How might the game download service work? An official survey may offer new insight

[inter]

An official survey conducted for Nintendo of America by marketing company Zanthus may shed new light on Revolution's "Virtual Console" concept. The website www.classicgamer.com took part in the online questionnaire, which offered a more in-depth look at the game download system for Nintendo's next-generation console than has previously been seen. The survey even featured mocked-up artwork representing how the graphical user interface for the process may look and function. The concepts below are by no means final, but nevertheless Zanthus prepared these materials based on direction from Nintendo of America and therefore they should not be discounted.

The survey featured eight different mock-ups, each showing different features of Revolution's "Virtual Console" setup. The questionnaire began at a mocked-up Revolution homepage - possibly the same destination retrieved when gamers press the still-mysterious "home" button on the console's controller. Located on this hub menu are four options, including Settings, Memory Cards, Parental Controls and - the focus of this article - Virtual Console.

For those who haven't been following Nintendo's new platform, the concept of the "virtual console" describes Revolution's game download service. The Big N's highest-ranking executives have publicly stated that Revolution will not only be able to wirelessly connect online, but that players will also be able to directly download some of their favorite NES, S-NES and N64 classics. The specifics of this service have up until this survey remained completely speculative.

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revol...237898-000.jpg

According to the enclosed mock-ups, once the "Virtual Console" option has been selected, Revolution owners are asked to choose a system for its corresponding games. NES, S-NES and N64 are the available options, which is appropriate since GameCube titles cannot be downloaded via this service; Revolution is able to play GCN software, but gamers must first own the original discs. Users seeking to download and play the classic Kid Icarus would obviously select the NES option, just as those hoping to get their hands on Pilot Wings 64 would go with the N64 icon.

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revol...248881-000.jpg

Once a console is selected, a catalog of software presumably becomes available - at least, based on what we can ascertain from the enclosed mock-ups. From here, users have the freedom to browse the catalog and either buy or rent software. We expect that if Revolution owners rent software, they are able to download it for a pre-specified time before it expires and is no longer functional. In contrast, if they choose to buy it, it is stored permanently in their "My Library" folder, which is also shown in concepts. Based on these mock-ups the system may utilize a point structure similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live architecture. Once a game has been rented, purchased and downloaded, it is fully emulated and playable in its entirety.

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revol...259615-000.jpg

Evidently the study highlighted three different pricing structures. The first was a subscription based package that would enable users to rent and play any game they wanted for $14.99 per month. Meanwhile, NES titles were listed for approximately $2.99 and N64 titles for a more expensive $19.99. These numbers are naturally neither finalized nor confirmed by Nintendo itself.

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revol...312723-000.jpg

http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revol...325191-000.jpg

The most interesting part of this questionnaire -- aside from possible prices -- is that Zanthus also included a list of preliminary software that is likely to be made available on Revolution's "virtual console" system early on. We've featured the list, which boasts everything from the original Metroid to the never-released-in-the-states Sin & Punishment for Nintendo 64. Check it out. If, after reading it, you're still not excited, you've got much more self control than we do.

NES Games

* Balloon Fight
* Baseball
* Donkey Kong
* Donkey Kong Jr.
* Dr. Mario
* Duck Hunt
* Excitebike
* Hogan's Alley
* Ice Climber
* Ice Hockey
* Kid Icarus
* Kirby
* Kung Fu
* Mario Bros.
* Mario Open Golf
* Metroid
* Pinball
* Pro Wrestling
* Punch Out
* RC Pro AM
* Soccer
* Super Mario Bros.
* Super Mario Bros. 2
* Super Mario Bros. 3
* Tennis
* Tetris
* Urban Champion
* Volleyball
* Wario's Woods
* Yoshi's Cookies
* Zelda
* Zelda (Adventure of Link)

