PSA: Earthbound now available on WiiU Virtual Console

[tpugmire]

So, who's planning on buying this?

[scott]

I would, if I had a Wii U!

[exonerator]

oh god, not here too


I'm sorry for ranting, but the hype for this is ridiculous. It's just a digital download of an 18 year old game which can be emulated on literally almost any platform, why not just buy New Super Luigi U on disc next month instead of supporting a shite service like Virtual Console. Or just use that money and save up for a legitimate SNES copy of EarthBound, which is probably going to lower in price due to everyone flocking over this shit. I mean $10 isn't bad at all, don't get me wrong, but I just don't agree with digital downloads at all. Like, I might as well just emulate it. And yes, I know that owning the game > emulating (especially around these parts), but this is a digital download, so who cares? It's not a tangible thing, so why bother? I would figure and hope that someone would have brought up my points on a site dedicated to collecting games, but I guess not. I have a feeling foxhack is going to tear me a new ass about this because of my opinions on digital downloads (love you anyways ), but hey, a man can rant I guess.

[tpugmire]

Rant on, man. I feel much the same as you about digital downloads, but this is kind of a big deal for some. It's a popular game that is in short supply, and now it's widely available. I'm not buying it because I already own a copy, but this is a great way to expose the game to newer gamers, and those who want to play it but find it cost prohibitive to do so. Plus, I hope that if Nintendo sees the demand, they will finally give us English versions of the other Mother games.

[turf]

Rant on, man. I feel much the same as you about digital downloads, but this is kind of a big deal for some. It's a popular game that is in short supply, and now it's widely available. I'm not buying it because I already own a copy, but this is a great way to expose the game to newer gamers, and those who want to play it but find it cost prohibitive to do so. Plus, I hope that if Nintendo sees the demand, they will finally give us English versions of the other Mother games.

What that guy said!  I think I'll actually buy it though.  I can play it on the GamePad while other folks do other stuff on the TV

For what it's worth, Digital Downloads on the WiiU can be played offline.  It's not like XBLA.  You actually do own the game on your WiiU

[haloofthesun]

oh god, not here too


I'm sorry for ranting, but the hype for this is ridiculous. It's just a digital download of an 18 year old game which can be emulated on literally almost any platform, why not just buy New Super Luigi U on disc next month instead of supporting a shite service like Virtual Console. Or just use that money and save up for a legitimate SNES copy of EarthBound, which is probably going to lower in price due to everyone flocking over this shit. I mean $10 isn't bad at all, don't get me wrong, but I just don't agree with digital downloads at all. Like, I might as well just emulate it. And yes, I know that owning the game > emulating (especially around these parts), but this is a digital download, so who cares? It's not a tangible thing, so why bother? I would figure and hope that someone would have brought up my points on a site dedicated to collecting games, but I guess not. I have a feeling foxhack is going to tear me a new ass about this because of my opinions on digital downloads (love you anyways ), but hey, a man can rant I guess.

Prices have already been lowering for it. It's not hard to find just the cart for under $200 anymore. I took a look on ebay the other day because I was considering getting it and I saw one that was selling for $140. Still too much money, but much better than it used to be. However, I didn't pick one up because Earthbound really isn't a very good game so I can't justify it to myself to spend that much money on it - yet.

Also I share your opinion on digital games. I really hate that it's a growing trend.

[scott]

Way to brutally murder the thread there Exo. 

[pacpix]

Where is Foxhack?  I want to watch an Internet fight!

[mkarasch]

From the PC side:
I think digital done right is wonderful.  I can't tell you how many systems I've downloaded and installed WoW or Counter-strike, never worrying about disks or keys or updates/patches whatever.  I've got some friends who are really into the slightly older Command and Conquer games (Generals, CnC3, etc)  and trying to get a version that installs correctly, and can play on the lan, and the internet, and everyone is patched to the same version: it's a real hassle.

Yes, I am placing a lot of trust in Valve to not decide that I don't own those games anymore.  Partly because it's Valve, and it seems like they are a pretty decent company, as companies go.  Also track record.  I have Half-life in steam, which I bought over a decade ago, and it's still there, ready for me to download, like, whenever.  In this case, for me, that risk is worth the convenience trade-off.

That being said, I'm still REALLY hesitant to buy digital games through a console.  I don't know if it is just a trust issue with MS/Sony/Nintendo, but I don't feel like those games are going to be available to me on another console/iteration/etc.  Maybe that's hypocritical.

[foxhack]

That being said, I'm still REALLY hesitant to buy digital games through a console.  I don't know if it is just a trust issue with MS/Sony/Nintendo, but I don't feel like those games are going to be available to me on another console/iteration/etc.  Maybe that's hypocritical.

You're not.

I wouldn't buy Earthbound as a digital download until Nintendo gets its act together and ties all your digital game purchases to your account, not to the hardware, so you can just get another Wii, sign in, and have all your games readily available, without all the BS.

MS and Sony have it mostly right. Your games are tied to your account. But the software isn't compatible across all their consoles, but that's not their fault entirely. The PS3/PS4 and 360/Xbone have different operating systems and CPUs, so the games will be natively incompatible unless they release update patches later on, which would be pretty awesome, but might not happen with many of the games because they were developed by companies that no longer exist. Emulation may also not be feasible because of the previous gen's hardware power. I also said mostly because you can't download some games on the 360 anymore, and you can't transfer stuff from a PS3 hard drive to another if your system kicks the bucket.)

exo: You don't like digital games? Okay. Your call. I'm not gonna fight you over that.

[sin2beta]

I would totally buy this as a digital download. If for no other reason than to vote with your wallet. I was a huge Earthbound fan a good decade ago. We were clamoring for Mother 3 to be brought over. I always wanted Mother to be brought over. But we never got them. Digital downloads might be our best bet. I know it's doubtful. But I want Earthbound to sell insanely well on virtual console so maybe... just maybe... they will bring Mother and Mother 3 to virtual console.

I usually am a big fan of buying the actual copy over digital. But not when the only option available is the 2nd game in a series. Buying the actual copy is to have a connection with the past and the game in its original form. There's something about the lack of localization that makes me feel we can't experience Earthbound the way it was meant to be experienced. We're missing 67% of it.

So, buy it to experience it. Virtual console is what? 8 bucks? Earthbound is worth 8 bucks!

[teck]

Prices have already been lowering for it. It's not hard to find just the cart for under $200 anymore. I took a look on ebay the other day because I was considering getting it and I saw one that was selling for $140. Still too much money, but much better than it used to be. However, I didn't pick one up because Earthbound really isn't a very good game so I can't justify it to myself to spend that much money on it - yet.

Also I share your opinion on digital games. I really hate that it's a growing trend.

I think the more important point is the gross over value of the cartridge....  It is rare, don't get me wrong....  It is a good game, don't get me wrong....  However, I sold 9 copies of this game at my store last year....  Which means I bought a copy for my store 9 times....  In comparison I bought 1 Wild Guns, 1 Hagane, 0 Aero Fighters, 2 Dracula X, and 3 Mega Man X 3....  Somethings I do not understand, and I don't feel the demand for Earthbound properly reflects the price on a local market at least....