Several anticipated games have shown up on the ESRB ratings website.
Games often show up on the ESRB website before they are officially announced. With Virtual Console titles being rated, we can get a glimpse at upcoming titles. Not all games rated by the ESRB see releases, however. For example, the Bit Generations games were rated but never materialized in the US. Additionally, many Virtual Console titles have popped up on the site only to be removed later.
One upcoming Genesis game, Comix Zone, is listed with an E rating and was recently revealed by Nintendo Power. One NES game, Mighty Bomb Jack by Tecmo also has an E rating and is scheduled for release in Japan.
Five TurboGrafx-16 games, Neutopia, Bonk's Revenge, Bonk III: Bonk's Big Adventure, Dragon's Curse, and Chew Man Fu have appeared on the ESRB ratings website, each with E ratings. The former four appeared within the past three weeks and have since been removed. Chew Man Fu was just announced for a Japan release and is currently listed on the ESRB website.
Two E-rated games by 21 Rocks, LLC appear likely to represent the first two non-VC "Wii Ware" releases. Sproink and Jewel Quest II are already available as Flash games, but are scheduled for an appearance on Wii. Nintendo confirmed today to CVG that new downloadable games will indeed make their way to Wii, stating, "Nintendo has developed a programming system that will allow small independent developers to make games for Wii download service. We cannot confirm at this time in what format the new content will be delivered, but in the future there will be original games available for download through the Wii Shop."
One unannounced non-VC game by Hudson, Kororinpa, was also listed with an E rating. The game has since been removed, though a European release was already announced.
Donkey Kong Country (SNES) also once appeared on the list, but has since been removed. However, Nintendo Power confirmed that the game is coming soon.
Currently, the ESRB still lists four unannounced Virtual Console games: Pro Wrestling (NES), Punch-Out (NES), PilotWings (SNES), and Kid Icarus (NES). All four games received an E rating. Kirby's Adventure (NES), rated E, also makes an appearance and was just announced for a Japanese release. Konami's Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES) has an E10+ rating and is already available in Japan. Capcom's Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts (SNES), which was just announced for Japan, received an E rating by the ESRB. Finally, Galaga (NES) from Namco, also just announced in Japan, received an E rating.
Two games, Super Mario World (SNES) and Gain Ground (Genesis) have already been spotted on the US Virtual Console site. Though not yet publicly available for download, they should be arriving shortly. Super Mario World is rated E on the ESRB site.
Today, Sega also released media for their three upcoming Genesis games, Bonanza Bros., Comix Zone, and Gain Ground.