Try as I might, it's hard to hate Nintendo's Virtual Console. Yes there are things I would do differently (and I feel that in a lot of ways Nintendo has completely dropped the ball when it comes to rolling games out), but for everything that Nintendo has done wrong they have made up for it in spades. I love the current stable of game consoles (which recently grew to include the TurboDuo, SNK Neo Geo and Sega Master System) and look forward to seeing what they are going to do every single week. But Nintendo is not immune to the woes of digital distribution.

As it stands, Nintendo has delegated prices based entirely on the console of the port. Those prices include (from cheapest to most expensive): Sega Master System and the Nintendo Entertainment System are at $5, the TurboGrafx-16 is $6, the Super NES, Genesis and TurboDuo (disc-based TurboGrafx-16 games) are $8, the Neo Geo is at $9 and we find the Nintendo 64 sitting at the top at $10. From time to time Nintendo will add a dollar to the price (when the game is previously unreleased in the U.S., for example), but for the most part these are the prices.

I bring this up because time and time again we're finding that you can get the exact same games for much cheaper. I'm not going to throw used game sales into this equation; the prices of used retailers fluctuate, it's hard to find major stores offering some of these classic games and it's just not an option for a lot of people. Instead I'm going to compare these individual downloads to recent video game compilations.

The most heinous example of price gouging has to be the Sega Genesis games. If $8 sounds like a lot for a game from a 19 year old console, then it's because it is. The Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 featured 28 different games for a low, low $19.99 (or $29.99 if you wanted the PSP version). In case you don't want to do the math, each of the 28 games in this Genesis collection is worth a mere 71 cents. You heard that right, 71 cents. Heck, even if you bought the more expensive PSP version it would only run you $1.07, a fraction of the $8 Nintendo is currently charging.

And it doesn't stop with the Sega Genesis, just look at all of the Neo Geo games that are popping up for $9 each. One could certainly defend the price by reminding us that $9 is nothing compared to the $200 - $300 asking price of the original Neo Geo cartridges. And they're right, these Neo Geo games are certainly a lot more reasonable than how it used to be. But they undercut their own argument when they leave out the string of recent top-notch game collections coming out for the PlayStation 2 and PSP.

A good example of that is the SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 disc for the PlayStation 2 and PSP. Not only does this game feature just about every Neo Geo game available on the Virtual Console, but it also features a bunch of other titles that have yet to find their home in cyberspace. So, how much is each game going to run you in this SNK Arcade collection? $1.88. It hardly seems fair. And it's not just that collection that is showing up the Virtual Console, there's the Fatal Fury collection which offered gamers a chance to play this arcade classic for a mere $3.75. That's a little more than the SNK Arcade Classic disc, but $3.75 is still a lot better than the overpriced $9 asking price.

And it's not just game collections on other platforms; even SNK's $40 Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii puts the Virtual Console to shame. With seven games on the disc each of the seven arcade titles averaged to $5.71. This fact is not only important because of the price (which is still better than nine dollars), but because this was the first and last Neo Geo collection released on the Wii. Since then Nintendo has opened up a new channel for SNK's console and the company is trying to get people to pay $9 for one game, instead of buying a disc for $20 that contains a bunch of great games.

Unfortunately this is the biggest problem with the Wii's Virtual Console. Seeing that people are willing to pay five, eight and even ten dollars for a twenty year old games, what incentive do companies like Sega, Namco and Nintendo have for releasing new game compilations? And don't think this is not going through these company's minds as I write this. At least year's E3 a Sega spokesman confirmed my worst nightmare, that they are reevaluating whether or not they will continue to release classic game compilations. That means that not only are these Virtual Console releases bad for your pocketbook, but they also spell the death of video game compilations.

What's Wrong With this Argument? The obvious argument is that not every Virtual Console game can be found in a low-priced compilation. At this point the Virtual Console is basically the only place to find old TurboGrafx-16, Neo Geo and Sega Master System games. Nobody seems to care enough to make a big Sega Master System compilation and it's not like you can go to your local GameStop and buy a used copy of Phantasy Star. So in a lot of ways I should be appreciative of what Nintendo is trying to do, even if they have gone about it poorly and are grossly overpriced.


Thank god for the PlayStation 3. Wow, I never expected those words to come out of my mouth. So far we've talked about all of these companies trying to grab as much money as they can get from downloadable content, but not the PlayStation Network. While it's true that there are a few overpriced items on the PSN, most of the content is in line with what you would find in the retail space. This is especially true when talking about Sony's upcoming first-party releases, many of which are being offered at both retail outlets and for download via the PlayStation Network.

This online experiment started late last year when Sony released their updated version of Warhawk. For the first time ever, PlayStation 3 owners had to choose whether they wanted to run out to the store and buy the $60 version of Warhawk (which came with a game and a wireless bluetooth headset) or just download the game to their hard drive for $40 while sitting on their couch in their underwear. Having a choice is nice, but you're not getting the discount that you think you are.

After some complaining, Sony decided to release a $40 retail version, which took the bluetooth headset out of the bundle. So at best these two products (the digital and the physical) are the exact same price. Which will be true when they release Gran Turismo 5 Prologue next week and for the upcoming SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs title. $40 seems to be the sweet spot for this kind of game, both online and off, so I expect to see a lot more of it as we go into the PlayStation 3's third, fourth and fifth year.

But maybe that's the problem, we're settling for a best case scenario where we're happy when the prices are the same. Isn't that at least a little troubling? The proponents of this download-only future are arguing that this will make games cheaper, yet here we are excited that Sony is giving us the games for the same price as retail because everybody else is ready to charge us more. Seeing as DVDs aren't large or thick, it's hard to make the argument that it's just clutter. Either way, the facts are that these downloadable games aren't cheaper; at best they are the same price.

What's Wrong With this Argument? The argument for downloadable content is not merely the price, but rather the convenience. Being able to download a game straight from the online store means that it will always be in stock and you never have to drive someplace to get it. And what if you lose it? Don't worry, you can go ahead and download it again for free. That's the argument for the downloadable future. Oh, and it would also make little girls smile, the rain go away and money to grow on trees. Yeah, that's what we can expect when we get rid of physical media. Until then all you're doing is making that little girl cry ... and you don't want that on your conscience, do you?