Keep Circulating the Tapes/Video Games: Difference between revisions

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** [[Capcom]] ported their [[Disneys Magical Quest|Mickey Mouse/Minnie Mouse/Donald Duck]] and ''[[Aladdin Capcom|Aladdin]]'' SNES games to the [[Game Boy Advance]].
** [[Capcom]] ported their [[Disneys Magical Quest|Mickey Mouse/Minnie Mouse/Donald Duck]] and ''[[Aladdin Capcom|Aladdin]]'' SNES games to the [[Game Boy Advance]].
** [[Lucas Arts]] also put up the ''[[Super Star Wars]]'' games and ''[[Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures]]'' on the Virtual Console (though in that example, they ''always'' held the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' licenses).
** [[Lucas Arts]] also put up the ''[[Super Star Wars]]'' games and ''[[Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures]]'' on the Virtual Console (though in that example, they ''always'' held the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' licenses).
* The ''[[Lunar]]'' games, remakes, and extra [[Feelies]]. The first two games were released on the [[Sega CD]], which made them tough to come by in the first place. ''[[Lunar: The Silver Star]]'', is actually not too difficult to find, but ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue]]'' certainly is (it doesn't help that ''Eternal Blue'' had low sales). The remake of ''Eternal Blue'' is also a hard find because it was released during the twilight of the [[Play Station]] era. ''Silver Star Story'' and all subsquent remakes of ''The Silver Star'' are not hard to acquire, though.
* The ''[[Lunar]]'' games, remakes, and extra [[Feelies]]. The first two games were released on the [[Sega CD]], which made them tough to come by in the first place. ''[[Lunar: The Silver Star]]'', is actually not too difficult to find, but ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue]]'' certainly is (it doesn't help that ''Eternal Blue'' had low sales). The remake of ''Eternal Blue'' is also a hard find because it was released during the twilight of the [[PlayStation]] era. ''Silver Star Story'' and all subsquent remakes of ''The Silver Star'' are not hard to acquire, though.
* ''[[Conkers Bad Fur Day]]'', natch. Given its mature rating in a cutesy setting and zero promotion (and it was released during the Nintendo64 twilight-in fact, it was released the same year the [[Game Cube]] would debut), it was hard to get then, and it sure as hell is even harder to get now.
* ''[[Conkers Bad Fur Day]]'', natch. Given its mature rating in a cutesy setting and zero promotion (and it was released during the Nintendo64 twilight-in fact, it was released the same year the [[Game Cube]] would debut), it was hard to get then, and it sure as hell is even harder to get now.
* Past-generation ''[[Pokémon]]'' titles. Finding used copies isn't difficult at all, given ''Pokémon'''s [[Cash Cow Franchise|status]], but Nintendo has unusually never shown any inclination to rerelease any past game. This is probably one of the rare cases where no-one minds this at all - ease of finding secondhand copies notwithstanding, given how more Pokémon are added with each generation, and the constant fixes and revisions to the game mechanics with each new generation, rereleasing the games ''in their original form'' would have been somewhat unfeasible. Instead, [[Video Game Remake|remakes]] ensued.
* Past-generation ''[[Pokémon]]'' titles. Finding used copies isn't difficult at all, given ''Pokémon'''s [[Cash Cow Franchise|status]], but Nintendo has unusually never shown any inclination to rerelease any past game. This is probably one of the rare cases where no-one minds this at all - ease of finding secondhand copies notwithstanding, given how more Pokémon are added with each generation, and the constant fixes and revisions to the game mechanics with each new generation, rereleasing the games ''in their original form'' would have been somewhat unfeasible. Instead, [[Video Game Remake|remakes]] ensued.
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** The ''[[Sega Saturn]]'' games aren't a walk-in-the-park to find. They can race anywhere from $40 to $80 at minimum, if you manage to find them.
** The ''[[Sega Saturn]]'' games aren't a walk-in-the-park to find. They can race anywhere from $40 to $80 at minimum, if you manage to find them.
* The 1990s [[Humongous Entertainment]] games have not been rereleased in any form, with the exception of ''Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery'', ''Pajama Sam: Don't Fear the Dark'', and ''Spy Fox in Dry Cereal'', which are all available on the Wii (after the rights were sold to Majesco), plus ''[[Backyard Sports|Backyard Baseball]]'' and ''Backyard Soccer'', both available on [[Real Arcade]].
