Laurent Fischer provides info on VC process in Europe, explains why some titles haven’t been released
“Basically, we decide. There is a certain number of titles that we have in the pipe, which are available, and then we select the ones we want to use. Then we have to proceed to localisation, which is always an important issue for Europe. I could tell you tons of stories about how difficult it is to bring back some games to the Virtual Console. The first issues are always legal-related issues: first we need to get the IP, and then you realise that you have one studio which owns one part of the game, then another studio has another part, which reduces the chances further. Then you have to get legal clearance, so it’s a long journey for us to pull together all those things. And sometimes the IP owner will just say ‘oh no thank you, I don’t want this on Virtual Console’. So it’s a case-by-case basis.” – Laurent Fischer, Senior marketing director of NoE
I’m not too sure as to why an IP owner would not allow a game to appear on the Virtual Console. It’s pretty much a win-win situation for the owner and gamers. On the other hand, I can understand the legal issues involved with the Virtual Console selection process. Are the problems mentioned by Mr. Fischer really the reasons as to why we have not seen Earthbound on the Wii Shop Channel yet?
