Good Evening, Mr. Bond. Will it be the Wii or the 360?

It’s been circulating the rumor mill for over 2 years now: Goldeneye 64 will be coming to XBox Live Arcade. And why shouldn’t it? Considering Rare (the developers of the original Nintendo 64 title) has been a first-party developer for Microsoft since September ‘02, it seemed an obvious inevitability. While this has yet to be seen though, it does spark the question, “What about the Virtual Console? Goldeneye 64 is a Nintendo game!“

I may risk a verbal arse-kicking by saying this, but in all sincerity: Screw the Virtual Console! I hope Mr. Bond enjoys his new home on XBLA! My apologies to all you Nintendo fanboys; that statement probably hurt your feelings, possibly stirring up some rage with a side of angst. Please, feel free to take your Wiimote to chuck and virtually strangle me. There, feel better?

Don’t get me wrong; I love Nintendo. I have a Wii that’s seen its fair share of game time, just as my PS3 or my XBox 360. And aside from the obvious Nintendo franchise favorites (such as Mario, Zelda, Metroid), there is a decent selection of great party games. Boom Blox, Mario Party 8, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and even the console pack-in title Wii Sports, just to name a few. But when I consider the more hardcore nature of multiplayer first-person shooter frag-fests, Nintendo stands out front like the fat kid in a dodge ball game–it doesn’t. Instead, I think XBox 360. 

Having embraced online gaming early on, Microsoft ‘s XBox Live has demonstrated to me its acceptance of the online gaming community. Granted it may not be free, but the matchmaking services, friends lists, in-game voice-chat, and many other customizable features are worth it. Nintendo, on the other hand, has always demonstrated reluctance to show support for online gaming. At one point, Nintendo’s own president and CEO Saturo Iwata even went so far as to say that “users don’t want online games.” When I first heard that, I couldn’t help but shake my head for Nintendo and mutter quietly, “Oh no, Nintendo. You got dumb.”

Well, partially dumb. Nintendo has slowly been changing their tune. While the library of online games for the Wii is small, titles are appearing in the Wii’s library that support online gameplay, such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii. Great! Finally, signs that Nintendo is catching up with everyone else! And with the upcoming Wii Speak, we’ll finally see voice-chat brought to the console. Good, because that whole thing in SSBB with four selectable programmable phrases? Lame.

Regardless of all this, however, it’s not up to Rare as to which system it goes to. Though they were the developers of the original title, Activision Blizzard holds Bond’s license to kill now. Any further IPs, including re-releases, are all up to them. (Evidently, Microsoft already has a Live version of Goldeneye 64 waiting to go. But again, due to licensing issues, its release has been stifled.)

While my opinion may irritate some of you Nintendo fanboys, consider the experience you’d want vs. console loyalty. Like I said, I like my Nintendo Wii, but I just don’t see it as the choice platform for one of my favorite old-school first-person shooters. When I play Goldeneye 64, I want it to be reminiscent of the days when friends and I sat scrunched on an old couch around a TV, yelling jocular insults back and forth and having a blast doing it. Until that day though, perhaps Rare can help ease the waiting by re-releasing a certain other title that was quite similar to Goldeneye 64? You know, Perfect Dark? Take a hint, Rare.