8-bit Google Maps for the NES/Famicom?

[treismac]

Surely this is a April Fool's Day Joke. There is indeed an online version, but I doubt there will ever be a cartridge version with a modem.

[Parodius Duh!]

Like I said on Famicomworld, my only beef is they keep referring to NES and clearly its a Famicom set up. In my defense if anyone responds with "Its aimed at an English speaking audience" well, then they should have filmed it in the US and used a NES Cart and System. Use the correct information or do not use it at all.


.....The over abundance of undereducated morons commenting on it is amazing. "Durrrrrp duh its not April." They must have skipped the 4th grade Time Zone lesson.

[treismac]

Like I said on Famicomworld, my only beef is they keep referring to NES and clearly its a Famicom set up. In my defense if anyone responds with "Its aimed at an English speaking audience" well, then they should have filmed it in the US and used a NES Cart and System. Use the correct information or do not use it at all.


.....The over abundance of undereducated morons commenting on it is amazing. "Durrrrrp duh its not April." They must have skipped the 4th grade Time Zone lesson.

To me, Parodius Duh!, the best way for Google to make this obvious April Fool's Day Prank a real prank is to actually make the cartridge. Who'd see that coming?

Besides the obvious awesomeness of an 8-bit Google maps for the Famicom/NES, you know what makes me really, really happy about this prank? It shows that a large corporation that deals with the interests of people (i.e. search engine) thinks that a retro video game reference joke has enough appeal to entertain a large enough chunk of the masses. Seriously. Think about this. It could mean that the Big N might one day consider re-releasing the Famicom and NES with built-in games like Atari did with the 2600 (VCS) and Sega did with the Genesis. Why not? There is evidently a big enough market. Even collectors/gamers who have the original hardware and the Wii's Virtual Console version of their favorites might find it hard to resist a re-release of their favorite system, or actual new releases on the system by big time developers like Konami or Capcom or Nintendo themselves.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but to me, this says that retro gaming is not quite as niche as I had previously thought. Yes, I am sure that gamers on this forum take retro gaming a bit further than most gamers, but perhaps retro gaming is more of a viable commodity on the video game market than I thought.

Beyond mere speculation, does anyone know if it is possible to find out how many Virtual Console games have sold? Looking at how many of their top 5 games sold would be a pretty damn good way to determine the strength of the retro market. How many New 2600s sold would be a semi-decent indicator too, but not as good. I'm sorry, but many of the 1st party Atari games built into the system are beyond passable. Anyway...

But, yeah... Famicom Google Maps rocks my pixelated socks!

[Parodius Duh!]

It is nice to see the vintage Famicom reference in a major, MAJOR world dominating companies commercial. Who knows, Japan has had a ton of merchandise produced off of little commercials and whatnot, maybe we could see a limited run of carts. They would certainly sell even if they were like $250 a pop. Hell Id buy it.

[Tupin]

How weird that they would use a Famicom in a video obviously designed for an English-speaking audience. I think they do mention somewhere else it is Japan-only, though.

[megasdkirby]

It would be funny if on April Fools, they actually sell a few, REAL copies of the game. Then since most thought it was an April Fool's joke, in reality those who did not believe it and lost out on the game are the actual fools!

Because of this, I'm going to fall victim to the prank tomorrow.

[madman77]

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but to me, this says that retro gaming is not quite as niche as I had previously thought.

Remembering games vs. being interested in playing them in 2012 is a different thing. Of course anyone who grew up with a NES remembers it, but that doesn't mean they want to play the games today.

[MarioMania]

That prob fit Japan the Google Cart..

[treismac]

Remembering games vs. being interested in playing them in 2012 is a different thing. Of course anyone who grew up with a NES remembers it, but that doesn't mean they want to play the games today.

I totally agree, but there must be some money being made on retro video games nostalgia since Atari (or the company that owns the brand) has released multiple versions of the new 2600 with built in games. I can't see them doing it again and again if each time it lost money.

[o.pwuaioc]

Certainly one of my favorite Google pranks! Sad thing is, unlike many of the others, I really do want this and think it could technically be feasible!

[dgdgagdae]

http://www.youtube.com/user/Google?feature=watch

Surely this is a April Fool's Day Joke. There is indeed an online version, but I doubt there will ever be a cartridge version with a modem.

So you really thought it might be a real product?

Great video. I love the look on the family's face when they first turn it on.

[treismac]

So you really thought it might be a real product?

Great video. I love the look on the family's face when they first turn it on.

Thought? Hmmm... Nay. Hoped. Dearly hoped and still hope. The more impossible the dream is to obtain, the sweeter it is, right?