How is the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console demonstration at E3? Read an excerpt below or the full piece here. Check out some images too, here.
"...the menu system currently in place is simple and sleek. Showing a picture of the console the game is from in the background, each game entry features its title and a short description. Once gamers select that game, the system shows a screen describing the basic control layout for the title and then jumps immediately into play. Load times were nominal, averaging just a couple seconds. Gamers can quickly and easily leave a current game and return to the menu system by simply pressing the Wii remote's "Home" button. It is important to point out that doing this will end your game in the same way turning off the emulated systems did; in other words, gamers should not expect the action to freeze in the background infinitely as they search for other games and should be sure to save their progress in games before exiting.
On display today were four titles, Super Mario Bros. for the NES, Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, Sonic the Hedgehog for Sega Genesis and Bonk's Adventure for the Turbografx-16. Super Mario Bros. was exceptionally clear on the system, which has upconverted these classic titles to 480P video. Sonic the Hedgehog played at a framerate possibly higher than the original Genesis offered; for example, when losing a significant amount of rings, the Wii did not drop its framerate like the Genesis often did. Super Mario 64 looked just fine on the system, once again showing an appreciable difference in picture clarity from the upconvert to 480P.
However, the hardware and software is only half of the story. The new games are controlled via the Wii's "Classic Controller" peripheral. The peripheral- the Classic actually is connected to the standard Wii remote via the same extension socket that the nunchuck uses- is similar in shape to the Super Nintendo's controller and features a button layout reminiscent of Sony's DualShock design. I found the button setup to be friendly and familiar for the most part, with only two potential issues. First, the joysticks are a little too close for someone with relatively large thumbs. I found myself often bashing my knuckles together when using both at the same time. This will be a major issue, because the second joystick replaces the Nintendo 64's C-buttons, thereby promising a lot of dual-joystick action with games from that platform. Secondly, the Z button has been moved to the same shoulder side as the R-button, similar to the layout of the Gamecube's controller. This doesn't matter with NES/SNES/Gensis/Turbografx titles, but may pose an issue with Nintendo 64 titles. While I adapted quickly to the new scheme for Mario 64, games like Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye would be best served with a remapped control scheme, as the Z-button is inconvenient for titles like those that use it often..."