F-Zero X Wii U Update Improves Controls and 'Deadzone' Issue

That's good news!

Wait, Nintendo actually listened to fans for a change? Bravo!

Hm...a bit late but good to hear if Nintendo finally want to listen.

So... can NA get this game now that it's fixed? Pleeeeeeease?

Awesome, now add online play and we cool.

Sort out your eShop pricing while you're at it Nintendo.

So Nintendo can apply updates to VC too? Cool!

Cool I might actually pick it up now.

Good. Good...

"That said, it'll probably be fine for anyone who doesn't have a 60Hz N64 original version."

Snob.

Ugh, but can they apply this to the other games too?

@ThomasBW84 I think there will always be a difference in the controls, due to all the analog sticks made after the N64 controller having a different dead zone by default, so you would have to artificially make up for that, which is apparently what they did, and which is also why it's never going to be 100% accurate.

But either way, it's a good thing that they're at least finally acknowledging it and are trying to make up for it as best they can.

Wow ...they actually did something about it. Props to you, Nintendo.

Do other N64 games suffer from the dead zone issue? I've been having some problems with Wave Race, but it's been so long since I played the original version I can't tell if it's exclusive to VC. Quite annoying.

Wow this is awesome and unexpected!
Now just bring it to the States.

Nice. I'm going to download this today.

@Grumblevolcano
There were updates to some Wii VC games in the past, but you had to go into the Wii shop channel to see them.

I, like many others, opened a thread in the F-Zero X Miiverse asking Nintendo to fix the problem, but i did not expect they would listen to these complaints. Wow. Thats awesome. We F-Zero fans suffered enough

Wow, Nintendo knows how to make their N64 emulation not suck? Hell indeed froze over.

Now please fix the washed out and dark color palette and we'll call it good.

Cool. I might pick it up now.

I went ahead and checked it now that it's updated and indeed, there is a noticeable improvement. I think no N64 game will ever control exactly the same on modern sticks anyway, because of the way they're designed, which never seemed to allow the same level of fine tuning for me. In this case the game was utterly unplayable before, but now it's mostly fine. I wonder how MK64 controls, if it suffers from the same problems, cause that's another one I was thinking about getting on the Wii U VC.

I have the Raphnet cable that lets you use a real N64 controller via the Wii Remote for VC games. Works great on Mario 64. I'm wondering if that helps the controls here? I may have to take the plunge and try it after this update

@GravyThief I got a raphnet adapter too, but for the PC, the one that supports both N64 and GC controllers and which has rumble pak supports on PC games too. A purchase I never regretted!

Is this just an update for F-Zero X or all N64 virtual console games? Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask aren't too bad during standard gameplay, but the minigames involving arrow and bombs are a mess!

@GravyThief I have the same adapter (somewhere), and was wondering about this myself.

Nintendo updated a vc-game?! Now I have seen everything!

@Phin68 I think they wanted to reduce the amount of Hate Miiverse posts this game was getting. XD

"The way I always do on an N64 controller"

So...with a broken control stick that's almost all deadzone then?

Anyway, this is super cool. I didn't know Nintendo had it in them! Hoping this is a sign of things to come.

What great timing, I just downloaded it last night. They could have easily left it be with the Wii U on its way out, but good on them to find the time to resolve this issue before the eShop become dead silent of new releases soon enough.

I wished Nintendo bought out a N64 controller compatible with the WiiU. I would buy it without hesitation.

Would love to try. Not released in the US though

@SLIGEACH_EIRE There's nothing wrong with their eshop pricing. There's a great deal of value for many of their games and they won't sell them less than what they're still worth. Stop being stingy and a cheap bugger.

@HyperTurtle I've got a lot of N64 titles purchased on my Wii U and only F-Zero received an update, so I don't think any problems you would have had with the others would now be fixed. I think F-Zero X is a special instance in which the bad calibration of the joystick controls made so much waves on the internet that they just couldn't ignore it.