S-NES Games

* Battle Clash
* Donkey Kong Country
* Donkey Kong Country 2
* Earthbound
* F-Zero
* Illusion of Gaia
* Killer Instinct
* Kirby's Avalanche
* Kirby Dream Course
* Kirby Super Star
* Kirby 3
* Pilot Wings
* Sim City
* Star Fox
* Stunt Race FX
* Super Mario Kart
* Super Mario RPG
* Super Mario World
* Super Metroid
* Super Play Action Football
* Super Scope 6
* Super Soccer
* Super Tennis
* Tetris Attack
* Tetris 2
* Uniracers
* Vegas Stakes
* Wario's Woods
* Yoshi's Hunting
* Yoshi's Island
* Zelda

N64 Games

* 1080
* Blast Corps
* Bomberman 64
* Cruisin' USA
* Goldeneye
* Mario Golf 64
* Mario Party 3
* Mario Tennis 64
* Ogre Battle 64
* Paper Mario
* Pilot Wings 64
* Pokemon Snap
* Sin & Punishment
* Star Fox 64
* Super Mario 64
* Wave Race
* Yoshi's Story
* Zelda

We attempted to take part in the survey, too, but were promptly denied access. After contacting Zanuth and requesting entry to the questionnaire, the company's founder and CEO, David Edwards, explained that it was a private study and never intended for press.

"Thanks for your inquiry about participating in our survey on the Nintendo Revolution's 'Virtual Console' service. I'm sorry to inform you, however, that this survey is intended for a general gaming audience rather than industry professionals," he stated. "In addition, our agreement with Nintendo stipulates that the content of this and other, similar surveys can't be released to the press. This agreement extends to our survey respondents. It is unfortunate some survey respondents have broken their agreement with us by posting select research stimuli."

Edwards also reinforced to us that all mock-ups contained within the survey are unfinished and do not necessarily represent the interface for Revolution's virtual console. "Please note that these materials are preliminary in nature and as such, subject to change," he said.

"Nintendo is considering a variety of options for the virtual console service for our next console, code-named Revolution, although details have not been announced at this time," Nintendo of America said in a statement today. "In our normal course of business, Nintendo conducts consumer research for many of our products with information and imagery that do not represent actual product specifics."

Nintendo is expected to reveal much more about its still-codenamed Revolution console, including details about its virtual console functionality, at this May's Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

SOURCE: IGN

[DeFJaM]

cool cheers for the info

[MORSN417]

i was wondering how that was guuna work

[inter]

yeah thats pretty much the basics of how it will work.

[~Felly~]

Sweet! I'm gonna get me Paper Mario... I haven't played it in ages... Anyway, thanks for the info, inter.

[Nova]

im gonna get that. gonna get killer instinct.. my first video game ever

[inter]

haha killler instinct was awesum, i had it on SNES

[teh33]

sweet. I probably woun't download any of the games if I get one. But if I do I don't know what games I'd get. I would get earthbound if they had it becuase of SSBM. I want to try Dr. Mario btu i dont' know what it's like. Maybe Ice Climber. What's Super Mario RPG? Never heard of it.

[inter]

like paper mario

[Vipershark]

Originally Posted by teh33

sweet. I probably woun't download any of the games if I get one. But if I do I don't know what games I'd get. I would get earthbound if they had it becuase of SSBM. I want to try Dr. Mario btu i dont' know what it's like. Maybe Ice Climber. What's Super Mario RPG? Never heard of it.

Dr. Mario's a puzzle game... it's kind of like tetris. SMRPG is like Paper Mario.

I wish you didn't have to buy the games to have them on your system.....

[teh33]

Originally Posted by Vipershark

SMRPG is like Paper Mario.

I wish you didn't have to buy the games to have them on your system.....

Yeah that sucks. How do you pay anyway? So tell me about Paper Mario.

[Vipershark]

Paper Mario is an RPG game. All of the characters are flat. (Hence the name "Paper" Mario.) It's cool.

[Deadpool]

Thats gonna be sweet.