Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-shop?

[boabiol]

Hello everyone,
The Pokemon Generation 1, 2, and 3 games should have a release on iOS devices as an app or the Nintendo 3DS E-shop. I have my hopes up that someday Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company would take putting old games onto the app store or Nintendo 3DS E-shop into consideration. There are three major reasons why I would love to see this happen:

1) A huge problem with videogames today is the issue of preservation; unlike books which can be read for thousands of years, video games are stuck to their original platform to deliver the medium. If one wants to experience the old pokemon games there is no other way to play them other than on older Gameboy systems , Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Box (Gamecube), etc., as well as have a working pokemon cartridge. The internal batteries on these cartridges die out so less and less available copies of these older pokemon games exist each year, so many are forced to play these games on emulators since they have no other choice. The Pokemon company still claims that this is illegal, but many fans do it anyways because they do not have a reasonable way to play older games on new platforms.

2) It would make Pokemon A LOT of money!! Like everyone here, I want Pokemon to succeed as much as possible; they have brought about great games that many people enjoy today and I want the company to succeed well into the future. And People WILL buy old pokemon games on the app store or even the Nintendo 3DS E-shop. The older pokemon games alone would sell millions on these newer platforms, many fans would buy it!! And let's face it, currently the old generation games are currently making neither Gamefreak nor Nintendo any money. These older games can be bought at garage sales, Gamestop, ebay, or other retro-game stores, but neither Gamefreak nor Nintendo will see a cent of that money! So why not make money off of games that are currently making none?

3) The technology has already been proven possible. Both jail-broken iOS platforms and android platforms have a variety of emulators that allows one to play Gameboy and Gameboy Advance games. So I am sure an official app would not be that hard to make. If the Pokemon company released an official quality titles for new platforms they would also give us fans a reason to buy the games in a legal and convenient way.

Overall, I would love to see Pokemon take the steps to bring the franchise anywhere where more people can appreciate the growing franchise that all of us fans love so much, especially to a place where old pokemon games can be played on modern medium and purchased legally. An even better option would be to have it on the Nintendo 3DS E-shop. So hopefully someday, even a population out there that does not own a dedicated gaming device might be able to play and appreciate pokemon the same way we have for over 15 years.

So what are all your thoughts concerning this? Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-shop?

 

[Divienne]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Oh yes so much. I would love that! Believe me, I'd throw bills at the computer for an opportunity like that. I don't like emulators that much, not since I accidentally destroyed my save file on Red Rescue Team, and a fail-proof version of those GB games would be brilliant on the eShop, in my opinion. I also agree with all your reasons. ^^

 

[Dragonfyre]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

I don't know anything about the eShop, so I can't comment on that, but for phones? Definitely. As someone who wan't able to play most of the really early games, this is very welcome. I played the remakes, but I always wondered what it's like playing pokémon in colorless 8-bit (yes, I want them unaltered, except for the necessary tweaks to adapt them to iOS and Android). Plus, having the games on a phone means one less device to carry around. A phone is something you always have on your person, and by extension, the game is always accessible.

IMO, a good idea would be to bundle them with the remakes, so you have a side-by-side comparison. You have both your nostalgia-inducer and your awesomely modern remake.

 

[Helioptile]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Maybe...

 

[Codface]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Not yet. The games should be released on e-shop when the next generation games are out which would have an inbuild transfer system for them. Having them stand alone would be self defeating.

 

[PokeBiscuit84]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

I'd love to see releases for the old games on the E-shop. I don't have a smartphone but I'm planning to get a 3DS, so it'd work well. If they were released easily and it was possible to trade with other people, it'd be great, because people could actually have a shot at catching all the Pokemon.

 

[Superhero #5]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

iOS won't happen since iOS devices are competition for Nintendo, but there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be on the eShop. Nintendo have a somewhat illogical approach to their online services and their distribution of their old games which benefits neither them or the consumer, but thankfully this is an area they're improving in greatly.

 

[SimH5]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Don't see any reason why not. People could only benefit.

