The Wii's retro gaming download service, the Virtual Console, may be seeing a new retro console go virtual in America soon -- the Commodore 64. Hints included in today's Wii-kly Update (a press release usually only dedicated to informing gamers what new titles have arrived for purchase in the Wii Shop) seem to suggest that could be the case. You can read the press release in its entirety by clicking here, but the paragraph of interest is this one:

"In other news, the Wii-kly Update has a fun surprise coming soon for all our fans. We can't tell you the secret just yet but maybe we'll offer you some hidden clues. From AZ to NC, if you're a fan, your applause could rattle your walls, windows, door. You might enjoy this news whether you live in a brick house or Vanderbilt dorm. Even people living along Route 286 in rural Pennsylvania ought to be excited. It'll feel like a bunch of birthday greetings and, really, who could ask for more? But that's about all we can say for now, so be sure to check future Wii-kly Updates."

That seems like a pretty random collection of clues, but intrepid forum-goers around the Internet have already proposed the connection between them. "Brick House" was a song performed by The Commodores. Vanderbilt University was founded by "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the school's sports teams are called the Commodores. And, if you actually happened to drive across Route 286 in Pennsylvania, you'd come across the great town of Commodore, PA. You can always count on the quick-thinking, Wikipedia-equipped Internet dwellers to crack any code.

Unlike the rest of the consoles that make up the Virtual Console, the Commodore 64 wasn't a video game system as traditionally defined -- it was a home computer. It was released and marketed as such in August of 1982, and only later gained notoriety as a gaming platform thanks to its widespread market penetration and the efforts of diligent programmers who managed to take full advantage of what the machine was capable of.

Commodore gaming got into full swing in the mid-'80s and continued for several years, making the platform a contemporary of Nintendo's NES for most of its life cycle. The system continued to enjoy success even into the early '90s, and, if you're like me, you even remember the elementary school you grew up attending having several of the machines equipped in classrooms. (We used them strictly for educational purposes, of course.)

Nintendo's press release gives no time table for when the Commodore 64 would be added to the VC lineup, an addition that would see the service growing to support a total of nine different systems here in the States. The tone would seem to suggest that we're going to continue to be teased with further clues for a while longer, perhaps setting up the system for a March Wii Shop debut -- which would be consistent with the service's most recent previous addition, the SEGA Master System, which joined the ranks in late March of last year.

But though software from the Commodore 64 would be new to Wii owners in the States, it's already been available elsewhere for quite a while -- Europe's Wii Shop saw the addition of the system on its digital shelves at the same time we were getting the Master System. Since last March, 18 total titles have made their VC debut there from the C64.

The selection has been mostly solid there so far -- their Day 1 line-up of scrolling shooter Uridium and fighting game International Karate may not have been explosively exciting, but since then some truly excellent C64 efforts like the platformer Mayhem in Monsterland, puzzle game Boulder Dash and isometric action Last Ninja trilogy has made the cut. It'll be interesting to see which, if any, of these same games Nintendo of America selects to offer to us in the U.S. But it's a safe bet that we'd see all of them eventually. (If the decision makers at Nintendo really want to have me reliving my childhood experience with the Commodore 64, though, then they'll need to find a way to hook us up with Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?)

Remember, though, that all of this is still officially rumor for now. Stay tuned to IGN Wii for further updates on the possibility of the Commodore coming to the American Virtual Console, as we look for any more "clues" in future Wii-kly Update press releases. And, of course, you'll hear it here if and when it's all made official.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/954/954425p1.html ...

News from Hackmii


http://hackmii.com/2009/02/scam-home...d-wiiunlocker/

DCEmu does have its own mirror but our files are protected against any hotlinking so scammers cant use us. ...

News from the hackmii team:

We haven’t made an update on BootMii for a while but never fear, things are progressing. Part of what takes so long is figuring out what the edge cases are that could cause things to fail and in this regard we need your help!

