GDC 06: Revolution to play Genesis, TurboGrafx games

Next-gen Nintendo console's game-download service will span not just decades but former competitors' classic systems.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Everything old is new again. You only have to look at the success of Xbox Live Arcade to know that while gamers are demanding the hottest graphics and the latest innovations from their next-gen hardware, they also relish the opportunity to travel down memory lane--and they're willing to pay for that chance.

Nintendo knows this. The company announced at E3 last year that its forthcoming Revolution would help scratch the nostalgic itch with a "virtual console" that will let users download and play potentially hundreds of games from the company's back catalog, spanning all of its older systems--the Nintendo 64, SNES, and the hallowed NES.

At its GDC keynote this morning, Nintendo unveiled plans to flesh out the Revolution's classic-game lineup even beyond its own storied library. Today during his keynote speech at the 2006 Game Developers Conference, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that two former hardware rivals--Sega and Hudson--will make sizable chunks of their own back catalog available for download on the Revolution.

According to Nintendo, over 1,000 games for Sega's Genesis console, released in 1989, will be added to the Revolution's library. Joining them will be an undisclosed number of titles from the Hudson's TurboGrafx console, also released in 1989 and codeveloped by electronics giant NEC. Though no specific titles were mentioned, Nintendo said it is taking a "best of" approach in selecting which games will come to the Revolution.

426 Comments

  • sanatori

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 8:52 am GMT

    What wrong with paying a few bucks for some old games? I used to have every console out from the NES and Megadrive on up. Now that I'm 20 years older, I don't have the time (and my wife says the space) to track down every single older console just to play the handful of games I loved on each. Neutopia and Military Madness here, Phantasy Star III or Super Dodgeball there... I'd rather have it all in one place and in one console. It's worth it for the convenience and space-saving if nothing else. Roms are fine and good but I'd much rather play them on a 53 inch rather than 17 and not have to move my rig about the house. Veigues Tactical Gladiator, here I come!

  • Turisman4

    Posted Sep 18, 2006 5:48 pm GMT

    See, now I really don't want to buy a PS3. I'd rather buy a Wii and all the old games I forgot to buy in the early 90's, like Goldeneye N64 and Sonic 3.

  • Vicious-RedDrag

    Posted May 22, 2006 10:40 pm GMT

    With turbografx game downloads,that could only mean.....Dracula X Rondo of Blood!!!!

    I can finally play it with the Wii!!!!!!!

  • truplaya111

    Posted Apr 4, 2006 11:49 am GMT

    2 Games

    Street fighter and Golden Axe

    ^^Prepare for them to ruin your social life^^

  • Silver_Crow

    Posted Apr 2, 2006 9:15 am GMT

    Es exelente, noticias como esta se deberian dar a conocer mas a menudo, ya que dejan de buen animo a mucha gente, los nostalgicos juegos del Genesis, estaran de vuelta en una consola y no en un disco de compilación. Sin duda alguna esto le suma muchos mas puntos a la nueva de Nintendo, ya que si bien, los jugadores casuales no le prestarán importancia a esta noticia, muchos Hardcore-Gamers, estaran muy felicas de compartir con los amigos tan agraciada buena noticia. Ademas el control facilitara y nos traera buenos recuerdos al ser tan parecido al control original.
    Oportunidades como estas no se deberian desaprovechar, ya que nunca tendremos, (por lo menos en un par de años) tantos juegos y consolas en 1 sola "Revolucionaria" maquina de entretenimiento.

  • evilluigilord

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 10:17 pm GMT

    Awesome!!!

  • xEkenx

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 10:45 am GMT

    it's real the time is coming

  • Monchie

    Posted Mar 30, 2006 4:09 pm GMT

    Fo real that would be straight to get many companyies on board.

  • Hazencruz_7

    Posted Mar 30, 2006 12:31 pm GMT

    awesome, i really hope nintendo can get good companies like acclaim and konami to join this gravy train too

  • Squirrelio

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 4:46 pm GMT

    this is @#$%^%$# awesome sure gametap has old games but u have to use a computer * oh the great memories*

  • msbae

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 2:43 pm GMT

    How about the Revolution emulating old Atari games that are hard to find?
    Beleive it or not, there were some cool games on the Jaguar.

    Doom, Tempest 2000, Defender 2000, AVP, Iron Soldier,
    Blue Lightning (Jag CD)... Man, why the hell did I ever sell my Jaguar?!

  • sheezyt

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 1:36 pm GMT

    I caint wait to play mario 128 on the revolution and try out its new remotr

  • 3dmetrius

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 7:45 am GMT

    Yes! that is the Nintendo Remolution Hey Emulator develop guys, what do you thing about it?

    I'm a BIG emulator User, but what if the BIG N could offer some nostalgic pieces of promo material like - Buy your Mega Man 1 on line or in a old style NES box - OH, Just dreaming....

