd recieve the cart, manual and booklet, then I'd pay.
    But no way in hell I'm paying for mere data of old games.
    When I pay money, I want to feel like I actually own something I can hold in my hand. "

    What he said. Though... aren't manuals and booklets the same things?

  • Nikanoru #52 7 years ago

    Ninty will give away something for free - when hell freezes over. BRAUAHAHAHAHAHA!

    *cough* Zelda bonus disks? Whoops. Tard.

  • #53 7 years ago

    they needed to pedal that bonus disk to shift copies of the god awful windwaker...

  • Genji #54 7 years ago

    I like you. You're very amusing. Keep it up!

  • spillz #55 7 years ago

    next gen: shovelware becomes bulldozerware

  • #56 7 years ago

    Personally, I think Iwata is slowly turning the Nintendo juggernaut around from Yamauchi's legacy.

    As well as overseeing the masterful worldwide release of the DS (which, I understand, had more than it's fair-share of nay-sayers on this very board), Iwata also attended the launch of the Euro DS in person. Can't see Kutaragi / Gates / Allard attending European launches of their respective machines.

    As I also seem to recall, there was quite a fuss when MCV intimated that DS would cost £130 in the UK as opposed to the £99.99 that it eventually launched at.

    All I'm trying to say is this: WAIT UNTIL OFFICIAL DETAILS ARE ANNOUNCED.

    Having said that, an iTunes-like service (something like an iGames) would make most sense seeing that Nintendo appear to be opposed to a subscription-based pricing model.

  • Tiiti #57 7 years ago

    Can't see Kutaragi / Gates / Allard attending European launches of their respective machines.

    I can't speak for Kutaragi or Allard but I'm pretty sure Gates was in London for the launch day of the Xbox no?

  • Blerk #58 7 years ago

    I thought Bill went to ALL of the Xbox launches. I certainly remember seeing him handing over the first unit in Japan.

  • raikov #59 7 years ago

    Probably a digibox style "pay to play" until you exit the game?

    *shrugs*

    If its one thing Nintendo know how to do, its how to flog old ideas, so hopefully they can come up with a new one (with the download service) to bring it all together... Im not counting on it though...

  • el_pollo_diablo #60 7 years ago

    Well I never expected them to give stuff away in the first place.

    The interesting thing will be when it comes to old games published by other, now dead companies. What happens then? And what happens when an ex Nintendo publisher has moved on, like.... Rare perhaps? If Rare own all the rights to, say, Goldeneye 64, Nintendo wouldn't be able to give it away without paying a fee to Rare.

    Or do we think they'll just be selling off old Mario games?

    Interesting...

  • zErOb_cOOl #61 7 years ago

    "A subscription service might be an idea? "

    No bad idea, as even when you have all the games you need/want, yu will still be paying. Depends if you can easily terminate it though.

    I said this somewhere else, but theres NO WAY they can charge much for old NES/SNES games, or even N64 games for that matter.

    You aren't physically getting ANYTHING! The bulk of the cost off all Nintys back catalogue is the fact they had to manufacture expensive to produce cartridges...complete with cardboard boxes! (prob to keep even more costs down.)

    They should be kissing loyal, revolution-purchasing fan's asses for putting up with their non-wearing cardboard crap, as well as high priced games (£45->>£60 for N64 games, remember?!)

    I recommend 20p for NES games, 50p for SNES, and a quid for N64.

    Not that anything I have said will happen.

    How do Nintendo get away with being the biggest rip-off merchants in video games, with their N64 mem expansion pak, and high prices?

    Oh yeah, they don't get away with it, hence they are no longer market leader.

    LEARN NINTENDO.

  • Pirotic #62 7 years ago

    whatever the cost, Nintendo will be making 99.9% profit off it. I hope it uses the 'star' system rather than money - and allows you to swap games with other Nintendo Online customers.
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/05 @ 14:14

  • gamesb*tch #63 7 years ago

    But, cos it was never released by Nint$ndo, you won't get the haxor3d version of Secret of Mana 2 though, surely one of the greates games ever and STILL not available. Pah!

  • SirScratchalot #64 7 years ago

    azmol01:I´m guessing it is because a lot more people owned a nes or a SNES than an N64 or at least played it first, thus when someone mentions old nintendo games we all flashback to Mario or Kid Icarus rather than Banjo Kazooie. That said I for one expect to spend a lot more time and cash on N64 games than other oldies since it´s machine I never owned with a lot of gems.

  • masterlegolas3 #65 7 years ago

    So, they want $$$ too..........just like Micro$oft

  • ekko #66 7 years ago

    A quid each or a tenner a month for the lot.

  • fanboy #67 7 years ago

    That's not that bad at all to be honest. To the MasterLegolas3, what? You make me cringe. First off because you have the gayest name I have ever heard and secondly because of you ridiculous claim. "Nintendo just want to make money just like microsoft"...and of course sony. Lets not be stupid now.

  • HarryB #68 7 years ago

    People will pirate the games and you will be able to install them all for free.... Nintendo re a very tired out company these days.... always relying on their succesful past but not realising they need to sort out their current situation... pretty stale... not enough hype around the nintendo brand anymore.. it's seen as the outsider of the console market as peopl either have an xbox or a ps2... only 1 person out of all of my mates has a gamecube... and i have like 30 close mates... all others have ps2s and about half also own xboxes (please dont go "ahem...xboxEN" its a pretty geeky saying and I generally hate it, thanks)

  • ABXY #69 7 years ago

    nintendo are pants, aiming for a market audience between 0-10yrs old isnt going to work... bring on the ps3 and xbox360.

    Serious gaming....

  • SlackMaster #70 7 years ago

    Serious gaming... the same gaming we've been experiencing for the past 10 years or so... yawn...

    About time things were mixed up a bit and we experience something new... it's through accessories like the eye toy, dance mat, and nintendo freehand controller that new ideas and life is being breathed back into the stagation that is todays gaming...

    If we stuck to the same ideas and had age old franchises rehashed we'd all be bored to tears with gaming in the next few years.
    Edited by 1 at 16/09/05 @ 14:11