Topic: Nintendo has moved on from Game Boy games on the 3DS Virtual Console...

I can live without anymore Gameboy games, tbh......AS LONG as Metroid Zero Mission gets released in North America!

@bezerker99: Agreed! That's my favorite Metroid title!

IF the Game Boy Pokémon games are released on the eShop, it will likely be in 2016 to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary. If Game Freak are feeling particularly crafty, they can lure genwunners with a bonus download of one of the older games with any purchase of the next main series Pokémon game (which I'm sure will be released next year following the announcement of Zygarde's new forms).

If they aren't available on the eShop next year, then I'd give up hope of them ever being issued a re-release.

@BinaryFragger: @arronishere: This occurred to me...why would you want this one when you have Heartgold and Soulsilver which pretty much has the Kanto setting and probably a LOT better than the originals? Better yet, didn't we get Firered and Leafgreen?

@bezerker99: I think we're talking about Game Boy games....not GBA games as they still provide support for that seeing as how they port them on Wii U instead of the 3DS.

...Virtual Console still exists?

@DarthNocturnal:
oh, yeah, I agree. almost everything looks better than playing on the 64 (when you're using an HD). And yeah, the Wii U virtual console 64 games look like 100x better than having to use regular a/v cables and an old 64. But I was comparing Wii U vs Wii virtual consoles, and the Wii U has this weird thing going on where on the screen everything is darker and the colors a little washed out.
And also, playing on the tablet, I've noticed several times where OoT has suddenly faded to a darker color and then gone back to it's original color (same on my friend's Wii U). I don't know, I feel like Nintendo kind of phoned it in when making the 64 VC on the Wii U.

But back to 3ds, how come 3ds gameboy games don't allow us to do pallet swaps like the gameboyd advance, SP and super gameboy did? Metroid 2 looked awesome on an SP.

Too bad if true.

I was really looking forward to Solar Striker, and it's too bad it probably won't be released now (though I'd already figured if it hasn't been released by now, it probably wouldn't, but it's nice to dream).

I know it's just a fairly standard scrolling shmup, but it was my very first GB game, so I have a bit of nostalgia for it.

I don't understand why Natsume would comment on something Nintendo-related, I'd get it if they were a close 3rd party but they are not even that important to Nintendo consoles anymore -maybe they were back in the SNES era-, but if this is true I don't believe there are many GOOD Gameboy games not released on the VC.

Nintendo has practically released it's entire GB, GBC, NES, and SNES first party catalog on the eShop.
The games not released are coming or held up due to licensing issue.

Nintendo will probably exhaust it's first party N64 and GBA output by mid 2016 at the current rate (some games can't come due to licensing issues)

It can be quite expensive to release retro games for these reasons:

1) Cost of ratings: You are required to have a game rated for each system it is releasing on, in the territory it is releasing in. It cost roughly $1,000 minimum for a game to be rated at ESRB. Each territory has it's own rating board; ESRB(NA), PEGI (EU), USK (Germany), CERO (Japan), ASB (Australia), NZ (OFLC), and others.
They each charge their own fee.
They are all are backed by law except for ESRB.
In the end you are looking at a minimum of $30,000+ in total rating fees.

2)3rd party consolidation: Over the past decade the 3rd party side of the industry has seen massive consolidation down to ~10+ major 3rd party studios. Games from companies such as Acclaim, Factor 5, THQ, and others are spread amongst numerous companies with licenses being unclear.

3) 3rd parties don't see it worth it: Western 3rd parties never did embrace the Wii VC and they've treated the Wii U and 3DS VC even worse. They just don't see it worth their time and effort.
Square on the other hand isn't willing to support the 3DS and Wii U eShop because they can get charge $10-$20 on Steam, iOS and Android for their back catalog. The first retro game coming to PS4 on PSN is FFVII(PS1 port) for $16 in a few week.

Sega sees higher sales for remastering their retro titles as 3D classics than they do selling them intact on the VCs.
Sega doesn't see it worth adding their older systems to Wii U or 3DS VCs.
Sega has also released practically every original first party Game Gear game they own that isn't having licensing issues.
Granted they have no intent on releasing the Game Gear ports of SMS and Gensis/MD games.

Konami has no interest in releasing most of their back catalog let alone Turbo Graphix, TG-16/CD systems on the Wii U VC.
They also have no interest in releasing Hudson's back catalog.

4) Porting and debugging costs: They can cost upward of $20,000 - $100k+ depending on how much effort the developer wants to put into it. It's not that easy to debug ported code on a new system.

5) Platform based licenses: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft failed to get platform based licenses for their digital services from 3rd parties. Instead 3rd parties decided to sign system based licenses many with timed contracts. In order to get their games released on eShop VC or PS4 PSN, they have to go through the whole process over again.