* The 1990s [[Humongous Entertainment]] games have not been rereleased in any form, with the exception of ''Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery'', ''Pajama Sam: Don't Fear the Dark'', and ''Spy Fox in Dry Cereal'', which are all available on the Wii (after the rights were sold to Majesco), plus ''[[Backyard Sports|Backyard Baseball]]'' and ''Backyard Soccer'', both available on [[Real Arcade]].
** ''Freddi Fish'', ''Pajama Sam'', and ''Spy Fox'' on the Wii are no longer available, because Majesco used [[Scumm VM]] (without complying with the GPL) [[Idiot Programming (Darth Wiki)|and didn't bother fixing well-known errors in the rendering]].
** ''Freddi Fish'', ''Pajama Sam'', and ''Spy Fox'' on the Wii are no longer available, because Majesco used [[Scumm VM]] (without complying with the GPL) [[Idiot Programming|and didn't bother fixing well-known errors in the rendering]].
* ''[[System Shock]]''. Considered one of the very best PC games ever created, regularly topping halls of fame. Had mouselook modded in as a ''fan project'' in 2009. Not on Steam. Not on Good Old Games. Not for sale anywhere save second-hand copies on eBay if you're rich and lucky. "Portable" abandonware versions drift across the internet; somewhere, a rightsholder is being clueless.
* ''[[System Shock]]''. Considered one of the very best PC games ever created, regularly topping halls of fame. Had mouselook modded in as a ''fan project'' in 2009. Not on Steam. Not on Good Old Games. Not for sale anywhere save second-hand copies on eBay if you're rich and lucky. "Portable" abandonware versions drift across the internet; somewhere, a rightsholder is being clueless.
** The same applies to its sequel ''System Shock 2''. Hailed as a cult classic years after its release. Has topped various "best-of" game lists by Gamespot, PC Gamer, IGN and several more. Still has mods released years after it was made (to the point of a fansite, Sshock2.com, garnering music contributions from the game's composer, Eric Brosius). Rated even higher than the original by community votes on Good Old Games. Created [[Spiritual Successor]] games in the form of ''[[Bioshock]]'' and ''[[Dead Space (series)|Dead Space]]''. Also unavailable, despite EA renewing the ''[[System Shock]]'' trademark in 2006.
** The same applies to its sequel ''System Shock 2''. Hailed as a cult classic years after its release. Has topped various "best-of" game lists by Gamespot, PC Gamer, IGN and several more. Still has mods released years after it was made (to the point of a fansite, Sshock2.com, garnering music contributions from the game's composer, Eric Brosius). Rated even higher than the original by community votes on Good Old Games. Created [[Spiritual Successor]] games in the form of ''[[Bioshock]]'' and ''[[Dead Space (series)|Dead Space]]''. Also unavailable, despite EA renewing the ''[[System Shock]]'' trademark in 2006.
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* The arcade version of ''[[Double Dragon]]'' was rereleased on [[Xbox Live Arcade]] for a while, until Empire Interactive went bankrupt, also erasing hopes of a rerelease of the second game. Good luck finding the arcade machines, or you can illegally play them on MAME. Similarly, all of Midway's XBLA rereleases were delisted when they folded and were purchased by Warner Bros.
* The arcade version of ''[[Double Dragon]]'' was rereleased on [[Xbox Live Arcade]] for a while, until Empire Interactive went bankrupt, also erasing hopes of a rerelease of the second game. Good luck finding the arcade machines, or you can illegally play them on MAME. Similarly, all of Midway's XBLA rereleases were delisted when they folded and were purchased by Warner Bros.
** This applies to many other old-school arcade games, especially those that were equipped with [[Copy Protection|suicide batteries]] or [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup|whose source code has been lost]] (i.e., no chance of a legal downloadable rerelease).
** This applies to many other old-school arcade games, especially those that were equipped with [[Copy Protection|suicide batteries]] or [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup|whose source code has been lost]] (i.e., no chance of a legal downloadable rerelease).
