Arcade emulation on the VC

[iNma]

Since the Wii is powerful enough to emulate the Neo-Geo, what about other arcade machines? Particularly thinking of Capcom's CPS1, CPS2 and possibly the CPS3 as well; but it needn't stop there, there were a bunch of systems, from Sega, Taito and others that birthed often inferior home ports.

It would be immense to have actual arcade ports of games like Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Gunbird 2, Captain Commando, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs etc. on the VC. Technically, there is surely no reason it can't be done, though it would be stretching the definition of 'console' to breaking point. Having said that, it would still be true to Ninty's mantra of keeping the games as they were, no added frills. What would you rather have: cut-down conversions of these games for underpowered consoles (SNES SFII and Final Fight, I'm looking at you) with a few extra modes, or the original games in all their lean glory?

They would likely cost more, but the majority of these games are now dormant, only occasionally tossed into arcade compilations for the PSP and PS2. Why not the VC, then?

Chiki Chiki Boys, Super Pang, X-Men: Children of the Atom, 19XX, Mars Matrix, Strider, Dungeons and Dragons, and rare stuff that was never given a chance, like Daraku Tenshi....... to me, that would be heaven

EDIT: Wii Virtual Arcade, anyone?

[DivineOmega]

Oh no. Does this mean I have to rename the forums again!?

Seriously though.. it's a good idea. Since WiiConnect24 can update the console it is theoretically possible to emulate any system whose emulation software does not exceed the technical specification of the Wii itself. So, your heaven is certainly feasible.

[Taint Smack]

Sure it's possible, but will they do it? Probably not.

[DivineOmega]

Yup. That's the issue. There is licensing to consider as well. I suppose that can be very expensive for the classics.

[iNma]

I'm sure arcade games will be subject to the same licensing issues as the console games, Goldeneye being one example. Even if we exclude the licenced games from the equation, there is plenty of classic original IP from which to milk profit. Given the fact that the Wii has now proven itself as a platform (somewhat tentatively, perhaps, but the opportunity to make money is certainly there if 6 million units are already installed), it isn't unfeasible to think developers and publishers might consider this a boon.

Nintendo itself remains the unknown quantity, as far as I'm concerned, given its historically tight reins on software releases on its platforms. But since XBLA has such stringent licensing requirements, the Wii might actually turn out to be a developer's safe haven. Here's hoping.

[kelvingreen]

I'd be up for four-player Gauntlet!

[link64]

I dont think nintendo is going to add arcade support to the virtual console since a lot of the arcade games are on one of the virtual consoles.

I think the only arcade games you are going to get are the neo geo releases.

[kelvingreen]

Yes, arcade conversions were huge back in the days of the Virtual Console machines (and Sega, Nintendo and Hudson produced most of the top coin-ops anyway), so we'll see home console versions before arcade versions.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by kelvingreen

I'd be up for four-player Gauntlet!

Me too! Give me the arcade version of Gauntlet Dark Legacy with wi-fi! One can dream, right?