Why Is The Virtual Console The Only Thing I Play On My Wii?

By now, if you’ve ever read a single one of my articles before, you’d probably think that I hate the Wii. A lot. That’s as in current episodes of Family Guy, a lot. But that actually couldn’t be farther from the truth. I actually love the Wii right now, but not for the reasons many of you fanboys (and girls) out there love it for (And why you love it for now, I can’t even imagine). Currently, the video game market is looking pretty dismal. With a stale 360 line-up (Besides BioShock, which looks aw, aw, aw, awesome), and abysmal PS3 games (Metal Gear notwithstanding), it looks like my once favored pastime has become a chore in itself just to get enthused for what I once used to love so very much.

But there’s hope! Much like every generation runs out of cultural ideas for pretty much everything (In the 90s, it was clothes. That’s why bell-bottom JNCO jeans got so stupidly popular), games look to be on that familiar treadmill effect again that happened in the early 80s. I mean, sure, there are some exceptions to the rule—God of War 2, Dead Rising, and Guitar Hero 2 come to mind—but for the most part, what else is there? Honestly. And please, no more long lists of crummy games to prove me wrong. I usually laugh at those and say, “Man, you are reach-ing.”

But as I said before, there’s hope. While I never really forgot how much fun a game like Kid Chameleon or Wave Race 64 was, it’s nice to be reminded of it every so often, and the Virtual Console does just that. Sure, I wish some of my personal favorites would land on the console (I am REALLY pining for some Battletoads and Double Dragon action right about now), but what’s been put up there on the VC market, for the most part, is really pretty good. Even better than TMNT The Arcade Game, which landed on X-Box Live Arcade not too long ago. And for a shell-shocked shell head like me to say that, that’s saying quite a bit.

So as a retro machine with style, the Wii really isn’t all that bad. But as a serious console, the Wii is pathetic. As is the PS3, and as is the 360 (And no, I don’t work for Microsoft as some have implied. I don’t even own a 360, damnit). Hopefully, this dearth in quality new games is only temporary, though. A man can only get too much of Balloon Fight before he finally gives up and stops playing altogether.