@ThanosReXXX

It's all software driven today. Play any modern FPS and you'll have tons of options for deadzone/sensitivity. The emulator they use was just bad. Ironically I play N64 games with a Wavebird (Raphnet adapter) and I think it works great. Sensitivity and deadzone feel great.

I personally have never noticed any issues with the other WiiU N64 games but it may just be because I haven't played the N64 originals in over a decade. Im still able to ace Wave Race 64 so thats good enough for me. But with F Zero X, the controls were obviously off because the game demands such speedy reactions and I am glad Ninty have improved it.

Glad, they fixed it, hopefully it'll be that way when/if it ever comes to North America.

@Mogster Star Fox 64 have the same problem too but it was not so hard like this. For me, and some people that played Star Fox 64 in N64 is really a worse experience comparing with the original, that was a very great playable game. So I think everybody must to be carefull before to buy a VC game of N64 or GameCube. If it's a game where the analog sense of the stick was important for the playablity, then, better don't buy it.

@Mogster They do sadly

Just curious, has the Wii VC version of this game always had the same issue? If so, does this update affect that version, too? How does the GameCube controller compare when playing it on a Wii?

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Like I bought games on the wii u (snes games for like 8€ each) and I also own a new 3ds which supports the same snes games but I can't download them

@Lucina

Really? $4.99 for a 30 year old NES game? Screw the value. It's old, devoid of content, and everybody has played it. On top of that, Nintendo has no account system. How many times are we going to pay for the same damn game every time they release a new system?

Sorry, but you are wrong in every sense of the word.

I want a new F-Zero, damn it!

Took long enough to fix that problem, still figures that Nintendo always silently updates without noticing to anyone.

This however wasn't first time that Nintendo actually listened to customers, you europeans sure remember the sad case of PAL version on Virtual Console for WiiU when Balloon Fighter came out.

@iGen You realize you're not forced to purchase it if you don't want to. Nintendo isn't putting a gun to your head and saying "purchase these games or else!" $5 is more than acceptable for a NES game, and even less if you purchased them on the Wii U. They still hold value in this day and age, therefore, the price will stay as it is until Nintendo sees diminishing returns in those classic titles. And, as it currently stands, those classic VC games sell quite well still, despite the price tag being $5. If it was too old and devoid of content, people wouldn't continue to purchase these titles over and over again.

Sorry, but it appears you're wrong in every sense of the word. You're being stingy, cheap and have been conditioned by the devaluization of other games on other systems or devices. Nintendo'a games have an enormous amount of value, especially the classics. To value them below $3 isn't doing them justice at all, nor is it right. These aren't just valueless iPhone games that you forget over a year later, these are classic titles that gamers still treasure to this day. Again, no one, not even Nintendo is forcing you to buy them if such a small price is too much for you to handle. Your comment has solidified my belief that our society is beyond spoiled and entitled. Your words are very childish and you do not understand the value of these games, that much is clear.

@Lucina wow. Maybe you haven't looked around much at the prices but here in the uk most of these eshop games prices are a joke. Example just last week I picked up Mario strikers charged for 3 pounds and on the eshop it cost 17.99.
Beat the beats was 5 pounds sealed in Argos yet in the shop it cost 17.99 so are most Wii VC games.
N64 blah blah etc

So very happy to hear about this!

I'll be buying it now. BUT... I feel like this also has to be applied to Excitebike 64. It's kind of hard to play it in its current state... anyone else notice or is it just me?

@UK-Nintendo Then buy it at the store if you really want to save that much money. Again, no one is forcing you to buy these eshop games. But Nintendo believes that the value of the games is based around that price, whether you like it or not. And I would have to agree for the most part. For them to personally sell a game like that for $3 would be an insult. GameStop can do whatever they want with used games and what not, but Nintendo clearly believes in the price of their products and the value considering they keep the prices of their first party content close to what it sold at launch. It's been this way for decades. This isn't something new that is happening. Either you purchase a used copy, go on eBay or some other retailer or you purchase it on the eshop. Either way, Nintendo will continue to price their games based on the value and demand that is there. They will not devalue their products no matter how much disapproving looks they may get.

