Nintendo’s Virtual Console has become something of a retro gaming haven for fans of the old school titles like Metroid, Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and the Super Mario Bros. series. It has become an inexpensive way for older gamers to feed that nostalgic hunger, and a way for younger gamers to experience what gaming was like in its early years. But has it become a good enough reason to keep your Nintendo Wii under your TV? I would suppose that all depends on your level of interest in the classics.

If you are like me, the Wii Virtual Console has become an inexpensive way to have copies of old, beloved titles from systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment Center, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and the Nintendo 64, just to name a few. As of this writing there are close to 400 titles available in North America, and just a few less in Europe and Australia.

With the available library of downloadable titles, the Virtual Console has made life easier for fans of retro gaming. For those young enough not to remember the games in the infancy of Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, the Wii Virtual Console is a perfect way for Parents to get there young gamers acquainted with the titles that they grew up with.

The prices, I feel are reasonable with each 100 Wii pts equaling out to $1.00. Here is the break down:

Master System = 500pts

Nintendo Entertainment System = 500pts

Commodore 64 = 500pts

TurboGrafix-16 = 600pts

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive = 800pts

Super Nintendo Entertainment System = 800pts

Neo Geo = 900pts

Nintendo 64 = 1,000pts

I feel that this is not a terrible price point considering that in the wild, original copies of the games from these systems could run you anywhere from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. Although I do understand that a digital copy of a classic game is not an ideal replacement for having the hard copy in your hand. But for those without the funds, or the time to hunt down each game, or a working system, the Virtual Console is a good alternative.

Granted, not all the games on the Wii Virtual Console are golden finds. For every Super Mario RPG, or Mega Man X, there are a dozen bad titles. In fact, the bad titles out number the good. But it’s those great classic titles that make the hunt through the Virtual Console worth it.

In my research I have noticed that some of the games offered on the Virtual Console can be purchased in collections that are playable on competitive systems such as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but Nintendo still retains their iconic titles on their system.

In closing, Nintendo’s Virtual Console may not be a reason to buy a Nintendo Wii, but if you already have one, I think it’s a decent reason to keep it around. Plus it’s always nice to get a taste of the times when video games where new, and the word “Bit” was a common phrase in the video game vocabulary.

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