Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Commodore 64 Titles Join Wii's Virtual Console 197

Posted by Zonk from the you-grandpa's-videogames dept.
TechDock writes "Gamasutra reports that several Commodore 64 games will be emulated on the Wii's virtual console." From the article: "Although no specific titles were named, the only indications so far are of titles from now defunct U.S. developer Epyx, maker of the likes of Impossible Mission and the Summer/Winter/World/California Games series. Best known for their work on the 8-bit Commodore 64 home computer, Epyx also designed the prototype Lynx console for Atari as well as several of its games." I'm thinking we need Ghostbusters, Defenders of the Crown, Maniac Mansion, and (of course) Boulder Dash.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Commodore 64 Titles Join Wii's Virtual Console More

Commodore 64 Titles Join Wii's Virtual Console

Comments Filter:

  • M.U.L.E. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jennis ( 21675 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @04:47PM (#16251359)
    You can't leave this game off the wish-list of games to port.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.U.L.E [wikipedia.org]
    • MULE would be awsome for the Wii (if EA bothers to let it happen), as it has 4 controllers and MULE is great with 4 players!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jest3r ( 458429 )
        Actually an update to M.U.L.E with better graphics, online gameplay, a little more depth on resource types and land usage and NO CHANGE to the audio would be pretty good.
        • I would have no problems with updated graphics. However, adding more gameplay elements to an already damn-near perfectly balanced cutthroat game would have to be extensively playtested, IMNSHO.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by CaseyB ( 1105 )
          And combat too!

          (Mod: -1 Sad, Because it's the actual goddamn reason that M.U.L.E. wasn't remade by Dani Bunten in the '90s. Some EA fucktard wanted to add guns, and she wouldn't let them.)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by VJ42 ( 860241 )
      For some reason, the top of my list (i.e. the first game into my head) came Joust, followed by Miner 2049er. Both of which I played on my Atari, as opposed to the C64, but I kow that they were available for the C64.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by CronoCloud ( 590650 )
      Port the C64 version? MULE was released for the NES.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Tyger ( 126248 )
        Hardly a "port" either way. Both the NES and the C64 used the 65xx chip. Which is probably why C64 was easy to add to the lineup. Just need to tweak 6502 to make it 6510, and add SID and VIC support.

        Either way, the NES version wasn't as good as the C64 version. (I had them both.) But apparently the original Atari version was even better than the C64 version.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by LocalH ( 28506 )
        Too bad the NES version of MULE sucks, well, mule balls.
        • Seconded. The NES version is so much worse than the home computer versions that there's an aspect of travesty to it.

          The Dreamcast, however, has an excellent homebrew Atari 800 emulator, and with its four controller ports....

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by simcop2387 ( 703011 )
      I vote for that and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_Pigeon">P otty Pigeon!</a> one of my all time favorites ever, what more can you ask than pooping on cars from above!
    • Don't forget there was a NES port done back in the day too. The NES version probably looked better than the C64 version, I wouldn't be surprised if they used that one for the VC in this scenario.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Scoth ( 879800 )
        There is a NES version, and while it's playable it just... doesn't quite have the charm of the original Atari version I grew up playing. I'm not quite sure why; maybe it's because they made the MULEs look more like mules than camels. Maybe it's the audio. I don't know. I still play it plenty since I have an NES emu on my GB Micro, but when it comes down to it the Atari version is the one of choice for me.
  • My first major introduction to computer games was on a C64. Sure, I played cartridge games on the Vic-20, but some of my most fond memories of gaming come from the C-64. Already owning a 360, I was going to put off buying another system for a few years till they dropped in price. Now, I might be in live for the Wii when it ships. Does anyone remember the ninja game for the C-64, the one where you would find different weapons laying around, angle view playing, little black ninja, etc.etc?
    • The Last Ninja series... by good ol' System3?
      • That's it... The Last Ninja... ah, memories of many a late night spent playing that game. Thank you!

