Don't look up the price of some of those. Jack Bros is ridiculously high.
I do agree though, for $100, it should at least come with a DLC code for at the bare minimum 1 game.
The Nintendo Thread of Jumping, Slashing, and Home Decorating
- Thread starter ZakuConvoy
- Start date
Don't look up the price of some of those. Jack Bros is ridiculously high.
I do agree though, for $100, it should at least come with a DLC code for at the bare minimum 1 game.
Well just doing a quick look around EBAY. The system itself is likely to set you back about 200 at the lowest, and is probably missing a controller or is untested. To make sure you have a working one is getting close to 300. Want that box? 500.
Mario Tennis is cheap at around 15 bucks. Then there are a few around the 25-35 range. Then they start getting close to 50 or 60 (Or more)
Jack Bros in Japanese is about 200. In English? The cheapest I saw was just under 900.
Even I raise an eyebrow at the 100 buck price tag for the recreation holder, but the sad fact is it very much is the cheapest option.
I think that a Mario Tennis DLC code should be included at the very least. After all, this is a nostalgia grab, and I doubt that a lot of people are going to go online and buy all of these games digitally.
They really should sell them all in one compilation, on the card. I would pay $60 for that and even throw in an extra $100 for the nostalgia stand.
They really should sell them all in one compilation, on the card. I would pay $60 for that and even throw in an extra $100 for the nostalgia stand.
Yeah, calling it the "Virtual Boy Classic" might be confusing people, a little. This isn't like the NES or SNES Classics, which were actual, working machines. If it were like that, the $100 price point would actually be reasonable. Maybe even a little surprisingly low.
This is a glorified pair of 3D glasses ducktaped to a lunch box. Being sold for $100. Now, it's a very unique and nicely molded "lunchbox". It'd look pretty nice on a shelf. But, it doesn't even come with a unique controller like the recreations of the NES or SNES controllers you can buy. There are no electronics inside here. At least not until you put your own Switch in there yourself. Even the cheaper option is a glorified pair of 3D glasses...rubber-banded to a Lunchables box that you have to put together yourself...for $25! (Rubber bands sold separately!) Which is why I find it ridiculous and worthy of my contempt.
Look, I'm just hoping Nintendo sees reason and adds in a way to just play these on a TV. Just give us some togglable options and call it a day. Because that's the only option that's sane and reasonable.
And what REALLY gets my goat is that we KNOW they have such a option available, at least behind the scenes. Because...we saw footage of these games in the trailer. That was a version of the games that weren't in 3D. They weren't blurry or double-screened like they would have to be in order to make the 3D work. They were clear and crisp! So, at least behind the scenes, Nintendo seems to have a way to play these games WITHOUT the 3D, in order to get footage of them for the trailer. So...just give us THAT! C'MON!
This is a glorified pair of 3D glasses ducktaped to a lunch box. Being sold for $100. Now, it's a very unique and nicely molded "lunchbox". It'd look pretty nice on a shelf. But, it doesn't even come with a unique controller like the recreations of the NES or SNES controllers you can buy. There are no electronics inside here. At least not until you put your own Switch in there yourself. Even the cheaper option is a glorified pair of 3D glasses...rubber-banded to a Lunchables box that you have to put together yourself...for $25! (Rubber bands sold separately!) Which is why I find it ridiculous and worthy of my contempt.
Look, I'm just hoping Nintendo sees reason and adds in a way to just play these on a TV. Just give us some togglable options and call it a day. Because that's the only option that's sane and reasonable.
And what REALLY gets my goat is that we KNOW they have such a option available, at least behind the scenes. Because...we saw footage of these games in the trailer. That was a version of the games that weren't in 3D. They weren't blurry or double-screened like they would have to be in order to make the 3D work. They were clear and crisp! So, at least behind the scenes, Nintendo seems to have a way to play these games WITHOUT the 3D, in order to get footage of them for the trailer. So...just give us THAT! C'MON!
Last edited:
It has also been pointed out that 14 games isn't even the Virtual Boy's entire library. There are a few from third parties and a few more that were finished but never released, Star Fox 2 style. The shortest-lived system with the smallest library and they've still managed to pare it down even further.
Look, I'll admit that I lowballed the price of the original vintage Virtual Boy. I'm surprised that there's still that much demand for such a maligned system. Vintage game prices are no joke, no matter the system, I guess. But, still, this all seems a bit excessive on Nintendo's part.
Look, I don't even mind that part of it, myself. Some of those games, like the SD Gundam game, would probably be a licensing nightmare to work out. It'd be fun to get it, but I understand not bothering. And I can't blame Nintendo for not wanting to release unfinished games that could be buggy or broken. The Virtual Boy already has a bad enough reputation, they don't need to make it worse. I don't expect ALL the games. Getting "just" most of them is fine.