  • manicfoot

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 6:57 am GMT

    The Revolution just got even better. Wow, that's great. Streets of rage, sonic... God I'm aroused =D

  • hib2405

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 4:12 am GMT

    REVOLUTION ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING NEW................IS THE BEST

  • grave_rob

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 8:42 pm GMT

    that's really rad. genesis had some great games. like mutant league football & hockey... I just hope nintendo stays reasonable with the price of the downloads when the rev is out for sale....

  • DoubleDragon

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 8:14 pm GMT

    Why buy the cow when you can already get the milk for free. Yes I know there is the whole legal issue of emulators and such but they do exist and can readily play all of these games. It's a nice idea though. Kind of ironic that Nintendo use to fight so hard against emulators, now they are creating them.

  • Burin077

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 7:08 pm GMT

    A little Legendary Axe, anyone?

    Or how about some Military Madness?

  • Davv111

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 7:00 pm GMT

    Really pisses me off their trying to cash in on this gimmick. You can dl load all those roms and play them on your pc and play the ones you want not the ones nintendo allows you to play. Why pay for old games for something that nintendo or sega or whoever made their profits already on. If their free to dl to play on the console fine. But they don't deserve a cent if they try to cash in on them again. Nintendo has said that some games might have graphical/sound updates thats going to be problem cause if change stuff like that it won't feel old school as much.They made their money on those games in the past they should not expect people to buy them again.It might be illegal but Just because something's illegal doesn't mean it's wrong. Calling something illegal is usually a bad argument.

    I'm sticking to new content only for the Revolution.

  • nightshadeA

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 6:24 pm GMT

    so the big n is trying to kill off whats left of the emulation scene with this move?

  • buildar

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 3:10 pm GMT

    The funny thing here as a posted who know how many pages back, is that other companies can do this if they choose to, They can get licenses from all teh thrid party publishers to digitally distribute their games, and what third party company wouldn't want to make a couple of freee bucks on something thats already finished. I doubt very much that Nintendo will stay the only company with backlogged games. I could see sony approaching all the companies and offering it in them in their online service. Oh and ROMs are only illegal if you don't own the game.

  • barius197

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 11:35 am GMT

    Excelent! I now know what my first next gen system will be. Merry Christmas to me.

  • blackwing837

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 10:59 am GMT

    This is the best news yet! Bonks Adventure lives again!

  • Seraphim_24

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 7:35 am GMT

    Yeah! Now tell me it will play my Dreamcast discs and I will be even happier!

  • T_U_M_E_G

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 3:48 am GMT

    wtf is turbografx

  • ExpEgg

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 8:13 pm GMT

    Did they just say "TurboGrafx"? That is all KINDS of cool.

  • Irvine78

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 7:08 pm GMT

    Holy crap, now I can stop hunting for a stereo AV adaptor for my Sega!

  • redman7t

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 5:27 pm GMT

    * nice, don't get ur hopes up though we don't know the revolution will play out. Only time will tell.............

  • redman7t

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 5:23 pm GMT

    nice, don't get ur hopes up though how the revolution overall will be. Only time will tell.........* wipes eyes* * kisses picture of E3*

  • lozandier

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 2:30 pm GMT

    Bah, Use Emulators, lol. No Offense but I'm not paying for classic games I have in my basement and pay 7-10 bucks on them while I can get them in the flea market/stockshow/ for less.... The Graphics won't be enchanced in most senses but probably "Scaled" so It doesn't look funny... Imagine playing a NES or Genesis Game on a 42' Plasma Tv.....UGLY.

    Plus, as Sega is more friendly in current gen and next gen with Xbox 360 and Sony, don't be suprised SOME of these Downloads go to 360..

    Best System? I love Nintendo games but not a huge fan of their attitude towards their next system... It will spark sales esp. if PS3 is too high but PS3 and Xbox 360 with better graphics; online communties that now looks to boom. Revolution is going its own direction, but mainly in my humble opionion because of the losses they had last gen and can't risk that happening again. Besides as Long as Xbox Live has Capcom Classics like Street Fighter, I won't care about Revo.

    Revo I guarantee WILL close the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 but in the end it won't be enough it seems.... Mainly one, the controller; even though it is a nice and exciting Innovations; it would be hard generally speaking porting a 360 and PS3 game to it; esp. if the game was built groundup from PS3/ Xbox 360 controls which Ironically is really similar besides the shape and size; Revolution Game ports would take longer to make. One the PLUS side of this; they could be games on Revo that's not possible on Xbox 360 and PS3 but maybe the next gen Eye Toy and the new Xbox 360 Variant will most counter that... PS3 has the games from all Cultures; Revo is more Japanese Culture wise with little Western Third Party Developers and Xbox 360 has TONS of Western Third Parties with a steady growing Japanese Market SOON (The Xbox 360 Japanese Launch don't count to me, that was downright awful) Grand Theft Autos will always thrive on Sony and Microsoft while Nintendo Revolution wouldn't most likely simply by the way you have to play. Xbox 360 has the Online Gaming Market on lock with key new franchises which is missing right now in the Gaming Industry with the 4-5 sequels of games and what not. PS3 sequel heavy game line up may make or break their bank; the cost of gaming will be the deciding factor. While Sequels of famous franchises have immediate sale figure, that don't mean they can suck or not better than the first one.

