Revolution: Classic Game Downloads are Free

Post by **DaMadFiddler** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:36 pm

found on Joystiq:

GamesRadar wrote:NOA vice president George Harrison talks 'bout a Revolution

Amid the loud roars and beating chests of Sony and Microsoft last week, you'd be forgiven for forgetting about Nintendo completely.

Nintendo - the once dominating force of videogames - sat quietly in the corner, all alone and looking at its watch every five minutes, while its rivals danced and cheered the night away, full of satisfaction and optimism.

But Nintendo hasn't given up. The lack of any next-gen gameplay footage and the omission of the 'revolutionary' controller at the pre-E3 Nintendo conference may have been a disappointment, but Nintendo does have a plan up its sleeve.

In a recent interview with US website GameSpot, Nintendo of America vice president George Harrison answered some burning questions, finally giving some kind of clue as to how Nintendo plans to play this generation.

Beginning by referring to Nintendo's next-gen chances, Harrison confidently claimed, "Revolution will have no real problem standing up to [PS3 and Xbox 360]," keenly pointing out that, while Sony and Microsoft have laid their cards on the table, Nintendo is yet to actually reveal its final specs, regardless of what has been said by the press.

Harrison then explained that getting developers on board is key to the Revolution strategy, and Nintendo is working hard to ensure Revolution is both easy and cheap to develop for.

As far as what makes the console revolutionary, Harrison was coy regarding the controller, instead focusing on Nintendo's online plans and downloadable games service.

"People sort of picked on us for not prematurely jumping into online or internet gaming," he mused, going on to point out that now the company has more to offer besides online gaming. Harrison then confirmed that past-gen, Nintendo-created titles will indeed be downloadable for free.

This is a clever move by Nintendo: regardless of the final power of Revolution and the frequency of new titles, Nintendo knows that its loyal fans will cry tears of joy over a free service that lets them download previous Nintendo classics straight out of the box.

Third-party developers could charge for the privilege to download though. Or, alternatively, they could offer downloadable classics as an incentive to buy their next-gen full price releases. Either way, classic Nintendo titles such as Castlevania and MegaMan may not be immediately accessible.

A similar model applies to online gaming. Playing Nintendo titles across the internet will be free, whereas third-party publishers will be able to charge whatever subscription rates they wish.

Still, with a massive back-catalogue of titles and some key franchises that gamers have been wanting to play online for some time - Mario Kart, to name but one - it's unlikely the occasional fee for a third-party offering will spoil Nintendo's idea too much.

Nintendo Revolution is due to be launched in 2006

...And that, ladies and gentlemen, is enough to have me hooked. No tech specs available, only two launch titles announced, but that's enough for me. Assuming, of course, the system is reasonably priced

.

Covar · Post by **Covar** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:46 pm

i <3 nintendo

happy day, they just confirmed my purchase.

and so far every nintendo console retailed for $199USD so i'd imagine the next one will be the same.

Smiley · Post by **Smiley** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:46 pm

Kinda blows for me, cause I imagine that you'd need broadband to dl these games, and I am stuck with dial-up....

Regardless, I'd say that this is a smart move on Nintendo's part, and I'd like to see other third party publishers, like Konami and Capcom, follow suite......Hey, maybe Sega will offer some of their classic games for dl. That would be awesome!!!

I cannot wait for this console. For the first time since the N64, I can't wait til its released....

Post by **|darc|** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:50 pm

I'm there... even though I already was anyway.

butters · Post by **butters** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:54 pm

Yay for free games!

Smurph · Post by **Smurph** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:00 pm

I'm with you, butters.

compacho · Post by **compacho** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:35 pm

Nintendo might as well put a huge ass fish hook on my lip.

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:02 pm

This idea sounds great, but... with so many free games, will people buy any new games?

pavelbure · Post by **pavelbure** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:12 pm

how about a revamped online version of the cube's mario kart ? maybe something to really launch this thing. either way im most likely getting this anyways.

hearld500 · Post by **hearld500** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:18 pm

If you think about this, this is a great idea on nintendo's part.

The games were made years ago, so they arn't losing any money, and it makes buyers happy. - a win-win situation.

Covar · Post by **Covar** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:34 pm

pavelbure wrote:how about a revamped online version of the cube's mario kart ? maybe something to really launch this thing. either way im most likely getting this anyways.

or a new mario kart?

btm4k · Post by **btm4k** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:49 pm

do you think this will include n64 games?

fatheadpi · Post by **fatheadpi** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:58 pm

This doesn't sound liek a bad deal... hell, for something like that I'd be willing to shell out a few bucks a month. It beeing free is ninja-awesome. I just might buy a Nintendo-made console for the first time since I had...wow, a NES!

Post by **Wagh** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:06 pm

Thank God. They really had the power to ass ream everyone. Good thing they didn't.

MulletMan13 · Post by **MulletMan13** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:27 pm

This seems too good to be true...

I imagine certain games will be free, and other ones will cost money... possibly a Mario Kart 64 with added online functionality... or Super Mario Kart online......

What great news =)

Caboose · Post by **Caboose** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:36 pm

Great, I'll almost definitely get a Revolution.

Post by **DaMadFiddler** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:50 pm

I know this is definitely getting into the realm of wishful thinking here...but since Nintendo is making all its first-party NES, SNES, and '64 games available as free downloads for Revolution, wouldn't it be great if they did the same thing for DS?

I mean, think about it. You buy a "DS Passport" cartridge or something like that, which is essentially a network interface program. Then, you're given a library of all Nintendo's Gameboy and Gameboy Color games that you can download to RAM and play until you shut your system down. (This would be especially useful since the DS doesn't have classic-GB compatibility).

ninja · Post by **ninja** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:16 pm

The revolution will definitely be my first new console buy if the downloadable classic's holds true.

Covar · Post by **Covar** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:19 pm

DaMadFiddler wrote:I know this is definitely getting into the realm of wishful thinking here...but since Nintendo is making all its first-party NES, SNES, and '64 games available as free downloads for Revolution, wouldn't it be great if they did the same thing for DS?

I mean, think about it. You buy a "DS Passport" cartridge or something like that, which is essentially a network interface program. Then, you're given a library of all Nintendo's Gameboy and Gameboy Color games that you can download to RAM and play until you shut your system down. (This would be especially useful since the DS doesn't have classic-GB compatibility).

Post by **pixel** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:44 pm

Icing on the cake.