 

[Solemn]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I'd love blue version on my 3DS. The nostalgia would be great.. My blue version's battery went kaboom. =/ Sad.

 

[Sneaselz]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

OMG YES

 

[cityvillain]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Yes. All past Pokemons as a matter of fact should be available to the eShop. I have gba emu in my android phone that I play my Pokemon Emerald & Crystal with. But it's just never the same playing it with a Nintendo handheld console. It would be cool to see Pokemon Yellow or Heartgold or etc, in 3D.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Pokemon games wouldn't really work on the eShop because it'd be harder to communicate between games. For instance, let's say you download a copy of Red and Blue onto the same 3DS. How would you trade between the two?

Furthermore, I think a lot of people would want to transfer their Pokemon to the current gen, and that wouldn't really work either because of differences in mechanics.

 

[LadyScathach]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

I agree completely. Though honestly, I think they'll hold off on releasing these games on a new platform until they release the remakes of RSE. But yes, I would rebuy some of those GBA games. Take my money already.

 

[Pikachu011]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

YES! I would LOVE to have them on the e-shop. I hate knowing I have next to no chance of completing the Pokedex without having my mom get all of them on Internet, PLUS the system. Full support!

 

[Joshawott]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Nintendo eShop? Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if in 2016, we see Red & Blue released on the 3DS Virtual Console and FireRed and LeafGreen on the Wii U one (as the Wii U will have GBA games). Just tweak them a bit to allow trading via the 3DS' and Wii U's wireless. 20th anniversary and all that.

iOS? No. Personally, I dislike iOS gaming as a whole, but Pokémon games wouldn't work on iOS, with having to drag the character along the screen and such.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Nintendo eShop? Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if in 2016, we see Red & Blue released on the 3DS Virtual Console and FireRed and LeafGreen on the Wii U one (as the Wii U will have GBA games). Just tweak them a bit to allow trading via the 3DS' and Wii U's wireless. 20th anniversary and all that.

Nothing of what you just suggested makes any sense.

Why would they release remakes simultaneously with the originals but on different consoles? Why would they release games for the Wii U when Game Freak is against putting the main series on home consoles for communication reasons? And more importantly, how would you solve the problem of intra-console trading?

 

[Joshawott]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Nintendo eShop? Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if in 2016, we see Red & Blue released on the 3DS Virtual Console and FireRed and LeafGreen on the Wii U one (as the Wii U will have GBA games). Just tweak them a bit to allow trading via the 3DS' and Wii U's wireless. 20th anniversary and all that.

Nothing of what you just suggested makes any sense.

Why would they release remakes simultaneously with the originals but on different consoles? Why would they release games for the Wii U when Game Freak is against putting the main series on home consoles for communication reasons? And more importantly, how would you solve the problem of intra-console trading?

The 3DS Virtual Console has Gameboy titles, not Gameboy Advance titles. The Wii U Virtual Console however, will have Gameboy Advance titles but does not have Gameboy titles. The 3DS may have received 10 GBA games as part of the Ambassador Program, but outside of said program, they aren't going to be released to the public. Personally, I think it would make more sense for the GBA games to be on the 3DS Virtual Console, but that's what Nintendo decided. Releasing RB for 3DS and FRLG for Wii U pretty much just guarantees them more money.

Other virtual console games such as Street Fighter II have been tweaked to allow for Wi-Fi matches. It wouldn't surprise me if any Pokémon game was made available on the Virtual Console was updated to allow for trading via local wireless (3DS) or Nintendo Network (Wii U). The former is more likely than the latter and it is possible that the Wii U Virtual Console skips the Pokémon titles entirely, or they released FRLG on the 3DS Virtual Console as a special thing.

As for intra-console trading, it would simply be locked out. With RGBYGSC, the data difference was too great to allow any backwards compatibility with RSE anyway. In-Gen trading could be made possible, as I mentioned earlier, by slightly tweaking the Gen I games to use the 3DS' local wireless and for Gen III, the Wii U's online capabilities. I'd hope that Nintendo and GameFreak avoid doing a Mario Kart Super Circuit where they ported it to the 3DS' Virtual Console (as part of the Ambassador Program), with no care for the multiplayer, therefore locking it down as a single player game.

