Am I a complete sucker? Or is idiot a better word? Now hold on! Don’t go clicking on Comment yet. I haven’t even explained why I’m questioning my sucker/idiot status. I’ve realized that the Virtual Console is the perfect way for me to get all my favorite Nintendo games on one console. Because of this, I’ll gladly pay to download an old game that I already own. Let me explain.
As a longtime Nintendo nerd, I occasionally get the urge to go play Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES. Sometimes, I feel a great need to power slide and I must get my Mario Kart 64 fix. These are just two out of hundreds of possible examples. The problem with this is that since Nintendo has such a massive library over multiple consoles, it’s aggravating having to plug and unplug consoles left and right on a regular basis. Sure, I could get the ultimate gaming rig that has all my consoles hooked up to one TV, but switching out controllers and pulling cartridges out all the time is just aggravating. Not to mention having that many consoles in the living room where I keep my Wii doesn’t work (I’ve already got five or six non-Nintendo consoles hooked up). Besides, there’s something appealing about turning that sexy white box into the ultimate console ”“ the console that houses every major Nintendo game ever made. Okay, I’m exaggerating. I won’t buy EVERY Nintendo game released over the past twenty years. But I will pay (or repay) for the big ones – you know, pretty much all of the first party Nintendo games featuring the big mascot characters (there will be some exceptions ”“ Donkey Kong 64 was a boring collect-a-thon).
So when Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG, Metroid, Goldeneye 007 (stay positive”¦it could happen) and the tons of other classic games I’ve played over the years hit the VC, I’ll be there to repay Nintendo for the games I already own. Sad? Maybe. But you have to admit the Wii becomes a heck of a lot cooler when it houses all the big NES, Super NES, and N64 games. Combine that with Wii Sports, and I’m in geek heaven.
Does anyone else feel this way about downloading games that you already own in cartridge form? Or has Nintendo’s brainwashing worked on me far too well?