We’ve developed a BootMii Compatibility Checker that we need as many people as possible to run on their Wii. This little utility will check your boot1 against a list of known versions and tell us if you have one that we haven’t seen. We’ve recently seen a few boot1 versions floating around that break BootMii so with your help we’re compiling a list of safe boot1’s to use in our installer so that you get a better quality BootMii.

Current stats: 187 reports of “normal” (compatible) boot1 (2cdd…), 4 reports of “variant 1″ (4a7c…) and 15 reports of what I was calling the “Korean boot1″ (f01e…). The latter will not be compatible with BootMii, and it looks like it’s not just Korean Wiis (or, as noted in the comments below, they could be region-changed Korean Wiis). Console IDs greater than 100000000 decimal appear to be using the new “Korean” boot1, and the rest are using either the normal one or the variant.

What are you waiting for? Download and run Checker and do your part for BootMii.
http://hackmii.com/2009/02/bootmii-checker/ ...

News via http://www.aep-emu.de/

Rice Video a Nintendo 64 Graphics Plug-In has been updated.

http://emutalk.net/showpost.php?p=418017&postcount=248 ...

New from SuccessHK and on worldwide import:



In We Ski, up to four skiers can test their skills on more than a dozen runs from the bunny slopes to the most challenging Black Diamonds. Not only can players carve through the trails using the motion-based controls but they can also mix in the Wii Balance Board for a whole new level of realism. Players can ski using their own Mii or create a new character with a host of customizable options including changeable face and body types. Boosting the customization feature, additional skis, poles, goggles, and costumes can be unlocked. ...

New from SuccessHK and on worldwide import:



Tenchu 4 continues the saga of Rikimaru and Ayame, elite ninjas who must use their lethal skills to keep the peace in feudal Japan. As loyal servants to Lord Gohda, Rikimaru and Ayame have seen much blood shed throughout their master’s territory. Now an evil enemy has kidnapped Kikiu-hime, Lord Gohada’s daughter. It is up to Rikimaru and Ayame to save the daughter and unmask the face of the enemy behind this treachery. ...

Rising Star Games gave updates on two of Marvelous’ Wii projects. Elusive Little King’s Story must be nearing completion if it’s going to ship in spring 2009 like Rising Star plans. We haven’t heard much about shy Corobo in North America or Japan where the game is being developed so there is a chance Little King’s Story could come out in Europe first. Currently, Little King’s Story doesn’t even have a date in Japan. Marvelous is focused on promoting Muramasa: The Demon Blade which comes out on April 9 right now.

Oh, and if you’re in Europe the nearly completed Muramasa: The Demon Blade is far, far away. Rising Star Games won’t release it until Spring 2010, a few months after the original November 2009 target.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/02/16...cut-from-2009/ ...

After almost yearly installments for nine years Nintendo and primary developer Hudson are giving the Mario Party series a break. Who knows when Mario Party 9 will come out.

In the meantime Capcom is making good use of their Mario Party license. At AOU 2009 their arcade/amusement machine department is displaying Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher. The machine is like an arcade version of Mario Party that makes use of medals or tokens for play. What makes this Mario Party medal game different from Capcom’s two other Mario Party medal games? This one has some kind of UFO catcher/crane game element. A Mario Party game with tangible trinkets? Sounds neat!

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/02/16...s-mario-party/ ...

Tired of Dragonball fighting games, but still have a soft spot for Goku? Namco Bandai is reaching outside the obvious genre for Dragonball with games like Dragonball: Origins and Dragonball Z: Story Saiyan Raishuu.

This upcoming Nintendo DS game is a Dragonball Z RPG with sprite based characters and powerful sparking attacks. Heroes stand on the right, enemies on the left, menus at the bottom. Japan is slated to get Dragonball Z: Story Saiyan Raishuu on May 21. Usual US publisher Atari has not announced the title yet, but we have a hard time believing they won’t pick this up for an international release.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/02/16...nball-z-grind/ ...