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Cybrex ( 156654 )
          You can find it online. There are a few C-64 abandonware sites around that are very good. Also, decent 64 emulators are available for just about any platform (if you're using a Mac I highly recommend Power64).
  • They have to get Little Computer People, The Sims has nothing on that classic :) Above all I would love to see Miner 2049'er and Attack of the Mutant Camels. I love old school gaming but can only take Nostalgia in small doses, howerver the price is ok and the kids will get a laugh out of seeing what daddy played when he was their age.

    • Miner 2049!!! VGA only please :)

      Oh man now that was a great game... I only ever beat it once, but probably played it about a hundred times. Great game.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ucklak ( 755284 )
      One of the cool things about the port for the Atari ST was when the dude played his piano and you had your MIDI compatible device hooked up to the onboard MIDI ports, the music he played channeled through.
      I remember leaving the computer on, eating dinner and hearing The Entertainer on my keyboard.

  • worst. idea. ever. (Score:5, Funny)

    by poot_rootbeer ( 188613 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @04:52PM (#16251439)

    The Wii is gonna be soooo failure...!!! I mean, really, who wants to have to draw out LOAD "*",8,1 in the air with that lame remote all the time???
  • I echo a previous poster's vote for M.U.L.E. The article also mentioned the Impossible Mission titles (I much preferred the first).

    I'd also like to see Forbidden Forest, the Jumpman series, and the Apshai games.

    And of course.... ADVANCE OF THE MEGA-CAMELS!!!!!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by clem ( 5683 )
      I'm hoping for Interplay's adaptation of William Gibson's Neuromancer. Loved the cyberspace battles.

  • Each Announcement (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 29, 2006 @04:54PM (#16251477)
    Every one of the virtual console announcements, on it's own, seems reasonably unimpressive but as time goes on I become more and more impressed with the system. When it was first announced as a NES/SNES/N64 emulator I thought that it was alright but nothing to write home about; after the Sega Master System/Genesis and Turbo-Graphics 16 announcment I was starting to get excited. With the C64 (and one would hope Colleco/Atari/Intellivision) announcments it seems like Nintendo is actually trying to bring the most retro-gaming together on one platform.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MikeFM ( 12491 )
      Really the backward support of old games is probably the most interesting thing about the Wii. They should really buy up all the old games wholesale and make them available for free on the Wii. Everything from Intellivision to Playstation. Heck, throw in older PC game support. If all this was available for free on the Wii I'd definitely buy one and if I owned one I'd buy new games for it.

      I'm hoping for Zork.
    • I predict Nintendo will haunt and criminally persecute all major emulation sites out there. That's the real reason behind these "virtual console" efforts: to make even legitimate uses of emulators by people who own the original machines and games a crime, so that people will have to buy the games they actually purchased back then again.

      I don't know how they'll cope with open-source emulators, though, since the code is out there in the wild...

      truth be told, it's not just Nintendo: M$ has a similar effort
      • That's the real reason behind these "virtual console" efforts: to make even legitimate uses of emulators by people who own the original machines and games a crime...

        If all it takes to turn your "legimitate use" into a crime is Nintendo offering a legal alternative, then you're outside the bounds of legal protection anyway.

        Finding ROMs that match the same version of a console game you own is hard, and copying it over is less than simple -- in fact, if you can copy an old ROM, then you're smart enough to go f

  • Good roundup of Epyx games (Score:5, Informative)

    by OakDragon ( 885217 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @05:00PM (#16251591) Journal
    A good roundup of Epyx games can be found here [arcor.de]. Lots of screenshots, ratings, and scans of old ads. (Not my site, but this topic reminded me of it.)
  • ...stay FOREVER!!!!!!

    Those words still run a chill down my spine.

    Serioursly though, this is AWESOME!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ucklak ( 755284 )
      You know, that opening was pretty damn fantastic but the let down was the end when all he says "no, no, NOOOO" and you see his big head.