* Kojima [http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176763 half-admitted] that the reason why any version of ''[[Snatcher]]'' hasn't been released on the [[Virtual Console]] yet (even though stuff like ''[[Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake]]'' and ''[[Castlevania Rondo of Blood]]'' had been released already) is due to the fact that the game's imagery and its numerous visual nods to ''[[Blade Runner]]'' and ''[[Terminator]]'' almost border on copyright infringement, making it hard to re-release without heavy alterations. It's not much of an issue in Japan, where the [[Turbo Grafx 16|PC-Engine]] version is common to find on the second-hand market, but English-speaking players who want to experience the game have no choice but to pay ridiculously-high prices for the game on eBay or illegally download it off the internet.
* Kojima [http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176763 half-admitted] that the reason why any version of ''[[Snatcher]]'' hasn't been released on the [[Virtual Console]] yet (even though stuff like ''[[Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake]]'' and ''[[Castlevania Rondo of Blood]]'' had been released already) is due to the fact that the game's imagery and its numerous visual nods to ''[[Blade Runner]]'' and ''[[Terminator]]'' almost border on copyright infringement, making it hard to re-release without heavy alterations. It's not much of an issue in Japan, where the [[TurboGrafx-16|PC-Engine]] version is common to find on the second-hand market, but English-speaking players who want to experience the game have no choice but to pay ridiculously-high prices for the game on eBay or illegally download it off the internet.
* If you're a fan of old-style text adventures (from Infocom and other companies), you're pretty much limited to downloading it from the internet these days, as most games (especially less-popular ones) haven't been available for sale for at least 10-15 years. Worse yet, many of Infocom's games (such as Zork Zero) included "feelies" to prevent piracy (extra material, such as a guidebook, that was needed to solve the game's puzzles) — even if you could find a rare used copy, it's doubtful you could find the "feelies" (although we suggest looking around eBay). Hence, internet downloads. The legality of this is questionable (it depends on whether you accept "abandonware" as a valid excuse), but it's pretty much the only way to get them anymore. This goes double for even older games. Luckily, most new games are released for free, as there really aren't any companies commercially producing text adventures anymore.
* If you're a fan of old-style text adventures (from Infocom and other companies), you're pretty much limited to downloading it from the internet these days, as most games (especially less-popular ones) haven't been available for sale for at least 10-15 years. Worse yet, many of Infocom's games (such as Zork Zero) included "feelies" to prevent piracy (extra material, such as a guidebook, that was needed to solve the game's puzzles) — even if you could find a rare used copy, it's doubtful you could find the "feelies" (although we suggest looking around eBay). Hence, internet downloads. The legality of this is questionable (it depends on whether you accept "abandonware" as a valid excuse), but it's pretty much the only way to get them anymore. This goes double for even older games. Luckily, most new games are released for free, as there really aren't any companies commercially producing text adventures anymore.
* Now that Sega has released ''[[Thunder Force]] VI'', it's exceedingly hard to find the opening movie from Tecnosoft's [[What Could Have Been|original Dreamcast version]], or the promotional movie from Factory Noise + AG's [[Doujin Game|doujin]] attempt ''[[Broken Thunder]]''. There's only '''one''' site on the Internet [http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=34&title=Forgotten%20Franchises:%20Thunder%20Force that still has the Tecnosoft TF6 intro] (scroll down to the teaser video link). As for the ''[[Broken Thunder]]'' opening video, it ''used'' to be available for download on Factory Noise's website, but their site is dead now. [http://www.segagagadomain.com/Bbrokenthunder.htm Segagaga Domain] has a low-quality version of the video on Google Video, but there is absolutely no place to download the original high-quality version of the video anymore. It's a real shame, because both videos — the ''Broken Thunder'' video especially — are well-done pieces of CG.
* Now that Sega has released ''[[Thunder Force]] VI'', it's exceedingly hard to find the opening movie from Tecnosoft's [[What Could Have Been|original Dreamcast version]], or the promotional movie from Factory Noise + AG's [[Doujin Game|doujin]] attempt ''[[Broken Thunder]]''. There's only '''one''' site on the Internet [http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=34&title=Forgotten%20Franchises:%20Thunder%20Force that still has the Tecnosoft TF6 intro] (scroll down to the teaser video link). As for the ''[[Broken Thunder]]'' opening video, it ''used'' to be available for download on Factory Noise's website, but their site is dead now. [http://www.segagagadomain.com/Bbrokenthunder.htm Segagaga Domain] has a low-quality version of the video on Google Video, but there is absolutely no place to download the original high-quality version of the video anymore. It's a real shame, because both videos — the ''Broken Thunder'' video especially — are well-done pieces of CG.
