GDC09: Virtual Console Arcade launches with 4 games, available now
by Jem Alexander 
{ Mar 25th 2009 at 1:22PM } 
- Gaplus (Namco Bandai): 600 Wii Points -- available now
- Mappy (Namco Bandai): 500 Wii Points -- available now
- The Tower Of Druaga (Namco Bandai): 500 Wii Points -- available now
- Starforce (Tecmo): 500 Wii Points -- available now
- Space Harrier (Sega) -- coming soon
- Solvalou (Namco Bandai) -- coming soon
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 25th 2009 1:25PM
Capcom better have Final Fight up there in 6 weeks OR ELSE.
danielsdesk @ Mar 25th 2009 1:26PM
Should be Tower of Druaga*
Josh @ Mar 25th 2009 1:27PM
I see that logo and I just think of the anime. -_-
ben @ Mar 25th 2009 1:43PM
Mmmm. tower of drugs.
Josh @ Mar 25th 2009 1:27PM
ONCE AGAIN MY HEART POURS OUT TO VC!
But please clarify this:
"Virtual Console Arcade will offer classic -- meaning old -- arcade titles ***not available on other systems***."
Also, the name: Virtual Console Arcade
Console... Arcade... haha.
Josh @ Mar 25th 2009 1:28PM
o btw, the prices seem pretty good, too.
Mr Khan @ Mar 25th 2009 1:27PM
I hope this means some Virtual On, also.
Josh @ Mar 25th 2009 1:29PM
If ever, probably not for a long while.
It looks like they're starting early in arcade history and maybe they'll work their way up (which would be really cool).
juangrande386 @ Mar 25th 2009 1:29PM
cool idea but too expensive. 5 or 6 dollars for old arcade games you could download for free or play for free on flash sites
baby sea tuna @ Mar 25th 2009 1:33PM
Agreed. Too expensive. If it were $5 for a couple of these games, no problem...but $5+ for each is kind of a joke at this point. At least when Namco trotted out their old news on XBLA they had achievements added to them (not that I paid $5 for any of them either.)
ittybittygirl @ Mar 25th 2009 1:33PM
$5 isn't so bad when you figure you won't have to walk around all day with the smell of dirty, metallic, in-circulation-since-1958 quarters on your hand.
Kevin @ Mar 25th 2009 2:01PM
why buy any game, you can download all of them free on the internet?
Mystic @ Mar 25th 2009 1:30PM
Nintendo's whole back library of old Nintendo and arcade games would be great, but they are too damn expensive!!! $5 bucks for an old arcade game? $1 MAX. Take a clue from the iPhone App store Nintendo.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Mar 25th 2009 3:29PM
I think they are...
Don't Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man on the iPod/iPhone cost $5?
ChibiKawase @ Mar 25th 2009 3:30PM
"Take a clue from the iPhone App store Nintendo."
Aside from Vay and a few actually decent new titles, you get what you pay for on the iPhone.
...which is to say that for the most part, the games flat-out suck, either due to the lack of physical buttons, or horrible design of the games themselves.
I don't think $5 is too bad for being able to download and keep these titles, especially if it means getting some absurdly awesome arcade titles later-- possible DonPachi, upwards of Ridge Racer or New Zealand Story!
ittybittygirl @ Mar 25th 2009 3:40PM
I was reading through your post Chibi, and while I agree with it wholeheartedly, it felt really awkward not seeing Liquid Kids mentioned in the same sentence as New Zealand Story. :P
Danny @ Mar 25th 2009 11:30PM
But console download prices vary from that of a handheld
Mike @ Mar 25th 2009 1:30PM
Thrilling.
syrik zero @ Mar 25th 2009 1:34PM
Super
Kizzle @ Mar 25th 2009 1:33PM
Congrats on catching up to XBox Live 2006!
Well, almost.
Maulok @ Mar 25th 2009 1:36PM
Mappy = $5
Legend of Zelda = $5
Pricing system flaw identified. Snarky comment enabled.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Mar 25th 2009 3:30PM
Yeah, Mappy is worth a lot more than Zelda!
Dopple Boppler @ Mar 25th 2009 1:37PM
I like how Space Harrier, the one game I was actually interested in, is one of the two that isn't up right away.
RavenLord @ Mar 25th 2009 1:43PM
Hmmm.....
This news is definitely interesting. I wonder what ("Virtual Console Arcade will offer classic -- meaning old -- arcade titles ***not available on other systems***.") truly means? It would be nice to actually have access to obscure arcade action and isometric adventure games like Gate of Doom, Time Soldiers on there as well. I'm sure not many people even know about those games or have even ever heard of them (yes I'm an older gamer.). I'd also like to see a home console version of the Arcade Golden Axe 2: Death Adder's Revenge on one of the consoles (hint hint Nintendo). Having arcade titles can only help the Wii in the software department seeing as most of their software lineup is rather anemic in the quality department.