      Ghostbusters was the other speaking game at the time.
      • C-64 had a lot of speaking games. There was a Barbie game that talked, for instance. There was a shooter called "Psychastria" (or something similar) that said "Tough luck, dummy" when you died. Or something like that, it was hard to make out.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Ucklak ( 755284 )
          There was also a speech synthesis program called S.A.M I think.
          I remember the syntax was something like

          say"he4lo3. ha4rh r yuu tudah4"

          for `Hello, how are you today?`

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by hords ( 619030 )
          Neuromancer (which I would love to see on the Wii) had a digitized intro, music and words. Of course it was only a short clip of the song with the limited ram.
    • It took me ages to figure out what it was saying before "stay awhile, stay FOREVER..."

      Don't forget the echoing footsteps, the whirring elevator, or of course "AIIIIIIIIIGHHHhhhhh...."

  • Defender of the Crown was ported to the GBA a few years ago. [gamespot.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sqlrob ( 173498 )
      It's also out on PS2

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Daetrin ( 576516 )
        It's also out on PS2

        Unfortunately the developers totally screwed up the new version by making it the game one big quest mode. You always have to play as Robin Hood, you always have to go through the tutorial bit at the begining, you always have to go through the rest of the story elements for the remainder of the game.

        How much extra work would it have taken to add an extra mode where you could start a strategy only game which allowed you to pick any one of the sides? I can't imagine that much, expeciall

  • I always thought that c64 games on the wii virtual console would be awesome. Though I never thought it would actually happen. Games I want:

    Alice in Wonderland
    Below the Root
    Jumpman
    Beach Head
    Montezuma's Revenge
    Labyrinth
    Zak McKracken and the Alien Mind Benders

  • C64 titles - oh yes! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by skurk ( 78980 ) * on Friday September 29, 2006 @05:10PM (#16251741) Homepage Journal
    Two words: Bloody. Brilliant.

    Just when I thought the Wii couldn't get any more attractive, they come up with this. This cute, affordable console just gets more attractive for every day that goes by. Just check out the preview videos of some of its titles [google.com].

    ..And ofcourse, the reason to choose Wii over PS3 [google.com]. I mean, hey - who wouldn't? :)

    Seriously though, all we need now is a free (or affordable) devkit and we've got ourselves a wi(i)nner.

    I can't wait. I'm getting one the minute it hits the shelves.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Leto-II ( 1509 )
      [blockquote]..And ofcourse, the reason to choose Wii over PS3. I mean, hey - who wouldn't? :)[/blockquote]

      Hilarious video. :)
  • Shouldnt all the Atari games' copyright be over by now? If thats true, we can see a cheap single DVD with the emulation and all C64 and Atari 2600 games ever produced.

    If it hasnt expired, can an expert here give us a year?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by maynard ( 3337 )
      See the wikipedia entry on US copyright law [wikipedia.org]:

      The length of the copyright term within the United States was extended by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act which made the copyright term the life of the author plus 70 years for works created after January 1, 1978. In the case of a work of corporate authorship (also known as "Work for Hire") the term will be 95 years from the date of first publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever expires first. This legislation was challenged in cou

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by LocalH ( 28506 )
        Try October 1977-January 1992. This means that some of the earliest 2600 games will enter PD long before the majority of the system's catalog, as there were three months betweem the 2600's introduction and the earliest date covered by the Bono Act.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ucklak ( 755284 )
      You can fit all of the games for the Atari 2600 on a CD (or a couple of floppies).
      Hello, just market a thumbdrive with all the games on it including the emulator.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by snuf23 ( 182335 )
      They've released Atari 2600 compilations for consoles and Windows. You can usually find them pretty cheap for example here [direct2drive.com].

      Now for Commodore 64 - nothing on the legal side I guess, but this site has been around forever:

      ftp://arnold.c64.org/pub/games/ [c64.org]
    • You think that copyrights should ever expire? Report yourself to Father^H^H^H^H^H^HHomeland Security immediately, you unamerican scum!