You are quite right in that GameFreak prefer handhelds to consoles, but the reason why isn't because of communication reasons as a technical limitation. It's because of their philosophy of what the Pokémon series should be, that they want people to go out and meet each other physically in order to play games together - which ties with Nintendo's belief about the Wii and Wii U, that they want to bring people together again. With the introduction of Miiverse and the social interaction that has introduced to gaming, I feel that now a Pokémon game could survive on a home console.

Admittedly, I don't see much sense in Nintendo choosing to release GBA games on the Wii U Virtual Console opposed to the 3DS at all, but I'd rather they did release the Gen III games on the Wii U Virtual Console, as opposed to simply passing over them.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

The 3DS Virtual Console has Gameboy titles, not Gameboy Advance titles. The Wii U Virtual Console however, will have Gameboy Advance titles but does not have Gameboy titles. The 3DS may have received 10 GBA games as part of the Ambassador Program, but outside of said program, they aren't going to be released to the public. Personally, I think it would make more sense for the GBA games to be on the 3DS Virtual Console, but that's what Nintendo decided. Releasing RB for 3DS and FRLG for Wii U pretty much just guarantees them more money.

Agreed on putting GBA titles on the Wii U but not the 3DS, but that's besides the point. It's pretty redundant to have both the remake and the original released at the same time.

As for intra-console trading, it would simply be locked out.

Then this is the biggest barrier to making Pokemon games available on the eShop, it's not fair if you purchase several Pokemon games for your 3DS and then are unable to transfer Pokemon between them.

With RGBYGSC, the data difference was too great to allow any backwards compatibility with RSE anyway. In-Gen trading could be made possible, as I mentioned earlier, by slightly tweaking the Gen I games to use the 3DS' local wireless and for Gen III, the Wii U's online capabilities.

I'm well aware of the differences in mechanics that prevented 2nd gen from being backwards compatible with 3rd. However, since people will most likely want to transfer their Pokemon to other games, it might be better if they retcon some of the mechanics to make backwards compatability more feasible. There'd certainly be no harm in going back and using the current gen IV system for those games since the player can't see IVs anyway, they won't even notice the difference.

I'd hope that Nintendo and GameFreak avoid doing a Mario Kart Super Circuit where they ported it to the 3DS' Virtual Console (as part of the Ambassador Program), with no care for the multiplayer, therefore locking it down as a single player game.

They wouldn't be that stupid, that defeats the purpose of having them in the first place.

With the introduction of Miiverse and the social interaction that has introduced to gaming, I feel that now a Pokémon game could survive on a home console.

That's a fair point about Miiverse, actually, I hadn't thought of that. So I guess it's possible, but it's probably better that new Pokemon games take advantage of Miiverse as opposed to older ones (6th gen Colosseum/XD, please).

Admittedly, I don't see much sense in Nintendo choosing to release GBA games on the Wii U Virtual Console opposed to the 3DS at all, but I'd rather they did release the Gen III games on the Wii U Virtual Console, as opposed to simply passing over them.

Again, it's a matter of timing. I'd certainly love to see all of them on current gen consoles as well, but releasing RBY at the same time as FRLG is nonsensical, if they must have both, then release RBY first and then FRLG later.

Also, if we ever do get the original RBY ported, can we please get an international Green version analogous to Japanese Blue? That sounds like it'd be really fun.

 

[unsnaggedtea76]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

Sorry, but I just think that its a terrible idea. Espcially on iOS systems. Considering that Apple products cost hundreds of dollars. It just wouldn't feel right.

As for trade ability with the games. The games were each made on a different platform and may be hard to convert to allow connect ability of any kind.

