Well, at least us Americans now know 33% of the releases next week.

Somehow this doesn't surprise me much, I was hoping that the increased processing power of the DSi would hold this off. But then, I have been seriously given thought to holding on any new systems due to increasing costs and I don't care for the direction the digital downloads are moving (locked to system instead of person).

I remember watching the show in hopes of a Zelda cartoon as a kid, but the live segments were at least mildly entertaining (at least a for Nintendo crazed kid). He was the best because he was the original.

@JuneBelle: Perhaps he misunderstood but the rep he spoke with told him it would require the $75 repair fee to transfer the downloads. He immediately replaced the broken Wii since it was needed for Youth activity at his church that day. The rep on the phone told him he could see the original broken Wii and the newly registered Wii on his account, however there was no way for him to transfer the downloads between them.

I am sure if it was just a repair like what you stated would be true, but this was a transfer between two systems that were already purchased.

My only issue with this policy is that if I own a disc game, I can go between systems I own (even those I don't) and it works. However with the downloads it appears I am tied to exactly one system, even though they have a list of all systems owned by me. What if I own three DSi's because me and my two kids have one and I want to buy Dr. Mario for all of us. Their policy means I have to basically purchase the exact same game under the same account three times?

It is silly to restrict the game to a system instead of to an account like Steam does. Limit the number of machines the account can run on, but don't tie me to something that breaks.

Here is the official canned response from Nintendo of America. I have removed all the extra double spacing left from their copy and paste job.:

Hello,

I can definitely appreciate your interest in seeing an increase in the number of Virtual Console, WiiWare, and DSiWare titles released each week. However, decisions regarding which games, and how many will be made available come from several different companies and are influenced by a variety of factors apart from consumer suggestions and our desire to do so.

For more details about the Virtual Console, including an updated list of available software titles, check out the following web page:

http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole

New Virtual Console titles should continue to be released weekly across all systems, so there's hope that the title you're looking for will eventually appear. Keep checking our website (www.nintendo.com) for updates!

Regarding your second comment, we have heard from more than a few Wii, and Nintendo DSi owners who are concerned about what would happen to their downloaded Wii Shop Channel games, and Nintendo DSi Shop applications should something go wrong with their consoles. Let me reassure you that, in the unlikely event that your console should need repair, you can send it to Nintendo, where we will transfer your Wii Shop Channel or Nintendo DSi Shop account (which contains the licenses of the applications, channels and games you've downloaded as well as any balance of Nintendo Points) to your replacement console. If you return your console to the store or sell it, that content will be lost as you can imagine.

The second response either BS or a change in policy as my brother was informed Nintendo this summer that he would have to send in his dead Wii and pay $75 to repair it as the downloaded content was non-transferable.

@JuneBelle: I think you misunderstand. There is nothing keeping Big N from putting multiple Virtual Console games up. All they consist of is a ROM with a wrapper around it. If they are too lazy to rip the ROMs themselves, I am fairly sure Google can help them locate the needed files. EDIT: http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26916 is the forum posting that document the contents of a Virtual Console game.

I realize WiiWare and DSiWare are unique and require work. But ROM emulation of games is quite simple once you have the emulation software written which was taken care of when the first VC games were released.

@J.Lowther: That excuse only carries so far especially with Virtual Console. Nintendo has a vast library of games that they own fully, and nothing keeps them from putting them out there. It is also suspect to suggest that Sega, Capcom, and the other companies that have poured titles into the Japanese Virtual Console would have issues doing the same here. Edit: Outside of the games that have licensed material. Copyright Law in the US is fairly screwed up.

As with the last time I questioned NoA's methods (regarding Club Nintendo), I fully expect a canned response. Heck, even when I rated the response useless I got a customized canned response. "We are working on great new things" only goes so far, especially when the newest entry is three Zelda posters that look like they came from a Nintendo Power Issue from 1992.

Just for sheer entertainment for me, I sent a complaint to the big Nintendo of America. Curious to see their explanations for why is dealt one game for each service while other territories seem to fair much better, and why they seem incapable of transferring downloads between systems when upgrading or replacing one.

