Revolution classics to be remakes? [Archive]

Kefkataran

06-21-2005, 12:31 PM

From 1Up (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3141582):

Nintendo is currently looking into providing some of their older games with a complete visual makeover when users download them using the Revolution's upcoming online service, according to an interview with Nintendo president Saturo Iwata in the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

"We are doing several experiments, including working with the original Super Mario Bros., with the new technology," said Iwata. "The game itself and the gameplay shall be identical, but the look will be different; it's possible that with Revolution, we may be able to see the old games with new looks."

No set plans, especially as far as whether or not these makeovers will only be for 2D NES and SNES titles or also for 3D N64 titles. More info coming in the new EGM that comes out tomorrow.

If they can pull it off without messing up any of the classic gameplay then consider me still in.

XkyRauh

06-21-2005, 02:16 PM

I'm curious if this means a "Super Mario All-Stars" style graphics enhancement, or if they're going to attempt to make these old 2d games look like the "New Super Mario Bros." on the DS, with 3d-on-2d stuff.

Either way, I hope they get some better direction with the music this time around. Using electric guitars for the World 2 map theme in SMB3 in SMAS? Ouch.

Reanimated

06-21-2005, 02:17 PM

Maybe their servers will age the games like a fine wine.

ElectricMonk

06-21-2005, 02:20 PM

well youd think they could easily 'augment' the art in an nes game so if you were playing ninja gaiden, you could play it with 32-bit artwork instead of 4

Kefkataran

06-21-2005, 02:33 PM

Either way, I hope they get some better direction with the music this time around. Using electric guitars for the World 2 map theme in SMB3 in SMAS? Ouch.

Upgrading the graphics? I'm fine with that. Messing with that classic music? Oh hell no! Let's hope they keep that the same.

Also, let's hope they don't use the "But it's a remake!" excuse to bump up prices on the game. I'm still saying anything more than $10 for SNES or older and I'm not paying.

carneconcarne

06-21-2005, 02:35 PM

good point about the price kefka, I really hope these games are priced cheaply. Let's face it, I expect a lot more gameplay and content out of $20 today than I did 10 years ago.

fitbabits

06-21-2005, 02:36 PM

Mr_Snuffle

06-21-2005, 02:39 PM

Striiiiiiike three! In my opinion, that officially counts Nintendo out of the next gen reckoning. I simply dont want to play ages-old games on new hardware, no matter how fun the originals are. If I want to play an original NES game, I'll bust out my NES and fire up the game - simple as that.

That's all well and good, but most other people don't have NES, and they are increasingly difficult to get, along with the games.

You have a NES, good for you, there are plenty of people that don't.

Xaerin

06-21-2005, 02:39 PM

Remaking old games, does nintendo do ANYTHING else?!
/generalisation

fitbabits

06-21-2005, 02:50 PM

That's all well and good, but most other people don't have NES, and they are increasingly difficult to get, along with the games.

You have a NES, good for you, there are plenty of people that don't.

I don't disagree that some people do not have an NES, but the point remains that Nintendo remakes are fast becoming as ubiquitous as reality television shows.

A bunch of remakes have already been done on Game Boy, Game Boy Advance/SP and the DS. How many more options and/or consoles does one need to buy the same game?

fitbabits

06-21-2005, 02:55 PM

Remaking old games, does nintendo do ANYTHING else?!

It would appear not. Or, at the very least, they seem more focused on remakes than original content.

Stryfe01

06-21-2005, 02:58 PM

Maybe their servers will age the games like a fine wine.

maybe they've been hanging out with Kenny K. too much.

AspectVoid

06-21-2005, 03:09 PM

For me, it's still gonna depend on other things, like will games from the NES/SNES era that never saw the light of day in the US finally make it over here? And for that matter, exactly how much are they going to charge. Personally, I probably wouldn't pay more then 2 or 3 dollars for an NES or SNES game.

Kamalot

06-21-2005, 03:13 PM

...will games from the NES/SNES era that never saw the light of day in the US finally make it over here?
Well, they did mention Earthbound in their press release at E3. There is a good chance that previous Japan-only games will make it over here.

