In Defense of the Virtual Console's pricing

[wraggster]

via wifanboy

We've surveyed your irritation with the Virtual Console's rates and even had you calculate the exact amount of Wii points you've been swindled out of so far, but VGamp's Chris Sinclair argues that the game downloads aren't expensive at all. Chris listed eleven reasons to support his claim, even admitting that he would be willing to pay more for the retro titles. While he might come across as an inflexible apologist, some of his points make sense.

According to Chris, you're getting a deal whenever you make a purchase on the Shopping Channel. For example, let's say that you put out the cash for Soldier Blade, a title that sometimes sells for $50+ on eBay. You're scoring a discount on a relatively rare game that's guaranteed to work decades from now, and you don't even have to pay for the TurboGrafx-16 console or the controllers to play it with. As an added bonus, many of these emulated games look better than they ever did before.

Alright, so we're still not entirely convinced that Altered Beast is worth the 800 Wii points Sega is asking for, but we can see where Chris is going with this. What do you think? Does the pricing seem justified after considering his points, or do you still feel like you're being fleeced?

[Keelhaul]

8 Euros for a SNES/MD game and 10 for a N64 game is a pathetic attempt to milk old cows, IMHO. On the other hand, it is nice of them to offer old classics for a modern system. Not at this price though. 250 WP for a 16-bit game and 500 for an N64 game would be a just price. But I also think it is time for all games up to the 16-bit era to finally become abandonware, which Nintendo should offer for free.

And honestly, who of us doesn't have hundreds of ROMs sitting on their HDD already?

[Critical_Impact]

And with GC Homebrew those roms can be played on the same console that they want to sell us them on.

[Anger]

i said it before so i shall say it again. i resent paying twice for anything. in my eyes no more than £2-3 is acceptable because almost all the games already released can be gotten for this amount from the bargain basement bins. however those who have the carts already shouldnt have to pay for what is essentially the same product.
now consider this - vc games will last as long as the wii will. how long will the original carts (and consoles) last? thats right, a hell of a lot longer and there the same price.
its for these reasons i would hold back paying for any vc game - at least until they stop charging people for the same game twice.
i know they must make money but consider this - why should they make more money on something they already sold us?