The next gen is fully underway now and the one thing all 3 major players have in common is that they want you do download games. With content being added on a weekly basis, there’s a lot to cover…

Playstation Network
We’re still waiting for Tekken 5 to hit the US, even if it’s already available in Hong Kong and plenty of folks have set up dummy accounts to get it. fl0w is due in february, and looks like it may be the breakout hit Sony’s been waiting for. In the meantime you can always play Gran Turismo HD, though Major Nelson thinks it looks suspiciously like PGR3. The PS Network has a huge potential with the ability to download games to play on a PSP, but the very low numbers of available games keep even ecstatic supporters from being able to invest too heavily.
Full List of PS3 Network games

Wii Virtual Console
With just over 2 months in the market, they’ve got the strongest lineup, if not the most original. Last week saw the release of Legend Of Zelda III: A Link To The Past, and this coming monday we’ve got Mario Kart 64 and the Sega Genesis classic Comix Zone. Hopefully you didn’t blow your Wii Points on Urban Champion. Not suprisingly, Japan is getting quite a few more games than we are for now. This will hopefully even out as the year goes on.
List of Virtual Console titles

Xbox Live Arcade
While not in the game market as long as the competition, Microsoft has a huge lead on classic and original titles available for download. Must buys include Geometry Wars and Marble Blast Ultra, with enhanced arcade titles like Contra, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Street Fighter II. The classic titles aren’t nearly as varied as those found on Wii’s Virtual Console, but online leaderboards and multiplayer keep you from getting bored. The ability to demo any game is also helpful since Microsoft’s point system is designed specifically to trick you into thinking you are spending less money than you are. This past week saw the release of Heavy Weapon, which I played for 40 minutes on the demo before having to take a break. It appears the only benefit to buying the game is to get the achievement points and only play. Forthcoming games include Alien Hominid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and a game based on MEGAFORCE. I’m not kidding. Megaforce.
List Of Xbox Live Arcade titles

Yesterday’s weekly update on Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console saw the release of Super Mario Bros. This is considered by some to be the most important game of all time, and odds are you already own a copy of it. Maybe 2 copies. Probably 5. You might as well get it again so you can play with that sweet VC controller, and maybe work on your speed running.

Just to add a little value to your 500 Wii Point purchase, try going to the Negative world. This hidden glitch was covered up in many of the remakes and re-releases of the game, but is intact on the Wii since its the original NES code faithfully emulated. You’ve probably seen this trick before, in world 1-2 you break the bricks above the pipe at the end of the underwold (as seen at left) and then carefully jump backwards to the right without breaking the brick, so you slide off to the right and enter a warp pipe that takes you to a weird underwater world.

A top story on digg right now announces “How to Get to the Illusive Negative World in SMB!” but the link to the World -2, -3, and -4 is completely fake. Amazing that 21 years after the release of Super Mario Bros, players can still be falling for bogus tips like slackjawed schoolyard simpletons.

As innovative as the concept may seem the Wii remote is actually very similar in functionality to the Nintendo Power Glove from years past. Watch me compare the specifics of both technologies so that you can decide for yourself whether or not the Wii is just a Gamecube with a Power Glove attached to it.

* Disclaimer: Nintendo did not release the Power Glove. It was in fact released by Pax.

Here’s a look at Nintendo’s “Wii Shop Channel” and “Virtual Console” for the Wii.

As Nintendo slowly submits old games to the ESRB to be re-rated for release under the Wii Virtual Console, we find out what new titles are on the way.

The list is very NES heavy, but with some gems like Super Metroid and lesser played Kirby titles. I also see a few shooters here as well. Where’s my Wii Zapper?

Duck Hunt (NES)
Hogan’s Alley (NES)
Wild Gunman (NES)
Kid Icarus (NES)
Kirby’s Adventure (NES)
Pro Wrestling (NES)
Punch-Out (NES)
Excitebike (NES)
Ice Climber (NES)
Dr. Mario (NES)
Mario Brothers (NES)
Ice Hockey (NES)
Soccer (NES)
Pilot Wings (SNES)
Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES)
Kirby’s Super Star (Super NES)
Super Metroid (Super NES)
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (Super NES)
Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)
Starfox 64 (Nintendo 64)
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)

All of the above were rated “E For Everyone” by the way.

You know Zelda, you know Red Steel. You may even know Rayman, and you expect Madden. Nonetheless heres the entire 60 game (SIXTY!) list covering all the white boxed discs you’ll find in store and Virtual Console titles you’ll find online. Most are expected launch day or launch week, but all by December. Wii goes on sale November 19, 2006.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

From Gaming World Network‘s coverage of a Japanese Wii press conference we learn the prices for the Wii and Wii Virtual Console games, in Yen.

The Nintendo Wii, to be released in Japan on December 2nd, will retail for 25000 yen. This is approximately 212.50$ US. This is by no means an accurate way of measuring the price of the US version.

Below shows the price of the Wii Virtual Console games:

Converting to USD that’s 4.25$ for a Famicom (NES) game, 6.80$ for a Super Famicom (SNES) game and 8.50$ for N64 games. Of course there’s no telling exactly how this will compare to US prices but this gives us an estimate.

There are to be 30 Nintendo Virtual Console titles and 30 from other systems (Sega Genesis, Turbo Grafx …) which supports the idea that the 7 Sega Genesis Wii Virtual Console titles we mentioned yesterday would be the only ones at first for that system.

Yesterday we reported a list of Sega Genesis games for the Wii as metioned on IGN. These were listed on the ESRB’s website where one can search for games by system and publisher. Today I was searching some more and found that these games had disapeared from the list. A search for games on the Wii now returns 12 titles rather than 18 and those Sega Genesis titles are missing. Yesterday a search for publisher “Sega” on the Wii platform yielded 7 results. Today 0.

Why? Could be nothing. Could be Sega doesn’t want people to know what’s out. Could be these games aren’t confirmed and they don’t want people spreading rumours like we have. We can only jump to conclusions so get your mat out!

Compare a screenshot from yesterday (left) to today (right):