I find it rather ironic though that I own a next generation Nintendo system and most if not practically all the high quality games I own are classic downloaded software from the VC channel. There's something wrong with that. LOL
Nigeria @ Mar 25th 2009 2:07PM
I would LOVE to play the arcade versions of Super Monaco GP and Super Hang On.
I've owned both on the Mega Drive, but even back in the day I was always told that the hard to find arcade versions were superior. You could chalk that talk down to a perverse sort of elitism, but having the ability to see it for myself would be cool.
hoop @ Mar 25th 2009 2:13PM
X-Men and Turtles arcade game BETTER get on this damn quick.
candafilm @ Mar 25th 2009 2:26PM
If "arcade titles not available on other systems" holds true, you won't get Turtles as it's on the Xbox Live Arcade.
lasersanchez @ Mar 25th 2009 3:16PM
Turtles in Time has a chance.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Mar 25th 2009 3:31PM
I think by "other systems," it means the home consoles Wii already emulates.
For example, since VC already has the SNES and Genesis versions of SFII... don't expect the arcade version.
(Then again... Capcom loves to whore out SFII... so do expect ALL arcade versoins of SFII!)
Garu @ Mar 25th 2009 2:35PM
This is awesome news!
(Although I hate Mappy!)
Blu-Sam @ Mar 25th 2009 2:36PM
Ooo... Punch-Out the Arcade?!?! Please please please!
DarkTetsuya @ Mar 25th 2009 2:39PM
Nintendo should totally port their old arcade classics to this (Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, hell even the original AC version of SMB! Maybe even Radar Scope -- just make sure its only like 250 Wii points or something.)
Martin @ Mar 25th 2009 3:17PM
Hell yeah to Donkey Kong. After watching King of Kong, I've actually spent a fair amount of time with the game (never gave it a fair shake before). I think my high score is 56,600, getting to just past the 2nd elevator stage. Brutally difficult.
Good times.
Snake Robot Podium @ Mar 25th 2009 4:18PM
I already bought the NES Donkey Kong! It's my own fault, I should have seen this coming.
Dragon @ Mar 25th 2009 2:43PM
I'm just waiting for the Virtual Console Gameboy to come out so I can get the good version of Donkey Kong, Super Mario Land (2&3), and some others I can't think of right now. Plus, maybe a patch soon that'll let people use SD cards as memory cards in N64 games, and link gameboy games together via online (if they ever get that far...)
Garu @ Mar 25th 2009 2:43PM
Great! Now I want Crazy Climber with Balance Board support!!!
redrum.and.coke @ Mar 25th 2009 3:21PM
I'm hoping they release the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden. I dumped way too many quarters into that machine at the local Hills department store when I was a kid. Does Hills even exist anymore?
Rastan would be another arcade quarter muncher I would love to play again.
maduin @ Mar 25th 2009 3:25PM
come on Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo!
Gambrinus @ Mar 25th 2009 3:26PM
These are way overpriced. Are they even going to feature any improvements? I think I'll stick with MAME.
Blueberriouschickie @ Mar 25th 2009 4:00PM
Pulling master system out just to make sure harrier is worth it.
Shadow Hog @ Mar 25th 2009 6:21PM
Daytona USA or bust
Lee @ Mar 25th 2009 6:22PM
Mappy was released on the Gameboy! it's on a pirated GB cart I bought in japan years ago. so it's probably not official...
Atlantis1982 @ Mar 25th 2009 6:23PM
(cries) Just classics? :(
Now there shouldn't be an excuse NOT to release 90s arcade titles like...
MOFO DARKSTALKERS! T_T
Sean Aaron @ Mar 26th 2009 6:35AM
Hopefully the support will be vast and deep for this. Come on Midway, give us your classic IP; at least die soon so someone else can leverage it.
I also have MAME and have a couple hundred ROMs; I will gladly pay money for them to play them on the Wii. Of course if they do support this new service as well as I think they should then I may end up buying less discs...the SD storage solution timing is perfect.
This is really what I was always hoping for from the VC.
Just so happy ^__^b
mark_grossi @ May 25th 2009 8:36PM
Why Mappy!!? It's almost like "Space Invaders syndrome" when Taito/Midway were churning out iterations willy nilly on every conceivable machine going.
Really.....surely NO-ONE wants to play Mappy anymore. You would think by now that companies would be giving us the proper games we ACTUALLY want, eg Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, The Punisher, Smash TV, (Ninja Gaiden, as somebody correctly stated) etc, etc.
The whole mid-late 90s nostalgic t-shirt print game compilations aren't what we deserve nowadays.