According to reports in the official U.S. Nintendo Power magazine subsequently confirmed by Gamasutra, several classic titles made popular on the Commodore 64 games will appear on the Wii’s virtual console.
The only indications so far are of titles from now defunct U.S. developer Epyx, maker of the likes of
Impossible Mission and the
Summer/
Winter/
World/
California Games series. Best known for their work on the 8-bit Commodore 64 home computer, Epyx also designed the prototype Lynx console for Atari as well as several of its games.
Epyx filed for bankruptcy in 1989 and its assets were subsequently obtained by British developer System 3 (aka Studio 3), whose own titles Epyx had published in North America. System 3 were one of the most respected Commodore 64 developers in Europe, responsible for classics such as
The Last Ninja,
Myth,
International Karate (aka
World Karate Championship),
IK+ and
Putty.
[
UPDATE: Gamasutra has received a statement from System 3's Mark Cale on the deal: "System 3 are doing virtual console games for the Wii including
Impossible Mission which will go live in December. Other titles include
California Games and
The Last Ninja. We are also supporting the Wii with retail boxed games and we have 3 titles available for launch. They are
Gottlieb Pinball Classics, Super Fruit Fall and
Puzzle Ball with
Leaderboard and
Tennis Masters to follow in January."]
However, there has been no announcement from other publishers as to whether their back catalogue titles made famous on the Commodore 64 will also be offered on the service.