Well, if Pinball Pulse reviews good, it might be a replacement for Metroid Prime Pinball. I would much prefer to have it always available on the DSi (or a quick transfer from SD Card or DSi Shop) than to have to another DS Cartridge to keep track of.

Even the shovelware has its place, and not all of them are as terrible as we think. It is just they might be targeting a different audience. For example, Dora the Explorer Wii might not be mine or anyone here's cup of tea, but to a 4 year old that is video game gold.

Good and bad are truly subjective when it comes to an artform such as video games. Heck, I remember a painting in the Andy Warhol Museum that was called "Urine on Canvas" or something along those lines. So basically someone getting wasted and peeing on a canvas was valuable art.

Sounds someone similar to the original X-Wing on the PC. Multiple crafts each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Multiple mission types.

This will probably end up on my to buy list. Not going to buy immediately because I still need to finish some of my other recent purchases.

@MrPinguy: Only have played the remakes, the original never officially made it here.

@MrPinguy: Yeah, II was fairly complex in it's leveling up method though although I will agree with the story being complex. I also agree the SNES did have a big part in them being skipped. However, I doubt it would have been able to make it past Nintendo of America's Censors. Heck the opening sequence has the main character's entire village slaughtered if I remember correctly (been a long time since I last played it). The first one didn't make it so much due to the story, but because of Big N's marketing machine. In a way I wish they would have sold the real Final Fantasy II instead of the first one.

@Stuffgamer1 To quote Wikipedia quoting Ted Woolsey (1992). Ogopogo Examiner. Square Soft, Inc..

"Although designed by one of Square's development teams in Japan, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was specifically geared for the U.S. market. At the time, console role-playing gamers only constituted a small minority of gamers in North America; Square thus attempted to broaden the genre's appeal through Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.[2] Square's executives cited the alleged difficulty of RPGs as the reason Americans shied away from them, and eased the difficulty level by tweaking various aspects of the main series' gameplay.[2]"

It was made specifically with American Gamers in mind. Their opinion was that we were too dumb to understand Japanese RPGs, which is also why the US got Final Fantasy IV for beginners as Final Fantasy II on SNES (which then was then dumbed down further to make Final Fantasy VI Easytype in Japan.)

As for the Nintendo Power subscription, that was something I passed on as a kid until the GameBoy came out. So you may be right in my missing that.

@64 Final Fantasy VII was released as Final Fantasy VII everywhere, including the US. That was the Final Fantasy that made American fans realize that there were 3 Final Fantasies that they missed out on (the third not being released officially until the DS Remake). Part of the reason, to which I sort of agree, American gamers just would not have understood Final Fantasy II, III, or V in their original forms at release time. Final Fantasy I, IV, and VI were the stronger games from a story telling standpoint.

Oh, and we also got the horrible Final Fantasy Mystic Quest that was supposedly designed for Americans (and generally insulted fans and was ignored by everyone else) and the Saga games re-branded as Final Fantasy Legends I, II, and III on the Gameboy.

Time to rebuild the 8-bit theater gang and run through Final Fantasy again. Although I still think Dragon Warrior (Quest) was the better NES RPG, the first Final Fantasy was still special.

Everyone points to attacking empty space as a flaw, I see it as requiring more thought than just mashing away at the "Attack" command. Plus, the shop keepers in the world of Final Fantasy One are smart and don't allow you to buy 99 potions at once because then they would have to offer a discount.

After the review, this is a pass for now. I am not a strategy game player and when I do I dislike playing real opponents since I normally get my head handed to me.

I sort of thought that this would happen. Big N has a serious problem with trying to ripoff DSiWare users by reselling or overpricing their products.

What is next, selling Super Mario Bros in 8 episodic installments for 500 points a piece?

I thought that there was a feature for removing all data from a Wii or DSi to prepare it for resale called "Format System Memory". If you linked your account with your Nintendo account, it should be as simple as them publishing an update to have it confirm that the system has been formatted and disconnected from your account (or without an internet connection giving you a confirmation code). Then having you re-register with your new DSi serial number.