It's just that everything else around this is just so WEIRD.
The part that's annoying me is that Nintendo is trying to pretend like they're NOT using a emulator to do this. That somehow THEY can ONLY use these obtuse physical options in order to recreate the experience of these games. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION! Nintendo seems to be trying to pretend like what they're doing is NOT emulation, because they probably don't like acknowledging that emulation exists publicly. If the wider public knew more about emulators...less people might buy their overpriced stuff!
Sometimes, Nintendo REALLY HATES giving us options. They want to INSIST on us playing these games, the way THEY want us to play them. Sometimes it's like pulling teeth to even give us the option to change the button mapping on our own controllers. Or to let us play with the Pro Controller, if the game has gimmick controls, like with the Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eeevee games. It's a problem, and they need to get over it.
I don't know what internal emulator Nintendo is using. But, chances are, it really is just as simple as clicking a button and giving us the option to toggle the 3D into 2D, and to turn the red filter into something black and white. But, if they do that, they have to acknowledge that it's REALLY simple (and sometimes fun) to alter your games without their express permission. And I feel like that's the ONLY good reason they aren't giving us that option...other than trying to make a quick buck.
There is a part of me that could almost believe that whatever internal emulator Nintendo made themselves DOESN'T have those options. Because Nintendo may not have spent as much time on that kind of emulator as the fans have. I could understand the fan-made emulators being superior to what Nintendo themselves made, if only because Nintendo is a business and it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of time making something that they aren't going to sell. But, we've seen proof that those kind of options exist in the trailer. So, Nintendo's proprietary emulator probably DOES come with those options. They just don't want to put those options in OUR hands.
Look, I COULD just use a emulator and play these games for free. No cost at all. That's not the issue, here. But, Nintendo is offering these games officially for the first time in years. I'm already paying for NSO. I would like to just play these games on my Switch. I'm already "paying" for them, more or less. But, they're making it so annoying and complicated for no good reason. Seemingly simply to scam some rubes out of their money, making them pay for 3D glasses that you get for free at a movie theater. It's insulting! And they deserve to be called out on it, at least a little.
Look, I don't even mind that part of it, myself. Some of those games, like the SD Gundam game, would probably be a licensing nightmare to work out. It'd be fun to get it, but I understand not bothering. And I can't blame Nintendo for not wanting to release unfinished games that could be buggy or broken. The Virtual Boy already has a bad enough reputation, they don't need to make it worse. I don't expect ALL the games. Getting "just" most of them is fine.
It's just that everything else around this is just so WEIRD.
Yes? Because they were all using a emulator, just like Nintendo is doing? Just like any one of us can do on any of our computers or phones, REALLY easily? The entire Virtual Boy library takes up like 10 MB of space!
The part that's annoying me is that Nintendo is trying to pretend like they're NOT using a emulator to do this. That somehow THEY can ONLY use these obtuse physical options in order to recreate the experience of these games. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION! Nintendo seems to be trying to pretend like what they're doing is NOT emulation, because they probably don't like acknowledging that emulation exists publicly. If the wider public knew more about emulators...less people might buy their overpriced stuff!
Sometimes, Nintendo REALLY HATES giving us options. They want to INSIST on us playing these games, the way THEY want us to play them. Sometimes it's like pulling teeth to even give us the option to change the button mapping on our own controllers. Or to let us play with the Pro Controller, if the game has gimmick controls, like with the Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eeevee games. It's a problem, and they need to get over it.
I don't know what internal emulator Nintendo is using. But, chances are, it really is just as simple as clicking a button and giving us the option to toggle the 3D into 2D, and to turn the red filter into something black and white. But, if they do that, they have to acknowledge that it's REALLY simple (and sometimes fun) to alter your games without their express permission. And I feel like that's the ONLY good reason they aren't giving us that option...other than trying to make a quick buck.
There is a part of me that could almost believe that whatever internal emulator Nintendo made themselves DOESN'T have those options. Because Nintendo may not have spent as much time on that kind of emulator as the fans have. I could understand the fan-made emulators being superior to what Nintendo themselves made, if only because Nintendo is a business and it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of time making something that they aren't going to sell. But, we've seen proof that those kind of options exist in the trailer. So, Nintendo's proprietary emulator probably DOES come with those options. They just don't want to put those options in OUR hands.