Again, people are beyond entitled and cheapskates if they think that pricing NES games, that still hold value, below $3 is acceptable. My gosh, I cannot fathom how spoiled and entitled people are these days. Makes me embarrassed that we've become privlaged society.

@Lucina wow. Ok than

Super Mario maker 3ds on eshop is 34.99
As well in their official website.

Super Mario maker 3ds on Amazon.co.uk is 28.00.

I bought the one from Amazon. In your eyes I might be a cheapskate but I'm glad I went with the cheaper option.

I have loads of examples where the eshop is failing.
Again like I said before maybe where you Iive it's priced okay but here in the uk it's a joke.

@cleveland124 I know, but they still have to compensate for the difference in the actual physical dead zone, and in that respect, there's actually a HUGE difference between the N64 analog stick and every analog stick after that, so it's both programming and optimization, which apparently wasn't done the first time around. It seems like they just ported it "as is" without adjusting settings for modern day analog controls.

Wow is this a new Nintendo that we are seeing? Normally when problems like this arise unless it is a major franchise like Zelda they usually just leave the bugs in. If this is a sign of a new Nintendo that actually listens to fans then I am going to be pretty happy! One thing I have always appreciated about the Xbox One is that if a bug should be serious enough to affect gameplay it is almost always patched out, at least in my experience, and that makes me feel like the company actually cares about the quality and stability of the game and the fan base.

I agree with Lucina. You mught be able to get the physical copy cheaper somewhere else, you may get it cheaper on the eshop as well as they hold sales too. It can be hard comparing, as the classics are being sold 2nd hand too, something that should be taken into consideration. A game like fzero for n64.... Yeah, probably alike be cheaper-that battery is going to die sooner than later! (I know, it's replaceable, and everyone has a story of a new Zelda still working.).

I didn't think I'd like digital copies of games, though it sure comes in handy!

Or, you can just play F-Zero X on the Wii (or Wii Mode on Wii U) and have the controls be almost 100% better...

@Lucina Have you ever seen what a Steam, Humble Bundle, GOG, or other digital PC service's major game sales deal can do? It's very common for old games in particular to be sold in bundles for under $5 for each game, with $3 or less not being uncommon. Responding to that demand for sales deals isn't about "entitlement", it's smart business.

Terms like "entitlement" in this context just get parroted so often that people start believing it without thinking about how the current market works. The truth is, companies like Nintendo are not "entitled" to our money either, they have to earn it. Not everyone has enough of a disposable income to buy games that they may want.

Taking a hint from the PC market for older games in their catalog would only help Nintendo capture lower income folks' money as well. Nintendo ignores this current market trend at their own peril.

@PlywoodStick The Nintendo e-shop has its own sales on a regular basis, you know, and they've even had a couple of Humble Bundles. The initial prices are pretty fair. When they're not on sale, it will still cost you at least $5 on GOG to get an old DOS game from the late 80's.

@iGen I agree that a permanent cross-buy feature would be nice, but until then just don't buy the handheld versions of the games. Personally, I only think they're worth buying at any price for someone who doesn't have a Wii or Wii U, anyway. As for re-buying them on the Wii U, they only charge you at most $2 a game to upgrade, and in exchange you get Restore Point functionality and a couple other benefits.

I still can't imagine playing this without being able make small adjustments in steering, as Ant mentioned. The Wii VC version of this doesn't suffer from this problem, as far as I know.

Since this patch was released maybe Nintendo will bring F-Zero X to the NA Wii U Virtual Console.