This caused Nintendo to pursue eShop based licenses, so the retro games would be on shop in perpetuity as long as the eShop was still functioning. Sony pursued a similar licensing program for PS4's PSN going forward.
Most 3rd parties are refusing to take part in it currently on either service, thus is the reasoning for the lack of 3rd party games.

PS4's first retro title is Final Fantasy VII PS1 port in a few weeks.

6) Licensing hell: Most retro games have multiple license holders per game. This is why we don't the bulk of any system from SMS/NES to GC/PS2 being put up.

7) other costs such as marketing if a company decides it's worth it.

So in the end you are looking at the costs being ~$50,000 to $150,000 to release a retro game on the VC or PSN.
This means if it is a $5 game (developer gets $3.5 on each service and is number I am using to show breakeven point), you need to sell 14,286 copies at $50,000.

at $150,000 you will need to sell 42,858 copies to breakeven.

Nintendo isn't being lazy or hating the VC on either system, they just are running out first party games to release.
It's 3rd parties who are unable to or unwilling to release their games.

This should only be a factor in regions where the game wasn't released at all, otherwise they are just getting the same game reclassified for no reason.

@shaneoh:
They are required by ESRB and by law overseas to have a game rated for a system it is releasing on.
They literally have to have all those games rated for 3DS eShop, Wii U eShop, and PS4 PSN or face penalties.

Since these are new systems and platforms the games have to be rated for them.
You cannot use the existing rating since it doesn't apply to the version and platform you are releasing on.

Even if you release the PS4 version a year later, you are required to have it rated for PS4 even if has the same content as Xbox One version.

If they refuse to have their retro titles rated for the new platforms, they cannot release them without huge penalties.

All I'm saying is that, in Australia, Super Mario 64 (excluding DS) hasn't been rated since its initial release in '96. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was rated as multiplatform back in 2010 with nothing since, and Metroid Prime and Echoes were released back in '02 and '04 respectively for Gamecube and they, nor Trilogy, has been re-rated.

@Xenocity: Yet Natsume_Inc has been turned down on releasing their SNES games on Wii U VC and Gameboy games on 3DS VC. It sounds to me that Nintendo is picking and choosing what gets released on their consoles which is a HUGE problem.

@Xenocity: Also you must be kidding regarding the porting costs for VC titles as they for the most part are unaltered code run through an emulator, there's no way that a simple copy & paste costs them $20,000+.

@Neko_Rukiafan:
I wish I was.
It literally costs €2,500 to rate a small game through PEGI including most VC games and indie titles.
You also have to have the game(s) rerated for release at USK (Germany), ESRB (NA), CERO (Japan), they are all costly.
It cost a minimum $1,000 to rate a game at ESRB, more depending on the game's budget.
It's the law in Japan, EU, and Germany to have your games rated for each platform/service they are releasing on.
ESRB mandates it as an agreement for any gaming company releasing on video game systems in NA.

Then you pay someone to debug and test the code, the legal costs of porting, marketing/promotion, and anything else you've decided to budget for, you can easily go over $20,000 and get close to $150,000 if you are that determined.

We don't know if Natsume has been declined on their releases.
It is quite possible they aren't happy with their position in the QUEUE.

@Xenocity That is ludicrous. I guess it's just another costly hoop to jump through courtesy of the 1 percenters.

@Neko_Rukiafan:
It has nothing to do with the one percenters.
It has to do with regulation and national laws to make sure games are rated and vetted properly for the consumers.

Could it be handled better? YES! but that is another discussion.

@shaneoh: Keep in mind that many of the games in question (GameBoy, NES, early SNES, etc.) predate the ESRB in the US and most of the other ratings systems in other countries. Most of those games were never rated on their original systems. The ESRB didn't really come into its own until the N64 period - there were a few abortive attempts at ratings systems during the 16-bit era (driven mostly by reaction to Mortal Kombat for the SNES and Night Trap for the Sega CD), but it was a number of years following that debacle that the ESRB was formed out of mutual agreement between companies.

As a result, it's reasonably safe to assume that 95% of all titles on anything prior to the N64 were unrated at the time of release. Additionally, as @Xenocity said, whether the game was rated on its original system, it has to be re-rated on the new system it's being released on, no matter the method by which it's released. Tech geeks like us know that NES and GB games are being emulated, but the reality is that you're still playing that game on the 3DS, Wii and/or Wii U - these are new systems for the game. I don't know for certain if the process is easier or less expensive for a previously-rated game than for one that wasn't, but just the same, it's a pain for the company either way.