I'm all for updating the graphics as long as the original versions are available as well.

Note that it takes a miniscule amount of time to create a few new sprites for older games compared to creating a new 3D epic title. In the time it takes your texture artist to skin an antire level of a new 3D title, complete with bump and normal mapping, another person could have re-skinned a dozen old Nintendo titles.

Mr_Snuffle

06-21-2005, 03:25 PM

I don't disagree that some people do not have an NES, but the point remains that Nintendo remakes are fast becoming as ubiquitous as reality television shows.

A bunch of remakes have already been done on Game Boy, Game Boy Advance/SP and the DS. How many more options and/or consoles does one need to buy the same game?

But... what? That point doesn't remain because you never mentioned it in the post that I quoted, nor was it implied. Please don't look as though you are countering my point by adding a completely unrelated one.

Furious Wang

06-21-2005, 03:42 PM

Maybe their servers will age the games like a fine wine.

That never gets old.

And yes folks, you better believe they're gonna be charging extra for these remakes. That's why they're doing it. Expect all those popular games (you know, the ones that will be selling the most) to get this treatment.

Stryfe01

06-21-2005, 03:44 PM

I would never pay $2-3....I can pick up cartridges for that much. i'd pay $1, and i dont need any re-envisioning. Gimme my classics, and the ones i missed. releasing the ones that that they never released stateside and vice versa, yeah i'd pay more than a buck for those. Still i'll need more than retro to convince me to buy a "Revolution". I think Nintendo really is letting the suspense of what the real "revolution" will be go on too long. Only because now it's become the butt of jokes instead of insight on what possibly could be the next revolutionary aspect of gaming. Really the only thing that could truly be considered revoluionary would be completely wireless, "controller" free gameplay. Let me be the character without losing all the functionality that a handheld controller provides.

Heretic Machine

06-21-2005, 03:54 PM

I'm fine with remakes on the Revolution. But I'm not paying for them. Not when I could just go online and get a ROM if I really wanted to play it. These things have gone into the realms of Abandonware, and bringing something back from Abandonware is just stupid.

Kamalot

06-21-2005, 04:02 PM

thecrazyd

06-21-2005, 04:04 PM

If they are selling it, it is not abandonware. Do not justify your pirating by blaming Nintendo.

*Edit - Err... what he said. Fast Mother Fucker

mkelehan

06-21-2005, 04:05 PM

My guess is we'll be able to choose at start-up whether we want to play the original or remixed versions, like with Game and Watch Gallery, for more popular games, while less popular games will only be available in classic form.

KDups

06-21-2005, 04:19 PM

Strike three? More focused on remakes than new content? What are you talking about man? If you don't want to buy classic games then don't buy them. Many people probably will. This is hardly even a new feature annoucement, just new info about something they announced at E3. Why it "officially" counts them out I have no clue.

And last I checked Nintendo had quite a few games in development for GBA, DS, GC, and I'm sure the Rev.

Orphiuchus

06-21-2005, 04:26 PM

They said it would be free, then that it wouldn't, now they say they will be remakes anyway. Yea, I'll wait until I see it.

Chandler

06-21-2005, 04:32 PM

someone should remake megaman 1-6 with mp3 trance and techno music...using the same classical beats. id dig that ..sparkman and metal man music 4 lyfe

Blade

06-21-2005, 04:34 PM

It's definitely a truism that "Nintendo should focus on tomorrow's games, not yesterday's"..

Seriously, if you can bring those old classics back for new audiences.. that's great.

Just don't make them the focus of your new $300 console. They had their heyday already.

Savok

06-21-2005, 05:43 PM

It is only abandonware if someone has abandoned it. Nintendo never abanadoned their games, did they?

Silly boy, it's abandonware if we want it to be, that's how the Internet works.

Also Nintendo never said they would be free, that was a lie made up by the Internet.

I just hope they leave the original 8-Bit and 16-Bit versions as an option. Also make the soundtracks available.

Kefkataran

06-21-2005, 06:17 PM

I just hope they leave the original 8-Bit and 16-Bit versions as an option. Also make the soundtracks available.