@UK-Nintendo I actually think that you're not understanding how retail pricing works - Nintendo sets the recommended retail price (rrp) to the retailers who buy their stock. If retailers (in your case Amazon) want to charge less than that, that's their call. They will not make as much money on each unit sold, but they will drive customers to their store with a low price - it worked with you. Now, if Nintendo undercut the retailers price, why then would retailers buy and stock Nintendo products if everyone would just buy direct from Nintendo? Without retailers stocking and providing Nintendo shelf space (virtual and physical), only dedicated Nintendo fans would ever see Nintendo products. Soon enough those fans will fall off with no new fans seeing the retail products and taking their place.

I know it would be much more convenient for us to buy cheap games direct from Nintendo, but Nintendo need retailers, and retailers need companies that make sought after products. It's a symbiont relationship.

VC prices are too damn high.

@NintndoNik eshop prices are high. We were talking more on the side of digital eshop. Hope that clears it up for you.

It was great that F-Zero X got updated, I wasn't expecting it.

I'm happy with the eShop prices - so I buy all my games digitally. I used to be extremely sceptical but have done a complete u-turn. On the topic of VC/Wii games - again, I am happy with the service. Where else could I get a 60Hz version of F-Zero X, Earthbound, Super Mario RPG, etc... I have bought almost every Wii download. It's great to discover games I missed first time. If course, it could be better and there are lessons I hope they learn fir the Switch.

@Lucina Ah clueless Lucifer! Whenever I see a notification from you, I just know you will spill forth complete and utter nonsense.

Yes, the eShop pricing is completely bonkers. Here's just 2 examples of games. One a recent retail release and one a VC game.

Star Fox Zero. €50 on the eShop. €25 to buy at retail.

http://www.base.com/buy/product/star-fox-zero-wii-u/dgc-starfoxwiiu.htm

Metroid: Other M. €20 on the eShop. Less than €8 at retail.

http://www.base.com/buy/product/metroid-other-m-wii/dgc-metroidomwii.htm

They're both brand new. There are countless other examples and cheaper still when you buy secondhand. And then there's the whole other debate about the many advantages of owning the game physically over having a digital copy. And speaking of digital, it must be tough for Nintendo to dump a file on the Wii U that does literally no more than run the game through the Wii mode on the console. Or how being so lazy means that there's no save states that other true VC games have.

But you keep telling yourself that you're somehow right.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE What s clear from this thread is that there is quite a divide between people who want gaming to be as cheap as possible (like you) and people who are prepared to pay a bit more for convenience of digital (@lucifer) .

@neyoung8 No. I pay for stuff, trust me. And it's not cheap either. I've a Wii U collection as big as anyone here on this site, both physical and eShop games. I will always buy physical games wherever possible. In some cases I own 2 copies of games. One for playing and one kept sealed and buy them at launch, even games that I've slated. I buy games all the time. Paid €50 for a Wii game only last week. Gaming isn't a cheap hobby but Nintendo need to sort out their digital pricing.

I love Nintendo but they annoy the hell out of me all the time. In any manner of means, be it the total botch they made of Wii U to my NES Classic Mini pre order that was cancelled on Friday because the retailer can't get any supply of it. This despite me pre ordering in July as soon as it was available to do so.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE totally agree.

After watching PlayStation experience. PlayStation 4 looks on the up. So many games coming that it makes the switch so much less appealing.

@iGen Completely agree.

@PlywoodStick Things like the Humble Bundle are for charity though and surely aren't smart business unless you're an indie selling a title that otherwise wouldn't sell.

For example back in 2014 I got like 17 of the 18 Sonic games(including the likes of rather newer entires like Racing Transformed and Generations and the hits collection) on Steam through the humble bundle at some point for £5.00 for all of them(down from £20.00), 29p each for a huge chunk of Sega's biggest series. The best selling sonic game without a free weekend being Generations at ~715k on steamspy(which is kind of low considering all the sales its been in).

Imagine the scenatrio where everyone was like me and waited for that sort of deal. £5 x 715,000 = £3.575 million So in the worst possible scenario the entirity of the Sonic games on steam could have generated Sega £3.575 million and have almost completley exhausted all the Sonic they can sell to people like me until they make a new one.(while also making me aware that in the future I can expect to hand them £5 to get Sonic 2017 and Sonic Mania in a bundle, Sega isn't going to be getting much money from me for a Sonic game now, why should I pay any more?)