 

[Joshawott]

Re: Should Generation 1, 2, and 3 games be released for iOS devices or Nintendo E-sho

The 3DS Virtual Console has Gameboy titles, not Gameboy Advance titles. The Wii U Virtual Console however, will have Gameboy Advance titles but does not have Gameboy titles. The 3DS may have received 10 GBA games as part of the Ambassador Program, but outside of said program, they aren't going to be released to the public. Personally, I think it would make more sense for the GBA games to be on the 3DS Virtual Console, but that's what Nintendo decided. Releasing RB for 3DS and FRLG for Wii U pretty much just guarantees them more money.

Agreed on putting GBA titles on the Wii U but not the 3DS, but that's besides the point. It's pretty redundant to have both the remake and the original released at the same time.

It wouldn't be redundant at all. If anything, it would generate lots of money for Nintendo as fans who own both systems will most likely buy both.

As for intra-console trading, it would simply be locked out.

Then this is the biggest barrier to making Pokemon games available on the eShop, it's not fair if you purchase several Pokemon games for your 3DS and then are unable to transfer Pokemon between them.

I'd also like to see what will happen with XY when they are released, as they will most likely be available for download from the eShop as well. Maybe they could release a Pokémon Transfer 3DS app with two modes - "Classic Mode" for Gen I-II and "Normal Mode" for Gen VI?

With RGBYGSC, the data difference was too great to allow any backwards compatibility with RSE anyway. In-Gen trading could be made possible, as I mentioned earlier, by slightly tweaking the Gen I games to use the 3DS' local wireless and for Gen III, the Wii U's online capabilities.

I'm well aware of the differences in mechanics that prevented 2nd gen from being backwards compatible with 3rd. However, since people will most likely want to transfer their Pokemon to other games, it might be better if they retcon some of the mechanics to make backwards compatability more feasible. There'd certainly be no harm in going back and using the current gen IV system for those games since the player can't see IVs anyway, they won't even notice the difference.

There's no way GameFreak would completely overhaul the systems again for the sake of old games. If they changed them to fit Gen III+ standards, they would have to rework the entire IV system and implement the personality value mechanics because back in the old days, things like shininess, gender and even Unown's form were decided by IVs. A lot of work for a mere virtual console port.
Personally, I think it would be cool if it did happen, but I think it's unlikely.

I'd hope that Nintendo and GameFreak avoid doing a Mario Kart Super Circuit where they ported it to the 3DS' Virtual Console (as part of the Ambassador Program), with no care for the multiplayer, therefore locking it down as a single player game.

They wouldn't be that stupid, that defeats the purpose of having them in the first place.

And Mario Kart is best enjoyed as a multiplayer game, look where that went. One could argue that it was the main reason why a Pokémon wasn't included as one of the Ambassador titles though; in which case I hope they do start tweaking their games to do stuff like this as it's a likely possibility that that reasoning is why we'll never see a main series Pokémon VC title.

With the introduction of Miiverse and the social interaction that has introduced to gaming, I feel that now a Pokémon game could survive on a home console.

That's a fair point about Miiverse, actually, I hadn't thought of that. So I guess it's possible, but it's probably better that new Pokemon games take advantage of Miiverse as opposed to older ones (6th gen Colosseum/XD, please).

It wouldn't be a case of "If old games take advantage of it, new games won't" - there's Miiverse communities even for the old Balloon Trip, F-Zero and Punch Out! games. If Pokémon is rereleased on the Wii U eShop, there will be a community.

Admittedly, I don't see much sense in Nintendo choosing to release GBA games on the Wii U Virtual Console opposed to the 3DS at all, but I'd rather they did release the Gen III games on the Wii U Virtual Console, as opposed to simply passing over them.

Again, it's a matter of timing. I'd certainly love to see all of them on current gen consoles as well, but releasing RBY at the same time as FRLG is nonsensical, if they must have both, then release RBY first and then FRLG later.

It's not nonsensical. Not everyone who owns a 3DS has a Wii U and vice versa and fans who do will probably buy both, so it means more money.

Also, if we ever do get the original RBY ported, can we please get an international Green version analogous to Japanese Blue? That sounds like it'd be really fun.

I'm not sure that would happen, as even our Red was heavily based on the Japanese Blue, more so than the Japanese Red actually.