  • Archon [wikipedia.org] is a MUST.

  • That way, it will feel more like using a Commodore 64 when we download the games.
  • That's what I want! Along with all those other Paragon software games that involved superheroes.

  • Viva Epyx! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Xaroth ( 67516 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @06:21PM (#16252921) Homepage
    On the one hand, I desparately want to say things like "Woohoo! Jumpman, here I come!". On the other hand, I'm totally sure that Nintendo is lurking around internet forums looking for which games to port. I can just imagine the conversation:

    Nintendo Secret Ops Agent Alpha: "Oh! Some random person on the internet just said that Jumpman must be ported!"
    Nintendo Project Lead: "That's great! We'll get right on it!"
    Nintendo Secret Ops Agent Alpha: "...oh, wait. Someone else on the internet says that game sucks."
    Nintendo Project Lead: "Nevermind, then. Cancel the programming team."
  • Now let's bring in games from the following:

    Atari 2600
    Bally Astrocade
    Vectrex (simulated, of course)
    Intellivision
    Atari St
    Amiga
    MSX
    Odyessy
    Neo Geo
    Sega Master System

    And while you're at it, why not throw a PS-1 and PS2 in there. Go ahead, they won't mind.

    But, please, please! No CD-i. I don't care how possible it is. It's just not right. No one should ever seen that ... thing ... again.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by British ( 51765 )
      Yes, let's port MESS(and mame) over, put some tweaks in to make it easy to use, secure some licenses, and BAM: instant retro-library at launch.

      I'd love to be able to play classic games in the living room instead of fighting with so-so programmed emulators.
    • "But, please, please! No CD-i." Aw, how will I complete my Zelda game collection? :-(

  • Since everyone's doin it (Score:3, Interesting)

    by CrazyJim1 ( 809850 ) on Friday September 29, 2006 @10:30PM (#16255173) Journal
    Gotta give a shout out to Legacy of the Ancients and Wasteland.
  • If I want nostalgia, I can fire up an emulator and play thousands of easily obtainable C64 (or Spectrum, ST, Amiga, Amstrad, BBC, Atari, Gameboy, N64, PS, SNES) games. Or I buy something like this [amazon.com] and do the same.
  • If you don't remember that you didn't game on a 64.

  • as long as they have burger time im happy.
  • Ghosts 'n Goblins: a great arcade conversion

    Monty on the Run: Platform perfection!

    Wasteland: an RPG better than Fallout, I swear

    Ranarama: Sort of hard to describe, plus the C-64 version is just a straight port from the Spectrum 48k, but still a great game.

    Lords of Midnight and Doomdark's Revenge: The ultimate in fantasy strategy

    Ultima V: My personal favourite, also the last Ultima to appear on the C-64

    • They did make Ultima VI for the C64 - kind of a pain in the ass to play with the interface it was designed for (and the first Ultima game I would completely recommend the PC or Amiga version to play instead)
  • I used to have a c64, and I may still have it, but the c64 stopped working 10 years ago, haven't pulled out the box or looked for it at my dad's place for just as long. There was a game called Star Fox or Space Fox or something for it. It was a side scrolling game, but I don't remember much else about it. Except that you would fly through a cave which my brother and I both agreed was the moon (back when we were 4 and 6 years old, and moon experts). Anybody have any clue what I'm talking about?
  • Not only is Jumpman one of the games that could specifically be brought to Wii by this very deal (published by Epyx), it's one of the Commodore games that still holds up well today. There's thirty levels in the thing, and every damn one of them has a different challenge than the others. There are levels with robots that follow rote paths, levels with bats chasing the player around, a couple of levels that give the player a gun but remove the ability to jump, levels where picking up objects makes ladders a

Slashdot Top Deals

THEGODDESSOFTHENETHASTWISTINGFINGERSANDHERVOICEISLIKEAJAVELININTHENIGHTDUDE

Close