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* The ''[[Ogre Battle]]'' games ''The Knight of Lodis'' and ''Legend of the Zenobia Prince'' for [[Game Boy]] Advance and Neo Geo Pocket Color can't be had on current consoles.
* The ''[[Ogre Battle]]'' games ''The Knight of Lodis'' and ''Legend of the Zenobia Prince'' for [[Game Boy]] Advance and Neo Geo Pocket Color can't be had on current consoles.
* ''Albion'' is a good example of this as well, given that copies show up on Ebay only rarely and in small numbers. When they do appear, they fetch prices of $100, at the very least.
* ''Albion'' is a good example of this as well, given that copies show up on Ebay only rarely and in small numbers. When they do appear, they fetch prices of $100, at the very least.
* ''[[Castlevania]] Chronicles'', the [[Play Station]] upgrade of the X68000 version of ''Castlevania'', had a very limited production run, and thus is [[Crack is Cheaper|more expensive than crack]], though it is available on the [[Playstation Network]] for only $5.99.
* ''[[Castlevania]] Chronicles'', the [[PlayStation]] upgrade of the X68000 version of ''Castlevania'', had a very limited production run, and thus is [[Crack is Cheaper|more expensive than crack]], though it is available on the [[Playstation Network]] for only $5.99.
* Good luck finding ''[[The Red Star]]'' for the [[Play Station 2]].
* Good luck finding ''[[The Red Star]]'' for the [[PlayStation 2]].
* Ever heard of the game ''Oddballz'' by P.F. Magic? It's a virtual pet game with weird and wacky pets, and it's fun. REALLY fun. Good luck finding it! Okay, there's a demo out there, but you can't use all the toys or turn out the lights. What? Someone found out how to turn the demo into the full game? Well, you still don't get the Web Fun Pack... what? Someone posted that online? Oh, but...you still can't get the full version legally!
* Ever heard of the game ''Oddballz'' by P.F. Magic? It's a virtual pet game with weird and wacky pets, and it's fun. REALLY fun. Good luck finding it! Okay, there's a demo out there, but you can't use all the toys or turn out the lights. What? Someone found out how to turn the demo into the full game? Well, you still don't get the Web Fun Pack... what? Someone posted that online? Oh, but...you still can't get the full version legally!
** There was a LEGAL reprint of the game, BUT it comes without a serial number. FAIL! Granted, you could Google the game and find one, but still, it would save people a lot of work if they bothered to include the serial number.
** There was a LEGAL reprint of the game, BUT it comes without a serial number. FAIL! Granted, you could Google the game and find one, but still, it would save people a lot of work if they bothered to include the serial number.
* Any [[Data East]] game that wasn't rereleased on ''Data East Arcade Classics'', including ''Night Slashers'', ''Midnight Resistance'', ''Vapor Trail'', and ''Thunder Zone'' (aka ''Desert Assault'', the spiritual successor to ''Bloody Wolf''). Many of these weren't ported to consoles either, so they can only be played through illegal emulation.
* Any [[Data East]] game that wasn't rereleased on ''Data East Arcade Classics'', including ''Night Slashers'', ''Midnight Resistance'', ''Vapor Trail'', and ''Thunder Zone'' (aka ''Desert Assault'', the spiritual successor to ''Bloody Wolf''). Many of these weren't ported to consoles either, so they can only be played through illegal emulation.
* It's nigh impossible to get a physical copy of ''[[LSD Dream Emulator]]'' as it was only released in Japan and even there a copy goes for the Yen equivalent of about $500. It ''did'' get released as a [[PS One]] Classic on the Japanese [[Play Station]] Network in August 2010, but it's unlikely it'll ever get released on the American store since it wasn't released in America the first time around. Even so, it's still possible for those outside Japan to make a Japanese PSN account, purchase a Japanese PSN card online, and download it that way.
