Nintendo will be launching a new service with the Nintendo Wii, aimed directly at those of us who still think old school is better. Called Virtual Console games, Nintendo will begin offering classic games from not only previous Nintendo systems, but also from the Genesis and even TurboGrafx-16. While the initial game list is fairly small, Nintendo appears to be releasing the selections somewhat chronologically according to each system.
Nintendo has always been very protective of their old games, recognizing the profit potential. When emulators and ROMs hit the internet, Nintendo was quick to intercede. A few years ago, Nintendo introduced a card reader system that allowed players to swip cards of classic games and play them on the Gameboy systems. The idea, while novel, wasn’t very popular, and Nintendo later released full-blown cartridges at $20-30. This also was met who mixed reviews. Players were glad to have the old games, but felt that the price was too high. Nintendo’s new program is much more budget friendly, starting at $5 per game, depending on the system.
While I will always treasure the original cartridges, there are flaws. They get dirty and unreadable, and the NES in particular had a poor design. It’s great to see that Nintendo will be offering their old games to a new generation, but I don’t want to buy the games again. What I would like to see is Nintendo put out an official, updated version of the old NES console, fixing the flaws and keeping the original players satisfied. While that has about zero chance of happening, one can always dream.
-mlbradley
durden26@comcast.net