Look, I COULD just use a emulator and play these games for free. No cost at all. That's not the issue, here. But, Nintendo is offering these games officially for the first time in years. I'm already paying for NSO. I would like to just play these games on my Switch. I'm already "paying" for them, more or less. But, they're making it so annoying and complicated for no good reason. Seemingly simply to scam some rubes out of their money, making them pay for 3D glasses that you get for free at a movie theater. It's insulting! And they deserve to be called out on it, at least a little.
Last edited:
They've always been like this. Remember when they tried to sue the makers of the Game Genie out of existence? I swear their modern-day crusade against emulation and romhacking has nothing to do with believing it's hurting their bottom line, and everything to do with being deeply, personally butthurt that people are having fun with their creations in any way other than the exact way they intended.
Just to note, Galoob sued nintendo first to demand that they not change the form style of the nes or chipset so that the gamegenie was guaranteed to work on versions of the system
en.wikipedia.org
Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. - Wikipedia
Well, that patent isn't quite as broad as some of the headlines make it out to be.
They specifically patented the ability to encounter a enemy, use a thrown ball like object to deploy your own summon, and catch the enemy with a ball like object that you throw. It's Pokeballs. They're trying to patent the process of encountering and catching Pokemon with Pokeballs. Even more specifically, it's the "Legends" style, where you can move your character around the field at the same time.
reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1ned5ba/explaining_nintendos_patent_on_characters/
The actual patent, if you want to take a quick read:
Meaning, in theory, even if you use a different kind of object, like a cube, you'd wouldn't be violating this patent. If it even holds up in court. Not all patents do.
I'm...not sure how to feel about it. I don't like the idea of patenting gameplay elements. But, this is specific enough, that it shouldn't effect anyone but the most obvious of copycats.
It's clearly just targeting the Pal Spheres of Pal World. Which feels...a little petty. You could even make a fair argument that those aren't exactly "balls", they could be called "ornaments". It does feel like Nintendo is patent-bullying Pal World, specifically.
But, it's not as big of a deal as the headlines make it out to be. It's not a video game industry ruining patent. Yet. We'll see how this actually gets enforced in the future. I may end up eating my words.
The thing that's a bit interesting is that...Gamefreak doesn't seem to be listed in this patent at all! At least as far as I've skimmed. Only Nintendo and the Pokemon Company. That's only 2/3rds of the companies that "own" Pokemon. It's a bit odd that Gamefreak, the company who actually made the original games, aren't listed in this patent. I wonder if that's going to be a problem in the future? I guess I don't know how that works?
They specifically patented the ability to encounter a enemy, use a thrown ball like object to deploy your own summon, and catch the enemy with a ball like object that you throw. It's Pokeballs. They're trying to patent the process of encountering and catching Pokemon with Pokeballs. Even more specifically, it's the "Legends" style, where you can move your character around the field at the same time.
reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1ned5ba/explaining_nintendos_patent_on_characters/
The actual patent, if you want to take a quick read:
Meaning, in theory, even if you use a different kind of object, like a cube, you'd wouldn't be violating this patent. If it even holds up in court. Not all patents do.
I'm...not sure how to feel about it. I don't like the idea of patenting gameplay elements. But, this is specific enough, that it shouldn't effect anyone but the most obvious of copycats.
It's clearly just targeting the Pal Spheres of Pal World. Which feels...a little petty. You could even make a fair argument that those aren't exactly "balls", they could be called "ornaments". It does feel like Nintendo is patent-bullying Pal World, specifically.
But, it's not as big of a deal as the headlines make it out to be. It's not a video game industry ruining patent. Yet. We'll see how this actually gets enforced in the future. I may end up eating my words.
The thing that's a bit interesting is that...Gamefreak doesn't seem to be listed in this patent at all! At least as far as I've skimmed. Only Nintendo and the Pokemon Company. That's only 2/3rds of the companies that "own" Pokemon. It's a bit odd that Gamefreak, the company who actually made the original games, aren't listed in this patent. I wonder if that's going to be a problem in the future? I guess I don't know how that works?
Last edited:
Gonna sound a bit like an ass because I'm fricken tired of this stupid headline.
And Yacht Club has a patent for "moving a character".
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10569176B2/en?q=(Sean+Velasco)&oq=+Sean+Velasco
Yet... Crickets!
I can't remember which studio it is, but there's also the patent on the 'nemesis' system seen in the Lord of the Rings game. That has effectively stifled any other such mechanic from appearing, though it is a very cool system.
I am very much against any type of patent for a video game mechanic. I do not think these should be patentable. Put a copyright on your characters, sure, but to patent gameplay and mechanics is a threat to gaming in general.
I am very much against any type of patent for a video game mechanic. I do not think these should be patentable. Put a copyright on your characters, sure, but to patent gameplay and mechanics is a threat to gaming in general.