| Garcian Smith said: I find a lot of N64 games attractive. While the realistic ones - like, say, Goldeneye - haven't aged well in the graphics department, the "cartoony" games like Banjo, Mario, and Zelda still look pretty good today, especially upscaled. And, as I said, seeing those games through a crisp component connection sure beats the blurry-as-hell picture from an RF switch. As for the second point, you're comparing apples to oranges. When people talk about "digital distribution," they're usually discussing full ($50-$60) games. The general consensus, as far as I know, is that digital distribution of those titles offers little tangible benefit over the physical media, and actually carries several drawbacks (not being able to buy or resell used; takes up tons of hard drive space; takes too long to download with current connections the way they are.) Smaller titles, like those on the VC, have none of those problems. If you don't like the game you download, you're only out $5-$10, rather than $50-$60. They don't take up much HD space (it says something that a paltry 512mb is enough for the majority of Wii owners). They take only a few minutes to download, at most. And on top of that, they offer tons of tangible benefits over cartridges: you don't need to own multiple systems; you don't need to switch between multiple systems; you don't need to deal with old, outdated hardware; you don't need to find a place to store a ton of bulky cartridges; you don't need to swap cartridges; you can own one set of peripherals (i.e. controllers) to play all of the systems; you don't need to own an entire classic system just to play one or two games; and, on top of all that, most VC purchases are actually cheaper than you could otherwise find the games on the secondary market. And, as I said, thanks to modern connections, all of the games look better. |
The same points apply to VC games. They too cannot be resold or bought an a used market. While cartridges may feel bulky to some, others enjoy the freedom of being able to travel to a friend's house with a game rather than a console.
Owning the consoles themselves also gives you the ability to tap into the entirety of the gaming line-up. The Virtual Console is passable at best in regards to giving people the games they really want to play when utter garbage gets put through the pipeline on a weekly basis. You may have to actually own an N64 to play Ogre Battle 64 and an SNES to play Chrono Trigger, but that is a worthwhile price to pay to actually be able to play these games. That brings me to the better option.
If the VC isn't going to offer anything over the same experience as the cartridge, where is the benefit of buying games that have been available as emulations on the PC for years? You save space, money, and in the case of Japanese games, the possibility of a translation to a gem from yesturyear. You also benefit from having almost the entire library of games to choose through. Not to mention that certain games have been given the benefit of a rough attempt at online multiplayer. We all own PCs capable of these emulators, so no enhancements necessary. Not to mention these are games that were already off the market for over a decade, so no need for the guilty feeling of pirating.
All I was saying was that games with multiplayer should include online when they are added back into Nintendo's Shop Channel and should be set by Nintendo as mandatory. Microsoft does it, and I believe Sony does to an extent. Why pay a VC price of $8 for Street Fighter II Turbo when you can get Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting on XBLA for $10 with online play? Or why couldn't there have been a bit more effort and pushing to get the same for Wii owners?
Tag: Became a freaking mod and a complete douche, coincidentally, at the same time.