Now a comparison virtual console have priced Earthbound at £6.99, which I happily bought as it was the first release of Earthbound in the UK. Now Eartbound is very high on the shop charts at #7 of all time best sellers in the UK. Although Nintendo share no sales data, it's above Shovel Knight #20 which sold over 204,000 on WiiU.

At the very least Earthbound sold 204,001 at £6.99. 204,001 x £6.99 = £1.426 million

At the very least Nintendo made £1.426 million revenue from releasing just Earthbound on WiiU VC and then followed it up with Earthbound Beginnings which while not on the top selling VC chart was topping the recent chart for quite a while after it released. If they eventually do decide to release Mother 3 in english I think it would probably do pretty well.

I think Nintendo have done a good job with preserving the value of their back catalog this way and I think in the long run its certainly more successful/lucrative, I think games like Super Mario World are going to continue to make millions upon millions for Nintendo for years to come. The way the PC market does it, just seems like wringing out the back catalog rendering 10-20 years worth of games in a series near worthless. It's really good for me because it's a load of cheap games but I don't see how that's sustainable for the companies(with the exception of Valve who gets a cut of every game sale) beyond the quick boon from the sales, they'll run out of games to sell and have customers who are going to want their upcoming games for pennies.

@Dr_Lugae Nah, in both the cases of a service as large as Steam, and one as small as GOG, both have experienced growth, and aren't "running out of games to sell." If anything, they're actually reaching more people. They haven't turned into a race to the bottom, permanently devaluing their entire catalogs, like the mobile market has done. And they aren't losing nearly as many potential buyers as Nintendo's digital services are.

Your hypothetical is not realistic- a lot of people do wait for sales, but they typically do so because they can only afford to do that. Again, not everyone has the disposable income to buy any more than a few higher priced classic games. Earthbound is also a rather exceptional example, since it can be very difficult to legally find and play otherwise, or at least if you don't understand Japanese.

The Virtual Console sales numbers aren't shared publicly, but I bet that just about every non-Nintendo property likely has FAR lower overall sales than the Nintendo properties. In addition, many titles that are available on the eShop or WiiWare have likely received far better sales numbers outside of Nintendo's digital storefronts. Not to mention, the major sales deals in the PC digital markets actually continue to sell old games; whereas sales for those third party titles tend to drop off a cliff after their initial run is through on Nintendo's services. Only Nintendo's first party titles have tended to continue selling in an evergreen fashion on their storefronts.

Every company gets a cut of the digital sales on their storefront; Steam is only one of several. Only the Humble Bundle has the whole "$1.01 or more to buy a basic bundle" sort of ludicrous deal going, so they're pretty exceptional in that regard. But even then, those are limited offers, with no way of knowing what those games would be ahead of time, or when they would turn up in such a way. In every other case, Humble Bundle's storefront prices are more normalized.

So yeah, the "preservation of value" concept only works in favor of Nintendo's first party titles on their storefronts. It hurts everyone else by comparison. That concept is just another parroted official line of reasoning.

@BulbasaurusRex Yeah... all of two Humble Bundle runs. And barely any real digital sales, which as we have witnessed repeatedly, are often worse deals than retail price points over time. The recent NA Black Friday/Cyber Week sale is a highly exceptional case, and even then, it doesn't fare well on all marks. The recent EU Black Friday/Cyber Week sale in particular was noticeably abysmal.

@PlywoodStick There have been a lot of good eShop sales over the years, particularly the recent cyber sale, at least in North America. Every week, several games go on sale at good prices.

The issue is that the UK (and perhaps some other European countries) doesn't set strict retail prices, and so the various game stores often attempt to undersell each other, sometimes well below the eShop prices. However, here in North America, it simply isn't possible to find those kinds of crazy deals unless you're buying used (which depends heavily on availability) or the games are in the clearance bin. The good Wii games will still cost you at least $20 at retail, such as they are priced on the eShop.

