What was first, Xbox Live Arcade or Wii Virtual Console?

[Angrist]

I know that XLA was up and running before the Wii was launched, but who got the idea first? As a Ninfanboy I'd like to believe that Nintendo came up with it, but I might be wrong. :D

[Dyne]

I'm sure Nintendo has had the idea for years but never converted it into profit form. I'm sure they could've done it with gamecube, but they opted for collections and gameboy anniversary cartridges for more profit instead. I'm sure they couldn't have done much online before Nintendo Wifi.

[Ginkasa]

I'm sure the "idea" has been around for a while. Even if one company came up with the idea "first," I see no reason why the other company could have tought it up independently.


*shrugs and walks away*

[DeathsHand]

I'm sure Nintendo has had the idea for years but never converted it into profit form. I'm sure they could've done it with gamecube, but they opted for collections and gameboy anniversary cartridges for more profit instead. I'm sure they couldn't have done much online before Nintendo Wifi.

I seem to remember Nintendo stating that one of the reasons they didn't explore various online features last generation was because "Online features havn't been shown to be profitable"... Or something along those lines...

Selling old emulated games seems like a way to make a quick buck... 'Course they'd have needed a way to store them on the gamecube, since it didn't come with one built in (and they never released the fabled SD adapter)...

Anywho, XBLA and the VC aren't quite the same thing... Not only because XBLA is a tad more advanced (despite coming first... You'd think VC would have had it's capabilities and then some), but because it was designed to offer new downloadable games... Not simply ports from past generations (though it's received it's share of those)...

[thatmariolover]

The virtual console is designed to allow new games to be made for it and offered through the download service.

Nobody's taken advantage of it yet.

/sigh

At any rate, Nintendo's had a download service longer, certainly. They've had the SNES flashcarts you could get through the Japanese Nintendo Power. Just pay something like 7 bucks, pick the game you want to play and get a flashcart back with the game on it. They used to even have kiosks in stores that could copy the games so you didn't have to mail them off.

As for the virtual console, I really think that Nintendo based more of it on the Xbox Live Arcade than the other way around.

[Null]

didnt sega have this long long before any of the others did it? sega channel or something. i remember something, it didnt do well. but i believe they were the first to physically try something along those lines.

[Angrist]

I asked because I recently discovered that the PS3 also has something similar. :)

For XLA, couldn't you win points in games or something? Or get points with every game you buy? I thought I remembered something like that.

On a sidenote, I haven't bought 1 single VC game yet. Too darned expensive and we have most games on cartridge anyway.

[manasecret]

didnt sega have this long long before any of the others did it? sega channel or something. i remember something, it didnt do well. but i believe they were the first to physically try something along those lines.

Wow, yeah! I forgot all about the Sega channel. Probably because it flopped to hell. But still, they were there before VC and Live.

[Typhoid]

I'm sure Nintendo also had plans to crush capitalism, tear down the Berlin wall, and the democratic system.


But, you know...they just didnt step forward with any of them.

[Jonbo298]

I downloaded Sim City and Link to the Past as my first main choices for the VC. But taht collection has expanded since then

[gekko]

Wouldn't say either company had the idea. Emulation isn't exactly a new concept.

A for the dates, XBLA was launched in November 04, Revolution was announced in May. Not sure when XBLA was originally made public.

[Angrist]

Makes me wonder, with Worms coming for XBLA, could the Virtual Console do PC games? Or would the Wii require a software upgrade for that, so it can emulate PC?

[thatmariolover]

Well, it would have to be ported to the virtual console. I sincerely doubt the Wii has the horsepower to render a PC game through a VM. I think Worms for XBLA is a port as well, they're just releasing the software via XBLA instead of a disk because the game just isn't very big (download size) and it helps XBLA compete more directly with the Virtual Console.