    In the End Revolution Classic Downloads better have a mind for HD-TV which THEY DO NOT... Which means... Some Classic Games Won't Look So Hot...It's been a long time; and it SURE won't look so hot looking at 2 inch squares/pixels on a 42 inch TV, lol (PS2 Players who played a PS2 on like a 62 inch TV knows what I mean...)

  • jrolfe7474

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 1:10 pm GMT

    This just sold me on the revolution!

  • Kbs64

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 11:59 am GMT

    You know I've always wanted to try the comic book action game on the Sega Genesis. Hey maybe we'll be able to play Batman Forever without the dumb loading screen... right? hmm? you think? Or play Baseball Simulator for the NES?

  • Agulf

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 8:24 am GMT

    This is incredible news. My genesis broke when I was a kid, and I couldn't afford or be bothered to repair it.

  • Dace67

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 7:45 am GMT

    I know there will be a "minimal fee" for each game, I just want to knwo how much "minimal" is. Hope it's a dollar or something.

  • zelda4ds

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 5:06 am GMT

    best system even better

    and maybe since their making a deal with sega sonic charecters will be in super smash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • yanks43215

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 10:58 pm GMT

    wow that sounds so awesomeeeee

  • RaySplasher

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 7:46 pm GMT

    Actually Wangtang32000, the Turbo-Grafx was NEC's console.

  • RaySplasher

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 7:43 pm GMT

    My god...I guess Nintendo does have something up their sleeve after all. If it can play old Turbo-Grafx games, maybe I can get Keith Courage in Alpha Zones and Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood perhaps? GO REVOLUTION!!!!

  • Jemdude

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 4:29 pm GMT

    I hope that arcade quality joysticks will be available for Revolution. Joysticks are truly needed to play the classic games properly.

  • metalxwolf64

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 2:11 pm GMT

    LOOKS LIKE THE REVOLUTION IS GONNA HAVE IT ALL,ANOTHER GREAT ACHIEVMENT FROM THE BEST GAMING COMPANY AND AS ALWAYS EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED FROM THE BIG N WAY TO GO NINTENDO,U HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS.

  • StiFzZ

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 2:00 pm GMT

    I think that the people from Nintendo don't reveal the whole technical opperatunities of Revolution...when PS3 comes out Nintendo will release Revolution and it will be a lot more powerfull than PS3....

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 9:46 am GMT

    That's a great news! But when will the Revolution come to gamer's hand and how much would it cost?????

  • NaughtyB007

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 5:26 am GMT

    A few things worry me here:

    1 - How much will each game cost? If it's anything close to the Xbox Live Arcade then it's averaged at about $10 a game. Which to me, is far too high to be paying for classics, especially if there are going to be that many. I can see this is where the money will be made, but unless each game has some added Rev connectivity (like the XBL Arcade games do with the X360), I suspect that only a small portion of the games will actually SELL on the console in it's lifetime. In short, I don't think people will buy Mercs (old Genesis game for those wondering) unless playing through it will add points to their online account or show their game collection to people all over the world or something along those lines.

    2 - This is my biggest concern: Memory. Genesis games won't take up much space, but how about N64 games? At about 30-60 MBs a game it won't take long to fill up even an Xbox 360 HDD. I am actually hoping Nintendo does something like Sony did with the PSP, and makes the Revolution PC compatible so that you can upload your data from your Revoultion HDD or memory card onto your PC when the HDD or memory card starts getting full, so you don't have to lose out on your purchases. However, this would obviously make it too easy for pirates to simply share games through P2Ps or simply via FTP, foiling everything that Nintendo put together.

    I am excited, but I have concerns as well. I think everything will work out for the best in the end though.

  • thepeter

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 8:08 pm GMT

    yeeehaw!

  • mophl

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 1:47 pm GMT

    Everything looks great but I wanna kno how much its gonna cost...

  • MikelBakaBaka

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 1:42 pm GMT

    It'd be a lot more exciting if they were Sega Saturn games.

  • expertgamer3

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 11:04 am GMT

    thats nice. hopeful that the graphics will be greatly improved.

  • Zerofitz

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 8:38 am GMT

    Wow. Now I can't wait for this baby to the market.

  • ferrarimanf355

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 5:14 am GMT

    Okay, but what about a real controller? Unless Nintendo makes a real controller for that thing, I'm still not buying.

  • littlestreakier

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 10:02 pm GMT

    this news is incredible, i always wanted a revolution but now i want one that much more , hells yea nintendo

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