14 DAY TRIAL // It's official Wii boys and girls, the upcoming addition of Zelda II - The Adventure of Link on June 4 in the US, marks the 100th classic game available on the Virtual Console. That's right, there are currently 99 classics on Nintendo's service, allowing users to download like crazy, for a few Wii points.
If Nintendo's calculations are correct (why wouldn't they be...?), more than 1.000 games have been downloaded through the service, every hour since launch. Here are the top five of the classic game titles downloaded globally to date, with their original launching systems:
1) Super Mario Bros. (NES) 2) Super Mario 64 (N64) 3) Mario Kart 64 (N64 - as if the title didn't give it away...) 4) Super Mario World (SNES) 5) The Legend of Zelda (NES)
"With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of people are getting connected and checking out the information and entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a Mii or just checking the weather, everyone has a favorite channel."
Of course, if you're one of those spoiled brats that don't even think of grabbing a Wiimote just for the sake of it, you're probably going to say "what a load of crap?!" But that would be so wrong, because, the thing is, before getting your PlayStation2 or Xbox 360, you too were playing SNES/PlayStation/N64 games. If you didn't get the chance to do that, Nintendo's making it available through the Wii Shop Channel. And all this from the comfort of your couch.
Besides, everything had to start somewhere. And you know what they say: "There's no time like the first time!"