* It's nigh impossible to get a physical copy of ''[[LSD Dream Emulator]]'' as it was only released in Japan and even there a copy goes for the Yen equivalent of about $500. It ''did'' get released as a [[PS One]] Classic on the Japanese [[PlayStation]] Network in August 2010, but it's unlikely it'll ever get released on the American store since it wasn't released in America the first time around. Even so, it's still possible for those outside Japan to make a Japanese PSN account, purchase a Japanese PSN card online, and download it that way.
** The dream journal the game was based on (''Lovely Sweet Dream'') and the soundtrack (''LSD & Remixes'') that came with the special edition of the game are even harder to get since only about 50 copies were made. There was another CD, ''Lucy in the Sky with Dynamites'', which was basically like supplemental soundtrack featuring different mixes of the songs that was also released only in Japan.
** The dream journal the game was based on (''Lovely Sweet Dream'') and the soundtrack (''LSD & Remixes'') that came with the special edition of the game are even harder to get since only about 50 copies were made. There was another CD, ''Lucy in the Sky with Dynamites'', which was basically like supplemental soundtrack featuring different mixes of the songs that was also released only in Japan.
** Of course, as you can guess, you can download the game's ISO, both CDs, and scans of the dream journal online for free. The developer, Asmik Ace, doesn't seem to care about it since the game isn't even listed on their website.
** Of course, as you can guess, you can download the game's ISO, both CDs, and scans of the dream journal online for free. The developer, Asmik Ace, doesn't seem to care about it since the game isn't even listed on their website.
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* The fan game ''[[Super Mario Bros X]]'' thanks to creator Redigit "getting a cease and desist from Nintendo", a story which many are pretty sure is fabricated because Redigit [[Artist Disillusionment|"didn't like the community"]].
* The fan game ''[[Super Mario Bros X]]'' thanks to creator Redigit "getting a cease and desist from Nintendo", a story which many are pretty sure is fabricated because Redigit [[Artist Disillusionment|"didn't like the community"]].
* ''[[Panzer Dragoon Saga]]'' was not only released in limited quantities during its short life on the Sega Saturn, Team Andromeda no longer exists, and the original source code is lost.
* ''[[Panzer Dragoon Saga]]'' was not only released in limited quantities during its short life on the Sega Saturn, Team Andromeda no longer exists, and the original source code is lost.
* Apparently, Nintendo ran into problems emulating the SNES's Super FX chip on [[Wii]] [[Virtual Console]] releases, which would explain the lack of ''[[Yoshis Island]]'' and the original ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]]''. However, the former's [[Game Boy Advance]] [[Updated Rerelease]] is getting a [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Virtual Console]] release (though Nintendo currently only has plans to release it to members of the Ambassador program) and the latter's [[Continuity Reboot]] ''is'' available.
* Apparently, Nintendo ran into problems emulating the SNES's Super FX chip on [[Wii]] [[Virtual Console]] releases, which would explain the lack of ''[[Yoshi's Island]]'' and the original ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]]''. However, the former's [[Game Boy Advance]] [[Updated Rerelease]] is getting a [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Virtual Console]] release (though Nintendo currently only has plans to release it to members of the Ambassador program) and the latter's [[Continuity Reboot]] ''is'' available.
* The original monochrome release of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' had some bugs (often [[Good Bad Bugs]]) that the [[Updated Rerelease]], ''Link's Awakening DX'', ended up fixing. Since the ''DX'' version was the one chosen to be released on the [[Nintendo 3DS]]'s [[Virtual Console]], second-hand copies are pretty much the only way to get the original version.
* The original monochrome release of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' had some bugs (often [[Good Bad Bugs]]) that the [[Updated Rerelease]], ''Link's Awakening DX'', ended up fixing. Since the ''DX'' version was the one chosen to be released on the [[Nintendo 3DS]]'s [[Virtual Console]], second-hand copies are pretty much the only way to get the original version.
* They stopped producing ''[[Rune Factory]] Frontier'' games in America after a year or so, so this is the only way to buy a title.
* They stopped producing ''[[Rune Factory]] Frontier'' games in America after a year or so, so this is the only way to buy a title.
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