Very good suggestion. I hope the Big N is listening.

if76

06-21-2005, 06:24 PM

I would be a lot more excited if instead of making the graphics better how about some new levels. Who wouldn't love to see new worlds in Super Mario 3, Mario World or Yoshi's Island. A few new dungeons in Link to the Past would be awesome too.

Apparently upgrading the graphics is a lot easier than making new levels. Just ask Rare.

KDups

06-21-2005, 06:26 PM

I just hope they leave the original 8-Bit and 16-Bit versions as an option. Also make the soundtracks available.

The Mega Man Anniversary Collection had remixed music for every game on the disc. They also allowed you to play either the original tunes or the remixed ones. It was a nice touch.

mister_slim

06-21-2005, 07:03 PM

I'm really enjoying watching people digging for reasons to dislike Nintendo. I wish you all could be a bit more creative though.

fitbabits

06-21-2005, 07:07 PM

But... what? That point doesn't remain because you never mentioned it in the post that I quoted, nor was it implied. Please don't look as though you are countering my point by adding a completely unrelated one.

Okay then, the fact remains...

fitbabits

06-21-2005, 07:10 PM

I'm really enjoying watching people digging for reasons to dislike Nintendo. I wish you all could be a bit more creative though.

No digging needed - Nintendo have given me plenty of reasons of late to lead me to think that they have no idea what they're planning for the Revolution (other than milking their admittedly fantastic back catalog).

Nessus

06-21-2005, 08:15 PM

I HATE that Nintendo is offering an optional additional service via their online strategy. I HATE having options.

Kamalot

06-21-2005, 08:23 PM

Apparently upgrading the graphics is a lot easier than making new levels. Just ask Rare.

That's right! Conker's Bad Fur day. Remaking the old game with new graphics STILL took Rare the same amount of time it takes another developer to create 3 whole games!

Rare - What a boat anchor!

Heretic Machine

06-21-2005, 08:35 PM

I'm really enjoying watching people digging for reasons to dislike Nintendo. I wish you all could be a bit more creative though.

No, I'm digging for reasons to like Nintendo, the shit just keeps falling in around me. Of course, this could have something to do with me not playing either Animal Crossing or Smash Brothers on my DS right now. That could have a lot to do with it actually.

Anyhow, as far as I'm concerned, something is Abandonware if you've stopped selling/producing the title for at least two years. It's done. Besides that, these games aren't worth paying more than a $1 for and most of their core audience (Nintendo fans) already own them. Go see how much a NES cart costs you at Funcoland or something, it's not gonna be much. I think it's safe to assume Nintendo would charge more than $5 for them if they do bother assigning a fee.

Chris_D

06-21-2005, 08:45 PM

I would expect from Nintendo exactly what current emulation software delivers. The option to scale up N64 games to resolution desired and add some modern filtering (hardware or software) to make it look pretty. Similarly have some of the filtering options for Snes stuff so the graphics don't look so pixelated. This makes a world of difference and doesn't need to be game specific. Add that to a high quality connection to your display (as opposed to RF or whatever you used to use) and these old games will look great.

To me, going back and hacking in new graphics etc. is complete waste of time and the average person who is interested in playing these older games would rather just play the original in the best form possible.

IndependentGMR

06-21-2005, 09:41 PM

I don't understand what the problem is. Nintendo is offering a completely optional service, which is pretty cool, and yet people continue to bitch. Im sure revamping their older games are going to draw a massive amount of man power away from new products (sarcasm). If you don't like it, don't buy it. It's as simple as that.

Chris_D

06-21-2005, 10:05 PM

Hellstorm

06-21-2005, 10:11 PM

C'mon Nintendo, Daddy needs a downloadable version of Sin and Punishment at launch!!

Blue

06-21-2005, 10:43 PM

I suppose I can't full-out complain as I don't have to take advantage of whatever it is Nintendo is choosing to offer with the Revolution. It's also not that big a deal that the core gameplay will remain the same with some tweaks and some visual paint here and there even though part of the charm is in the graphics. I would much rather have the opportunity to choose which version I want to play rather that have to pick up the thing Nintendo decided to tinker with. True, I don't have to play either, but if I have a hankering for some old-school Mario (as my nephew now has the NES), I would rather pick it up on the Rev rather than mess with getting the Emulator and then the ROM. Bit of a hassle.