I mean there was a way to transfer friend codes from one system to another when you updated from DS to DSlite, it shouldn't be an impossibility

I am glad that NOA at least seems to have stopped their one wiiware, one VC, one DSiWare habit. DQWars might be a buy after I see a review, but the rest looks like a pass this week. Besides, I still have a ton of level-grinding before starting the final chapters of FF4: The After Years.

Or watch NOA not release Mario Kart, Smash 64, Fire Emblem or Kirby Super Star because they are afraid of losing profit on their new versions. Why sell Smash Bros for $10 when you can charge $49.99 for Super Smash Bros on Wii? Why sell Kirby Super Star when they can get more for the DS version? Why sell Mario Kart when Mario Kart Wii still is selling? And as someone else pointed out, why sell the first Fire Emblem and have the expense of the translation when you can just sell the remake?

Field Tactics (Stratego) was interesting, but I was never any good at it. It is extremely difficult with a computer opponent since they tend not to do the things that gives pieces away like a human opponent does (at least as far as I can tell).

Hopefully this will start to become a trend and we will move away from "A little taste of..." titles.

@Stuffgamer1: I look at it this way now, when there is a game worth buying I will pick it up. Otherwise, I will find something else to spend my hard earned money on. Complaining about it here isn't going to change it, and obviously NOA is not smart enough to get a clue anytime soon.

So I will go back to playing Final Fantasy IV: The After Years which has been a surprise for an old school gamer like me. Just wish it didn't make me grind levels so much, but then that is part of the old school charm. I've also started going back and appreciating the Sega Master System for what it was (which is impressive for the age of it), even getting to play a few Game Gear games I owned a long, long time ago.

"Who will buy MySims Camera?" you ask. Simple, people who buy 1000 points and then spend 800 of them on a game. Not wanting to leave a balance behind (and already owning the calculator, clock, and ever magic trick offered), thousands will go and buy the MySims camera program. Because they have 200 points and it is only 200 points and who can resist the impulse.

I wonder if this will be the same Castlevania Adventure I hated with Super Nintendo controls. Sort of like how Super Castlevania was basically a reboot of Castlevania.

Looks like an alright attempt. 6 new games is not bad either. Unfortunately I already spent my points on Contra: Rebirth, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (part 1), Phantasy Star, and Sonic (Game Gear/SMS version) last night.

@thewiirocks Square wasn't just a RPG company. Rad Racer is a classic Square game from before the first Final Fantasy. However you are correct that Final Fantasy was created because they only had enough funds left to create a final game. Fortunately for them, it succeeded and they have been milking it for all it is worth since then.

@ballistikboy Eventually people will start to wise up that saving those 200 points instead of buying garbage like Master of Illusion when they invest $10 makes more sense (4 times = 1 extra 800 point game).

I remember this the first time around, and found that this one was more difficult than the others. After reading the review I understand a little better why (I tended to use Luke whenever possible because of force powers). Still I say that Super Empire was the best, but then it may be I say that because I believe that Empire was the best movie.

As I have said before the part of the game I hated the most was the escape from the death star, I remember only beating it once by using multiple pauses to see what was coming and react to it.

All three are good games and I remember spending many weekends playing through all three of them at once.

Unfortunately, this will end up selling which will encourage Nintendo to pull this stunt more and more often. The potential for DSiWare to be great is there, but at this point I tend to regret investing the money for the upgrade. Perhaps when the DSi exclusive games comes out the extra expense will be justified.

I probably will pick up Contra before Return of the Jedi. I remember that one having quite a few extremely difficult levels.

Add this to my now growing need to buy eventually list.

@zranoll Because it makes the mcguffin seem so much more Diabolical!

@Superman. I know feeding trolls and all, but exactly what does the PS3 really have to offer other than a Blue-Ray player and cut-scene intensive exclusives. Plus, somehow I think the PS3 will eventually have the problems the PS2 had when it is used as both a game system and a Blue-Ray Player. The 360 has a decent lineup of games, but you have to put up with an over 50% system failure rate. Both systems seem to be suffering from a spat of "Me-too syndrome" in trying to copy the features that make the Wii unique.

