Virtual console travesty

steve0

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I hear that the PAL UK virtual console is a total rip off 20% slower games with big borders. I was going to buy £30 worth of wii play point but after hearing what Gamecentral says I wont bother.

Has Nintendo learnt nothing from it mistakes in the past
 
I hear that the PAL UK virtual console is a total rip off 20% slower games with big borders. I was going to buy £30 worth of wii play point but after hearing what Gamecentral says I wont bother.

Has Nintendo learnt nothing from it mistakes in the past

If like me you have only ever played nes,snes,n64 pal games in the past then i dont see the problem as they will run at the speed you remember them at. If all you have ever played is imports then i can see why some might be annoyed!
 
Same here, it wasnt until the PS2 that I started playing games in 60hz so all the virtual console games will play exactly as I remember them.

Saying that though I have heard that Mario64 can run in 480p so doesnt that mean it will run in 60hz which means no borders or slowdown?
 
Don't stand for it. Just because we were foisted with sub-standard versions of the games years ago shouldn't mean we are encumbered with the same shoddy games again. Once you've played games like Sonic and SSF2 at full 60hz speed you will never go back again to the 17.5% slower versions. Play the games as the creator originally intended...
 
Surely if you've optimised the Wii with component output leads - 480P at 60hz - then all games should be displayed that way ? :confused: Or am i missing something ? :D
 
Surely if you've optimised the Wii with component output leads - 480P at 60hz - then all games should be displayed that way ? :confused: Or am i missing something ? :D

It would seem that regardless of the display setting, when playing most virtual console games the Wii reverts to the original display setting of the localised version of that game (576i 50hz in PAL territories). I think that some of the later games, notably Mario 64, are more elegant and do allow you to use 480p if that is your default setting.

Me, I never could get my head around Sonic first time around, so making it run 17.5% faster doesn't really appeal ;)
 
Wow, its interesting that consoles do this! Bit of a random post I know, but I used to have a SNES and considered myself to be the Don at MarioKart. How gutted was I when I went to a mates house and saw his record lap times were a whole second or more quicker than mine. All my record laps were within .01 or .02 of each other on a time trial, and I couldn't believe he'd found so much extra time!!

But then we played and the game ran SOOO much quicker, but the clock was correct, so much so I whooped his times by about half a second straight away... was bizarre and the first time I'd played on an imported (NTSC?) console...
 
Well its not good news thats for sure....

But ive downloaded Mario 64, Sonic, F-Zero, Bomberman and another i cant think of right now and all seem fine to me, I wonder how many of you would have noticed if you had not read they were slower on the net :rolleyes:

Oh and ive not seen BIG borders, Borders yes, Big no.
 
It's 16.77% slower.

I agree, it's a bit crap but it doesn't affect all games
 
face it, unless you have played both versions you're not going to notice one is slower or faster.

so for 99.99% of VC users, this whole thing is a non-issue.

Also think about what would have happened if Nintendo *had* included just US versions. Lots of PAL users would have complained that the games were faster, or even more likely they didnt *feel right*, compared to how they remember them as a kid.

Uinformed Wii owners would probably blame this on bad emulation.

Of course the ultimate solution would be to have *all* regions games available in all VC stores. but that's never going to happen, because of pricing and licensing issues.
 
I recently set up the Super Famicom for the kids, and played Mario kart (JPN), it felt slow and jerky compared to the DS version, it will be interesting to see how bad the PAL version on the Wii really is, I think these games are old enough to not get picky about. However if youve got an LCD or Plasma you wont get interlacing so they should all look better.
People go the other way with MAME and prefer the interlaced look :confused:
 
I think saying it's a travesty is going abit far, personally i don't mind the VC games being in 50hz. Seeing as their is a mountain of localisation & licencing issues to releasing US or JAP games in the PAL territories. I think its probably the only workable solution for Nintendo.
 
I hear that the PAL UK virtual console is a total rip off 20% slower games with big borders.

It's just a matter of time until this kid makes an adaptor for his hamster phone-charger to give the Wii what is technically known as "more electric" - which should bump up the speed of the VC titles.

367522.jpg


Story: http://www.engadget.com/2005/08/25/the-hamster-powered-cellphone-charger/

The problem is that the VC titles are emulation of the titles exactly as they were released in whichever Wii territory you fall into. Which means if the title wasn't PAL optimised at the time (which means almost all UK NES, SNES etc titles) they won't be now either. This licensing issue is why there are no PC Engine/TurboGrafx titles in Oz or New Zealand - as it was never released there.

The 2 exceptions to this rule seem to be Mario 64 and Donkey Kong Country, which have apparently been full-screen and 60Hz optimised? This actually goes against what Nintendo UK "officially" announced (can't find a link to this info!). I don't remember black borders on Mario 64 - but to be honest I don't remember much at all! Perhaps these exceptions are promising for the future?

Also there is talk of possible "updates" to certain titles in the future - obviously everyone hoping for an online multiplayer upgrade for SNES Mario Kart!
 
I agree that it's a travesty - I for one am very seriously considering swapping my Wii for a US model for this very reason.
Also - if it stays like this we will never see Chrono Trigger, Sin and Punishment, Final Fantasy III(VI), Secret of Evermore, etc, etc over here.

For many of us - this was the biggest attraction of the VC.
 
When i get a wii i wont be downloading any VC games as i dont like being ripped off. Paying the same price for slower bordered games when American and Japanese players get the better version is pretty nauseating. I dont buy this licensing rubbish, its just laziness and typical region locking. Worst of all is the fact that there are some real gems like mario rpg which only got released in ntsc territories so we will never get to play them on uk Wii's. Pretty poor show on nintendo's part i must say.
 
Did it? - I wonder why I got the US one then.
Have you got a link to proof :)
Never mind - found proof - and only 5 months later - quite quick for those days.
 
that picture is genius the look of glee on the kids face is spot on, cruel but v funny :rotfl:
 
To be honest the majority of people who will be downloading the VC games will have only ever played the PAL versions of these games so wont notice any difference whatsoever. For the minority that have played imports then i guess your out of luck. ME, well bring on the pal games. Thats all ive ever played so i wont notice any speed difference!
Looks like your only answer is to buy a US wii!
 
So you wont be annoyed when you've got borders all around the image on your widescreen tv, then you have to zoom in some arbitrary amount which your tv probably doesn't support.
 
I have to admit, the only thing that bothers me is the odd game that never got released in PAL regions and we still won't see now. Then again, there is nothing to say that any of these games people love that was never out in the UK will make it to VC anyway.

As for the speed issue and borders, I have never used import games and really have not much interest in doing so now so I am happy enough with the PAL games. People on these type of boards of course will always be bothered. However a few people have said this but I may as well just join in by stating that the majority of people won't care anyway.
 
Sorry for being petty but Secret of Evermore got a UK release ;)

Seem to remember Secret of Evermore being made by square usa and wasn't up to square's usualy standards? It's also cited as a reason why they never release Secre of Mana 2 in the west which i was gutted about.
 

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