Oh man the Wii's stock just dropped in your book! Holy crap inform Nintendo!!!
Please do. And I love how you try and drop an absolute in a manner that seems you know what you're talking about (People will pay)
There's no reason at all to think that people will pay. Basing your statement on ports to the GBA and downloadable versions on a console is like comparing Apples to Orangutans. One nets you a
physical cartridge that you can play on your portable system from now until they break or rot. The other exists exclusively on your Wii, is only available to those with a broadband connection and a credit card, and contains no enhancements over the original.
It's one thing to re-port Super Mario World onto the GBA (with enhanced graphics and a two player mode) and sell it for 29.99, it's a whole other thing to have Super Play Action Football or Pilotwings available to download for $4.99. Just look at how well the NES Classics series on GBA did. Outside of a couple of titles (Zelda and Super Mario Bros.), they can't move those games on clearance for $4.99 - $7.99. And you actually physically GET something for that price.
Now if they do offer repackaged classics with online play, leaderboards, and essentially all the things Xbox Live offers, $4.99 is a reasonable price to pay for some of the quality titles in Nintendo's catalog. But Nintendo hasn't offered anything to show that this is the case (they're on record saying none of the games will have graphical improvements).
Will people pay $4.99 for Super Mario World straight up on the VC? Probably. Will people pay $9.99 for Mario 64? Maybe. Will people pay $9.99 for Wave Race 64? Highly unlikely.
But, from everything I'm reading, this is speculation on EGMs part, not anything confirmed by Nintendo.
The Virtual Console won't make or break my personal purchase of the Wii. I'm going to get one regardless, just like the PS3. I've already got a 360. But it might make a difference to other perspective buyers out there. Nintendo wants to attract non-gamers and people who have stopped playing games. The best way to do that is to offer the games they used to play (e.g. NES & SNES) at an attractive price point. Five dollars for a downloadable game is NOT an attractive price point for the average consumer. Typically, most people view the $5.00 marker is when the money is no longer "disposable".
Finally, try not being a dick in your posts to me. It's easy to do, as long as you're not
actually a dick.
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