Granted the Wii does have weak third-party support (because developers seem love to unload cheap gimmick games, but who can blame them when they keep selling), and as I have said many times Nintendo of America's release strategy for Virtual Console, WiiWare (and DSiWare) is a joke. But it is far from a worthless system and there are many fun and entertaining games on it. It can only get better as new developers are starting to put the old hats to shame by creating fun games that show innovation with the wii-mote.

I don't think they are intentionally doing it so much as the people making the decisions at Nintendo of America just don't get it.

Bought one with Link's Crossbow training and after a day have never touched it again (even for Link's Crossbow training).

If my toddler was a little older, then this might be a worth buying to give her some variety in the educational games we play.

If people were worried about putting the Wiimote through the TV, exactly what is going to happen with this?

@Arctic Friend: I don't now his reasons, but the reasons I can guess is that so far the DSiWare hasn't really offered any must have games that are only for the DSi. Edit: That also includes regular DS games too

Second, a large portion of the offerings so far have been ports of existing titles, cut down offerings of existing titles, or existing titles repackaged with new levels.

Third, there is the fact that for whatever reason they neglected to create a Virtual Console for the DSi, which for retro gamers is a great selling point for the Wii.

Fourth, despite rumors otherwise, only releasing a game a week on the service (and most of them puzzlers) is not a way to rapidly gain fan support.

Fifth, the browser while better than the DS Browser (and free) still does not have flash and still chokes on any complex page requiring you to either stay away from most of the web or use mobile phone optimized versions of sites.

Sixth, the included camera is a joke and has yet to be used in any meaningful way (WarioWare the poor exception) other than as a gimmick extra.

Seven, no GBA port so goodbye collection of GBA games (see no VC above).

If they really wanted the DSi to succeed, they would get a Virtual Console onto it and make it possible to immediately download any GBA games the user registered with Nintendo (especially in NOA's region where the Nintendo Club stinks). Then they would work to make it possible to do the same for as many third party games as possible through a ship-in service (ship in old game, get VC game added to downloadable items list). Heck, that would earn a lot of goodwill if they did that for the Wii. As an added bonus this would go a long way to undercut the used business for those systems (as people bought games used cheap to ship them in).

I have been holding out for this only to be thwarted an accidental dropping of a laptop (thanks honey, love ya). So I won't be buying as many games for a while.

One correction, the 800 point category is actually 800+ as in games can and probably will eventually cost more.

"The Force is strong with you Young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet!" Best of the movies and best of the SNES games. Looking foward to an weekend of blasting stormtroopers.

I also had hopes for this game, but was watching the DS version. I haven't seen a review for it yet, hope that one appears here.

@Chrono Cross: Part of the appeal of Scribblenauts is the same as the appeal of the 20Q handheld. What can you come up with that will stump the game?

From what I've seen, you can be pretty creative in what you create to solve the problems leading to you trying to find how many different and unique ways can you solve the problem. The better your vocabulary the more options you have within the game.

I'll buy only if it features Rubik the amazing Cube!!

While I think they could do a very good Smash Bros on the DS (Mario Kart DS, and Mario 64 DS prove this), I am not sure if this petition is going to get them motivated.

The sad truth is that the cost of developing on the PS3 and 360 are going to come down, that is the way of technology. Game Engines will be already built and only will need customized, developers will be more and more familiar with the code etc. So pointing out that the Wii is easy to develop on is pointless, as is pointing out the WiiWare.

Yes, Nintendo was the first to offer these things, but just about everything unique to the Wii that was positive is now been integrated or will be integrated into the other two. All that is ended up left to the Wii is that they have a great back catalog available (Virtual Console), tons of crapware games, and more gadgets to attach to it than a Sega Genesis.

Nintendo needs to do something soon or they will eventually become more and more irrelevant this generation.

I remember this and the genesis version. I liked that the genesis version was more pen and paper like, but the SNES version was the better game.

@Bahamut Zero: Perhaps he was taking the perspective of the aliens that get mowed down by it. To them it is quite infamous.

I remember this game being very unforgiving especially on the last stage. I don't think I even managed to beat this one, but it was always good for mindless killing of aliens.