News Tagged: Retro
News: Rare: Fate Was Against Us With Goldeneye
UK developer sees little chance of a Virtual Console release
A while back we got rather excited about the prospect of seeing the N64 classic Goldeneye on the Virtual Console. Such enthusiasm was perfectly understandable - it's still one of the best FPS games you're ever likely to play - but sadly legal wrangles between Nintendo, Microsoft and current Bond license holder Activision seemed to scupper..
First Impressions: Classic Controller Pro
We go thumbs-on to determine whether it's for pros or schmoes
Launched in Japan alongside Monster Hunter 3 Tri and the Dark World Wii, the Classic Controller Pro is Nintendo's attempt at righting the wrongs of its original old-school pad. The good news is, it largely does. The bad news? It's got a few quirks of its own. We snagged a shiny black one: so shiny, in fact, that our first thought went..
News: GoldenEye Designer Backs Virtual Console Release
Martin Hollis would love to see 007 on the Wii...but also admits it's a legal minefield
The man behind GoldenEye - one of the most beloved N64 games of all time - has admitted that he'd love to see the game make it to the Virtual Console download service.Martin Hollis, formerly of Rare and now plying his trade at his own company Zoonami (Bonsai Barber), was one of the leading figures in the..
News: Prepare To Gnash Those Teeth: Perfect Dark May Be XBLA-bound
Leaked screenshot suggests that Rare is porting the classic N64 FPS to the 360
Website Destructoid has been sent an image from an undisclosed source that gives a pretty solid indication that former Nintendo cohort Rare is porting its beloved Nintendo 64 title Perfect Dark to Microsoft's console.Given that Microsoft owns Rare now, this is hardly a massive shock (also, it's worth noting that both..
Talking Point: Copyright and Video Games
What is stopping us from experiencing the entire history of video games?
Last year Taito issued Space Invaders Get Even on the WiiWare download service as well as multiple versions of the original game on the Japanese, PAL and North American Virtual Consoles. This was in celebration of the 30th annivesary of the release of Space Invaders in arcades worldwide. Similarly Namco is due to celebrate..
News: Is Game Design Art? Great Designers Say 'Not Really'
At a GDC 2009 roundtable with renowned designers, Art seems to be a dirty word
It’s a debate that has raged for centuries: Do video games constitute art? Ok, maybe not centuries, but it seems like a while. Personally, I say ‘yeah, of course it is!’, but I’m not the creator of games that have been hailed as art by so many.At this years GDC conference, ICO creator, Fumito Ueda says of his..
News: Hardware Focus - NEC SuperGrafx
In 1989 the PC Engine was still selling quite well in Japan, but Sega's 16-bit Mega Drive system was beginning to pick up steam and Nintendo's Super Famicom console was looming just around the corner. Sensing this, NEC decided that they needed a true 16-bit console if they were to have any hope of continuing their success in the Japanese console wars.
The successor to the PC Engine was originally..
News: Hardware Focus - Commodore 64
In 1982, TIME magazine named the home computer as its annual "Man of the Year".
It was a non-specific award, given to home computers in general, but looking back, it could be argued that the Commodore 64 deserved the accolade more than most; although TIME had no way of knowing it back then, the C64 went on to become the best-selling home computer ever, with about thirty million units sold.The..
News: Hardware Focus - Sega Master System
When Nintendo announced that the Virtual Console would be supporting the Sega Master System console you can bet that there were a fair few American gamers scratching their heads in a rather quizzical manner.
The console was a complete failure in the US thanks to a combination of poor marketing, terrible distribution, woefully misjudged software choices and the fact that Nintendo’s NES was sitting..
News: Pac-Man Munches His Way To The US Virtual Console
Another fun-filled week in retroland
First, allow us to have a grumble. Since the New Year started Nintendo seem to think VC gamers are happy with less rather than more; the usual policy of releasing three games each week has been thrown out of the window and we're lucky to get two some weeks. Shame.Anyway, rant over. This week's North American VC releases are a bit underwhelming, if we're honest..
News: Euro VC - Alien Storm And Startropics
A weather report concerning xenomorphs?
European Virtual Console fans expecting the normal ‘three game’ service to be resumed this week are likely to be disappointed by the news that only two (count ‘em) titles were made available for download today.Startropics (which was released on the North American Virtual Console on Monday) is an interesting NES adventure that sees you exploring a..
News: Goldeneye Not Coming To Virtual Console After All?
N64 fans, look away now
Since the Virtual Console appeared there's been one game that Nintendo fans have called for at the very top of their voices. Rare's Goldeneye is rightly seen as a classic N64 title and, for a while at least, it seemed like the chances of it appearing on the download service were actually quite good.Until now, that is. A leading Xbox fansite has recently posted a story that..
News: King Of Fighters '94 And StarTropics Hit US Virtual Console
Fighting or island exploration - the choice is yours
It’s Monday and that can mean only one thing – more Virtual Console games to enjoy.Thankfully US Wii owners have two brilliant titles to download and enjoy this week. King of Fighters ’94 is the first in the long running series and represents one of the best 2D fighters of the era. The concept of selecting teams of fighters as opposed to..
News: Harvest Moon Is Sole Euro VC Release
Time to get your hands dirty with Natsume's classic farming simulator
If crop rotation, livestock breeding and getting up at the crack of dawn seem like entertaining concepts to you, then you’ll no doubt be over the 'moon' (ho ho!) with the latest serving of retro goodness on the European Virtual Console.It’s hard to believe that a game about farming could be so popular, but Natsume’s Harvest..
News: Euro Virtual Console - 21st December
Admit it - you were expecting Super Mario RPG, weren't you?
With Christmas just around the corner you might have expected Nintendo to release something really special for download on the Virtual Console. Sadly, they've pushed out three titles that don't exactly get pulses racing.Here's the lowdown from our friends at Virtual Console Reviews: Our pals at Nintendo haven't exactly pushed the boat out..
News: Lords Of Thunder Coming To The VC
Superb retro-style 2D blasting action is coming to a Wii near you!
Although we don’t usually do individual updates for Virtual Console releases, this latest bit of news is so special we think it’s warranted - Lords of Thunder is VC inbound, people.The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC for short) has rated the game, which is usually a rock solid indication that it..
News: Hardware Focus: SNK Neo Geo
Of all the machines covered by the Virtual Console service, the Neo Geo is easily the most coveted and unattainable.
Never before had a console screamed 'elite'; when it was first released it comfortably outstripped the performance of rival machines and made good on SNK's promise that you could have an arcade in your living room. Then again, there was a reason the company could make this proud..
News: Hardware Focus - Super Nintendo
Though Nintendo's domination of the 8-bit era - attained through a combination of the company's business acumen in entering the market when most other were hesitant at best...
...and the practices employed post-success to ensure the monopolistic domination of said market - had, in terms of units sold, been their most successful, the 16-bit era brought with it a marked move away from the videogame..
News: Hardware Focus - TurboGrafx-16
The history of the TurboGrafx-16 system is basically a tale of two countries. Electronics giant NEC and game developer Hudson joined forces in 1987 to design and release the PC Engine game console to compete head to head with Nintendo and Sega's 8-bit systems.
Offering a nice step up in terms of visuals and audio capabilities, the console immediately caught on with Japanese gamers and became one of..
News: Hardware Focus - Nintendo 64
Since the 80's Nintendo's name has been synonymous with gaming, the company's current market dominance highlighting how attuned they have become to the requirements of the market, and providing the buyers with the very things they need.
However, given the current success of the DS and Wii, it is perhaps too easy to forget that it was achieved through no less than a baptism of fire lasting two..
