Holy Shit a new Virtual Console release on Wii! Also, Hulu Plus
Our long national nightmare is over today, as Capcom and Nintendo have combined their powers to form Captain Planetbring the arcadeSega Genesis version of Strider to the Virtual Console, ending a multi-month drought of retro releases for those Nintendo fans who are waiting for a hardware revision before picking up a 3DS (*cough*.) The last VC release on Wii in North America, if I recall correctly, was Super Adventure Island II (EDIT: It was The Ignition Factor, but I was close!) back in August (Europe’s had a couple of recent releases these past few weeks, breaking an even longer drought for them.) Strider will set you back 800 points, which isn’t too bad, unless you already have the Capcom collections on the PS2/Xbox/PSP. Then it’s ludicrous! LUDICROUS!
Also, the NES classic Super Mario Bros. is now out on the 3DS Virtual Console for plebeian non-Ambassadors, at a price of $4.99, a whole cent cheaper than on the Wii. This release was anticipated, as earlier this week people with ambassador systems noted that there was an update for the game that added the full-featured interface Nintendo had promised. Care to give more info on how that looks and works, Ray?
Less retro news below.
Finally (as far as I care), the surprise announcement and availability of Hulu Plus on Wii came today. Like Netflix, it’s a free downloadable application that lets existing subscribers use their Wii systems to stream Hulu Plus content to their TVs in up to glorious 480p. Unlike Netflix, Hulu Plus has ad breaks during TV shows- and possibly movies, I haven’t checked, except I know the Criterion Collection movies run without ads. They still aren’t as long or annoying as on cable. There’s a two week free trial available if you sign up via Wii, though, double their usual offer. Like Netflix, it’s $7.99/month.
Oh wait the Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D demo is also out for 3DS. Someone tell me if it sucks, thanks.
Nintendo’s full press release is here.
Comments
I think I might actually have to download Strider since I’ve only ever played the NES version and this one is supposed to be pretty good?
I haven’t redownloaded SMB yet because last I heard, the update hadn’t made it stateside yet so I’ll have to look into that tonight.
Also, wooot to free demos! I’m gonna be busy when I get home!
Strider for the Genesis is a pretty good port of the arcade version, yeah. The controls/movement can take some getting used to in both but they’re part of what makes it unique. I don’t know if it’s really worth 8 dollars, though- I should edit that bit.
Sega published and ported the Genesis version themselves, as they did with a few other Capcom games under license, and actually created an original sequel to Strider. Apparently it was terrible. Capcom later made their own Strider 2 for the arcade and PS1, with sprites against 3D backgrounds, and it looks pretty cool.