Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has announced that DS games will be coming to the WIi U via Virtual Console as part of Nintendo’s initiative to, you know, make more money. Specific titles weren’t announced, however, and at this point it seems unclear as to whether or not DS games will be scaled to display on your television or if they will only be accessible via the GamePad. So, there’s the possibility these DS games might be GamePad compatible only, which seems a bit off, as one would think the ideal situation would utilize the GamePad as the touch screen and the TV as the main screen. But again no one seems to have the answer. Anywho, this is what Iwata had to say:
“We are now sure that we can solve the technical problem of displaying Virtual Console software from Nintendo DS on the GamePad. The dual-screen Nintendo DS, one of which is a touch screen, has a very strong software lineup, and so we plan to add the Virtual Console titles from Nintendo DS software to the future Virtual Console lineup for Wii U.”
If you wanna ask me, I think this is fan-fucking-tastic. While I can sincerely say I’m now addicted to my 3DS XL, the thought of being able to switch it up and play DS games on the big screen gives me pant-tingling sensations. Now, if this “Wii U to DS” port shenanigan doesn’t include TV support…man, that would be a disappointment. Remember the Game Boy Advance? The Game Boy footage never filled the television’s entire screen — the gameplay footage was centered and surrounded by a large border. I don’t know if that was due to a scaling issue or what, but it worked. Maybe Nintendo could go that route?
What do you think? I hope we get a clear answer soon! In the meantime, you can check out a photo of Brain Age on the GamePad if that suits your fancy.
all the Pokemons!!
It would make sense to use the T.V. as a viewing screen and the Game Pad as the touch controls. Otherwise they would just have to split the Game-Pad’s video fed in half… Unfortunately I still have no reson in getting a Wii U since my Wii is just fine and Super Smash Bros. is coming to 3DS as well.