n64

Popular console emulators removed from Android Market

Retro gamers who use Android devices to play classics from old-school systems like Atari, Nintendo 64, and Sega took a hit this week when emulator apps for those consoles and a handful of others were removed from the Android Market.

Yongzh's (also known as Yong Zhang) emulators have been among some of the most popular and highest rated in the market, but the emulator creator reports that his developer account has been terminated without warning.

The removal of yongzh's account comes just weeks after PlayStation emulator PSX4droid--the work of another developer--was also deleted from the market in the lead-up to the release of Sony's Xperia Play. Yongzh, who lives in China, took down his Genesis emulator last month after receiving a complaint from Sega, but apparently it wasn't enough to placate Google and/or those console makers who may have lodged complaints with Mountain View. … Read more

The 404 Podcast 516: Where bleepity bleep those kittens

Natali joins the dark side and immediately offends Justin and Wilson; Google introduces a new social network and gets pissed at Chinese copycat site Gojje; and GoldenEye makes its triumphant comeback--all this on today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast, now featuring co-host Natali Del Conte!

Today marks a special milestone on the show as we welcome the newest co-host of the show, Ms. Natali Del Conte! She'll join in the fun every Thursday (with the exception of today), offering a fresh perspective on our usual collection of stories. Right off the bat, Natali sparks a little controversy and reveals her one true weakness, so tune in to hear it all unfold!

The 404 is also the perfect outlet for Natali to speak freely on topics like Google's newest social-publishing tool, Google Buzz. Announced yesterday, the service lets you explore status updates and automatically adds your contacts via Gmail, which we're still trying to figure out. Interestingly enough, messages can be made public or private, but Natali is justifiably hesitant to give out her e-mail address to everyone in her network. The service also has a recommendation engine that allows Google to "learn" your tastes and recommend incoming items--sounds suspiciously intrusive, we'll keep you updated on this story as we play around with it.

Speaking of Google, the site is adding another log to its flame war with China over a copycat site subtlety dubbed "Goojje." We're not sure what's up with the cease-and-desist letter since its logo looks nothing like Google's, but Goojje already pulled down the original site, so no harm no foul, right guys?

Finally, big thanks to everyone who's sent in a sticker picture submissions, we're trying our best to stuff and send all the SASEs back in a timely fashion, so please be patient! If you already got your sticker pictures, it's your turn to do work for us! Take a picture of where you stuck it, hopefully in a public setting, and send it to the404(at)cnet[dot]com. We'll show it on a future episode of The 404!

EPISODE 516 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 179: Where we're all getting some action

Sometimes things just don't go the way they were planned. Such is the theme of today's show; although we have a full rundown of stories, we digress in typical 404 fashion and get sidetracked by Street Fighter 4, the social climate, and subsequent death of the American video game arcade, Spaceballs cartoons, and superhero fandom. Don't worry, we'll reheat the leftover stories for tomorrow's show!

There are two very specific video games that stick out in my memory as quintessential to my adolescence; games that took up a majority of my time after school and helped form bonds of friendship that continue to remain strong in adulthood. Those two games are Street Fighter 2 for Super Nintendo and GoldenEye for Nintendo 64. Since we only talk about the former on today's episode, I'll take this opportunity to speak a bit about the latter. GoldenEye pretty much ruled. I can't even begin to count how many hours I spent sitting in my buddy Konrad's living room eating 39 cent Del Taco tacos and staring at a single square within a crosshatched television screen. Proximity mines, timed mines, golden guns, double RCP-90s, and secret sniping spots dominated my youth. Some unspoken rules of the game that needed to be reinforced from time to time: don't look at my screen, you can't choose Oddjob (short=very cheap), and absolutely NO SNIPING! Wow, what I wouldn't give to get my hands on another N64 and a copy of GoldenEye. That, and my blissfully ignorant youth.

EPISODE 179 Download today's podcast … Read more

Work that Wii: Top 10 Virtual Console downloads

You've probably already played through Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Paper Mario. Super Mario Galaxy isn't coming out until next month, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been pushed back to early 2008. Still, there's no sense in letting your Wii collect dust while dozens of classic titles sit waiting for you on the Virtual Console. Here are the ten top downloads you can get for the Wii, and at $5 to $10 a pop they're a steal. Even if you grabbed all ten of these games (at 9500 Nintendo Points), they'd still cost … Read more

Wii Virtual Console releases for this week

E3 has come and gone, but at least you can count on Mondays to deliver three new Virtual Console games ready for download on your Wii.

Paper Mario (2001, N64, 1000 Wii points)--A game that completely reinvented the Mario franchise, Paper Mario made way for games like the acclaimed GameCube title Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and the more recent gem, Super Paper Mario on the Wii. Balloon Fight (1986, NES, 500 Wii points)--One of the most recognizable games in the history of the industry is now available for download. Few titles have been resurrected as many … Read more

Secrets of great games: The 'Zelda' pattern

(WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the Legend of Zelda games.)

I've been playing a lot of Twilight Princess lately, and I can honestly say that it is a great Zelda game. It's possibly the best one I've played since Ocarina of Time, and it might be even a little bit better. It also made me notice an important fact about the Legend of Zelda series: almost all truly great Zelda games subscribe to the Zelda pattern.

The Zelda pattern is this: collect three things in three dungeons, go through a big plot twist (the "Zelda … Read more

Wiistalgia: The Virtual Console explored

Nintendo's online service for the Wii went online over the weekend, and we finally got a look at the Virtual Console. Unfortunately, that was all we could get a look at; the news, weather, and Opera-powered Web browser channels won't be online until at least December 20.

Shopping for old-school games with the Virtual Console is easy. If your Wii is online, just go to the Wii Shop channel and browse. These games cost Wii Points, which can be purchased in card form at stores such as Electronics Boutique, or with a credit card directly through the Wii … Read more