Whining Over Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console

Last November Nintendo released their new video game console to much excitement and praise. The Nintendo Wii bolstered a new way of playing video games. Instead of using the normal controller scheme we all grew up with, Nintendo decided to break the mold and create a whole new way to game. The Wii Remote, shaped like, you guessed it, a remote, has motion and position sensing technology to put you more in the game more than ever before. Although some of the public was skeptical toward this new technology, it has still steadily risen in popularity since its release.

One extra feature in the Nintendo Wii is the Virtual Console. Through internet enabled menus, you can search through a list of classic video games from previous Nintendo and Sega consoles and purchase them. When you buy them, they are downloaded onto the Wii system and you can play them at your leisure. The games go as far back as the mid '80s NES days. If you like classic gaming, reliving your childhood once more, then check out the Virtual Console. Although this isn't the main function of the Nintendo Wii, it is a good addition to its content.

You could imagine that having all these classic games at your fingertips would be exciting and promising. Still, many people can't seem to stop complaining about it. It's hard to enter a gaming message board without being bombarded by complaints about the classic gaming services. Most complaints are about the quality of games available for download, and the prices of the games. I think that it's ridiculous to whine about this kind of stuff, which you'll soon learn why. It seems that the public is whining about all the wrong things.

Every Monday Nintendo adds a few new games to the list of available Virtual console downloads. Each Monday people complain up a storm once they hear what the games are. For example, you can download Baseball and Tennis, which were originally released for the NES. These games are pretty simple and don't age as well as other games. Why do they complain, though? You don't have to buy them if you don't want to. I could see people complaining if those games came with a pack of games to buy. Sure, they are of low quality now, but they were very popular in their day. If you don't want to play Baseball or Tennis, you don't have to. There are plenty of other good games to play.

Each console has a different price scheme. Games that were originally on the Nintendo Entertainment system cost 500 points (or five dollars) to purchase. SNES games are eight dollars and N64 are ten, just for an example. A lot of people think that paying a base fee is wrong because some of the games on each platform are better than others. While that may be the case, having a base fee is the fairest method. Some people's views on what a 'good' game is may be different from others. Some people might really love Baseball for the NES. If Nintendo charged more for the popular ones, they could abuse this. It may end up that a game you really want will cost twenty dollars because Nintendo knows it's popular. Also, it seems weird to complain about paying five dollars for infinite access to an NES game. If you search on Ebay you can find Super Mario Bros. for more than seven dollars not including shipping. It's cheaper to buy it in the Virtual Console.

If gamers have anything to whine about, it should be the differences between the Virtual Console game lists for Japan, Europe, and North America. Japan and Europe have more A-list games than North America does. Japan has games like Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo and Fire Emblem for the NES. These are popular games that we aren't seeing in America.

Although this seems more like something to whine about than price or quality, it still seems lame to whine at all. The Virtual Console isn't the main purpose of the Nintendo Wii. They never force you to buy anything, so you can just avoid the games you don't like. Next time you get annoyed by the prices, think about how much it would cost to play these games otherwise. The Virtual Console really is a better deal. Although Japan and Europe have better games, I'm confident that North America will catch up soon. Moral of the story? Stop whining!