Buyer's Remorse

I bought Mario 64 off the virtual console knowing full well that I probably wouldn't get around to playing it until a dry spell hit, and I was fine with that. Mario 64 is a timeless classic that's perfect to hold me over anytime be it in a few months or years down the road. But of course a big part of my excitement about the virtual console feature was getting to play classic titles that I missed out on (and hopefully some original games down the road). I mulled over what was currently available, and if I should wait, but I decided what the hell and bought Bonk's Adventure. I tried it out, enjoyed it, then realized I have no real urge to play this beyond my initial attempt. This is simply a shining example of a game that is long past it's prime and what was good over 15 years ago, probably won't hold up today (see Altered Beast, also available on the VC). Granted, it's definitely partially my fault for thinking some old TG-16 platformer would still hold my interest, but it wouldn't be a horrible idea if Nintendo offered some sort of trial offer where I could play just a couple of levels. Just a friendly reminder to be really, really, REALLY sure that you definitely will get your money's worth (even if it's only the $5-$10 you spent).

Congrats to Nintendo on selling over 600,000 Wiis (and over 450,000 copies of Zelda) in their first week. Definitely a much bigger demand than the Gamecube, where you could pretty much walk into a store anytime and pick one up. If this trend continues past the holidays, they will probably be number one in no time.

But just how important is being number one? Not very, according to a great editorial in the New Yorker. While MS & Sony lose billions fighting their high-end tech war, Nintendo's sort of chugged along in a solid third the last two rounds, but raking in the cash while doing so. So if and when Sony is number one in a few years again, they still may be hemorrhaging money while Nintendo continues to thrive regardless of it's position in the console race.

That's all I got for today, but here's your next dose of holiday cheer: A Dragonball Z XMAS (courtesy of Robot Chicken):