Racketboy

When Nintendo first announced their Virtual Console concept for the Wii (then the Revolution), many gamers were under the assumption that ALL NES, SNES, and N64 games will be available for (possibly free) download. While that rumor was eventually defeated, we weren’t quite sure what the available titles would be or how much games would cost.

There were numerous rumors about title lineups and prices, but today Nintendo finally made an official announcement about what will be available between launch and the remainder of 2006.

NES Games (500 Wii Points)

• Mario Bros.
• The Legend of Zelda
• Donkey Kong
• Donkey Kong Jr.
• Ice Hockey
• Pinball
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Urban Champion
• Wario’s Woods
• Baseball
• Solomon’s Key

SNES Games (800 Wii Points)

• F-Zero
• SimCity
• Donkey Kong Country (in Europe)

N64 Games (1000 Wii Points)

• Super Mario 64

Genesis Games (800 Wii Points)

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Altered Beast
• Golden Axe
• Columns
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Gunstar Heroes
• Space Harrier II
• Toe Jam & Earl
• Ristar
• Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

TurboGrafx 16 Games (600 Wii Points)

• Bonk’s Adventure
• Super Star Soldier
• Victory Run
• Bomberman ‘93
• Dungeon Explorer

Japan, on the other hand will get quite a few extra games to start off including Super Mario World on the SNES. To see a full comparison list of games between all regions, check out this helpful post on Joystiq.

Nintendo reportedly plans to make ten new games available every month, so don’t get discouraged that this is a small selection.

You man be wondering why doesn’t Nintendo release more games now? And why are such obvious selections missing from Nintendo’s own library? Here is my take…

First off all, I think Nintendo is watching the success of the XBox Live Arcade. You will notice the Microsoft only releases a few new games on the XBLA every month or so. Because of this, when a new game gets added, there is a decent amount of attention paid to it — look at Street Fighter II as the perfect example.

If there were hundreds of games available right at the start and hundreds more being added every month, even some of the better games would get lost in the shuffle. This slow strategy ensures that every game gets the attention it deserves and maximizes sales over the long term.

I also believe that Nintendo is holding back on most of its own titles to give more attention to Sega and Hudson’s offerings. They want to prove to the third parties that they can make good money on the Virtual Console. If they flood the VC with all the Marios, Metroids, Zeldas, and such there will be far fewer gamers that will by the Sonics and Bonks.

It will be interesting to see what the new year will hold for the Virtual Console and I know every retro gamer has their wish list. I’ll keep you posted!

Update:
More Titles Announced Here

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Sega, Nintendo