We just need an N64 Classic Mini and it'd be all good.

@ThanosReXXX

I'm not saying the anaolog sticks are the same or there is no work involved. It's just amazing when a fan product works better than a Nintendo product. I'm not nearly technical enough to understand how the product works. But with the Raphnet adapter a Gamecube controller on an actual N64 works and feels great. So if a fan can get it right, why can't Nintendo?

@cleveland124 Beats me, man. To be honest, I never even heard of the Raphnet adapter before until I saw you guys discussing it.

What I do know is that an adapter (obviously) offers a direct throughput of controls if it works correctly. AND you'd be using the ACTUAL controller, so no dead zone issues.

The Classic controller and the GameCube controller have a totally different dead zone compared to the N64 controller, so even though you can compensate for that in an emulator, it'll probably never be 100% exact. But for most it'll be close enough because they don't notice anyways or aren't aware enough to detect it.

The people that do, are probably also still in possession of the original hardware and games, which makes it that much easier to make the comparison and bemoan the loss of precision in these conversions...

And then there are people like me: I do still have my N64, with all the games I ever bought for it, but it's locked away in a closet and I now play all my N64 games on my modded Wii and I have no issues with the change in dead zones. In some games it is quite noticeable, but I just learned to use the new controls, so instead of the software, I'm compensating for the difference myself by having adapted to the "new" controls.

And nowadays, it's not like I'm playing these games all that often anyways, so I'll survive...

@Lucina

You can think what you want to think about our society, and you have some points, but I'm thinking you are wearing nostalgia glasses, and you think NINTENDO is the one entitled to OUR cash! I agree with @PlywoodStick where they have to EARN it by pleasing their consumer's suggestions and demands of lower VC costs, other competitor's online store game prices, limited eShop funds and spending which is what children have to do, and sorry, but I don't see your point in where you say that a couple megabytes worth of content released over 30 years ago is a "great" value for $4.99.

Duck Hunt for $5? That's crap. Your views and opinions are crap. If that were for a SNES game, that would be just fine. But it's not, and it should be $2.99 instead. N64 titles should cost $6.99. Not only would those prices be much easier on the finances, it would be in impulse range, which would generate more sales and interest in these old titles, which they could then use to propel another iteration of a Nintendo Mini. It's simply SMART business, a kind of skill which you lack, and prefer to calculate price simply by the amount of fun you get out of said game. That's how children think. Now who's childish?

Oh wait, I forgot to mention that every single child in this demographic on the face of the earth is playing Angry Birds instead! Which is FREE! How the hell can Nintendo expect to compete with that with something only adults can afford on a regular basis?

No, I'm not saying make anything free, far from that. But dear God, COME ON! Market adaption isn't that hard! Most people on this thread agree with this idea, you can't even spell "privilege" properly, and you have the mentality that Nintendo is daddy coming home from work bringing us a present for us to play with, and that we should be grateful and loving every bit of what we get! Nintendo isn't daddy! Nintendo is a multimillion dollar corporation that has very bad taste for what their customers desire! More NES Mini stock, an actual Animal Crossing U, not a mutilated version of Chibi-Robo!, representation for Metroid's 30th anniversary besides a Hunters rip off and Mii apparel in a smartphone game, terrible eShop pricing of course, really, I can do this all day.

For Nintendo's competitive game pricing, plenty of game directions, plenty of IP usage, and product stock, you are still wrong and many people will agree with me.

Cave Johnson, we're effing done here!

...A lot of cheap people in this section.

I think a lot of people don't realise just how good the N64 controller was/is, particularly its analog stick (if you treat it with the right level of respect).

I know now what you mean by the dead zone. I downloaded F zero X last night and noticed the dead zone immediately on Silence. And this is after the update.

The speed improvement over pal is awesome.