I can't help but think of how frustrating it is when Lucas won't release the original Star Wars trilogy as it was first shot. We're forced to pick the version he wants to give us - and the version none of us grew up with - rather than allowing us to decide for ourselves what we'd like to see. Sure it's his, but if he didn't want to unleash it on the masses, Star Wars shouldn't have been made in the first place. Maybe I'm stretching here, but it's the only way I can best explain my frustrations with Nintendo in their decision to keep messing with stuff. Metroid doesn't need a new paint job. It's Metroid. Sometimes, stuff is great the first time around.

Savok

06-22-2005, 12:07 AM

I think the problem is that if they are going to spend time updating old games it may mean:
a) The original versions won't be available at all.
b) The updated versions will cost more than the orginal versions would have and most probably only want the original versions anyway.
c) Yes it does take time away from new products, or even old products! What would you rather have, 5 remade snes games available or 100 snes games available in their original form?

Plenty to bitch about ...

d) They get a pile of apprentice artists to cut their teeth on reworking the old graphics, once done they get promoted into new teams expanding Nnitendo's software development capability with new and trained talent.

Opty

06-22-2005, 01:31 AM

If they make it so the multiplayer works over the internet for whatever games they rennovate, then I'm golden.

Chris_D

06-22-2005, 03:17 AM

d) They get a pile of apprentice artists to cut their teeth on reworking the old graphics, once done they get promoted into new teams expanding Nnitendo's software development capability with new and trained talent.

Great, n00bs screwing around with my favourite games that don't need fixing :p.

Dracula-X

06-22-2005, 03:48 AM

I'd prefer the pixelated original Snes graphics myself. Don't care for them to be redone or filtered.

Kefkataran

06-22-2005, 06:09 AM

I think the problem is that if they are going to spend time updating old games it may mean:
a) The original versions won't be available at all.
b) The updated versions will cost more than the orginal versions would have and most probably only want the original versions anyway.
c) Yes it does take time away from new products, or even old products! What would you rather have, 5 remade snes games available or 100 snes games available in their original form?

Plenty to bitch about ...

Of course that's all only speculation at this point. I think some of it seems likely, but we can't really go all-out with complaints until we know some of this for sure, which likely won't be for at least a few months.

If they make it so the multiplayer works over the internet for whatever games they rennovate, then I'm golden.

Oooh... that would be interesting... SNES Mario Kart with 'net? Sign me up.

Kamalot

06-22-2005, 06:45 AM

You know, they could also enhance the graphics of N64 games. I've seen some of the high-resolution texture packs people are running with N64 emulators and it is damn sweet. You may get re-textured versions of F-Zero, Zelda or Mario64, as options of course.

Morratut

06-22-2005, 08:24 AM

God i am so not intrested in this feature.

If the Resident Evil series is Nintendo only next generation i'll fucking scream. :mad:

Kamalot

06-22-2005, 09:09 AM

God i am so not intrested in this feature.

If the Resident Evil series is Nintendo only next generation i'll fucking scream. :mad:

Well, good thing this feature is only an option, one you don't have to choose. Not interested in classic games? Fine. Don't download them. People bitching about the option to play old games are like people who bitch about the ability to use 4 controller ports.

*Damn 4 controller ports! Games that require me to have friends?! Bastards!*

And Resident Evil isn't Nintendo olny. PS2 owners get the awesome Outbreak (http://www.gametab.com/ps2/resident.evil.outbreak.file.2/3885/) series of games that you can play ONLINE! Woo-Hoo, right?!

I also read thet Resident Evil 4 is coming to the PS2 at some point in the future. Granted, most people who want it have picked up a $60 used cube to play it on but hey, those that feel compelled to use the Dual Shock will get their time eventually.

Kefkataran

06-22-2005, 09:18 AM

I also read thet Resident Evil 4 is coming to the PS2 at some point in the future. Granted, most people who want it have picked up a $60 used cube to play it on but hey, those that feel compelled to use the Dual Shock will get their time eventually.

yeah, it is coming to PS2. Soonish, I think.