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

[DeathsHand]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.