Being an owner of the sonic, mega man and mega man x collections for Game Cube as well as the Metal Slug anthology for Wii I can't see the reason why people would buy these series' games individually from the Virtual Console if they knew these collections existed, especially since they can be gotten pretty cheap ( I think I got each of them for ten bucks each). Really, why would you download Metal Slug when for a few bucks more you could own all of them (minus 7). Does anyone feel differently?

I generally prefer compilations because of price reasons. £18 for the Mega Drive ultimate Collection on play right now. That's 49 games instead of 3-4 on the VC individually

i prefer using NES-style controls on VC games (playing MegaMan 2 on a PS2 just doesn't feel right!)

They really should release Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Wii. They are available for PS3 and Xbox 360. I bet VC is the reason why the game will never come out for the Wii.

@Don - Almost certainly the reason. Why else?

Is it true the controls in Metal Slug Anthology are a little dodgy, i will still be picking this up either way when i see it for the right price as i am a big Metal Slug fan.

I prefer both. VC when the game isn't available on the compilation, if the compilation suffers from horrible emulation issues like Midway Arcade Treasures 2, or if there's only 1 game I want in the compilation like Fatal Fury Battle Archives vol. 1. I prefer compilations when there's more than 1 game on the VC that I could get for cheaper if the compilation doesn't have horrible emulation issues.

i prefer game compilations. the price for single downloaded VC games is quite high considering they are basically just roms for the already existing emulators the wii has. I'll pay for a compilation like samurai showdown anthology but i'd rather just use my homebrew enabled wii for emulation, or my pc. to me VC downloads are generally just not a good value considering nothing has been added to the games and in some cases things taken out.
though the pc engine cd games aren't too a bad value considering unofficial emulation can be not perfect quality and trying to find good quality downloads can be tough.

back to the topic: compilations usually at least have some different front ends or bonus materials or something that makes if feel like a real product at least. they are generally cheaper then VC downloads. They also give you a physical product.

I'd rather have the choice of Virtual Console download vs. compilation disc.

There are some games that it works out cheaper to buy a compilation disc for and then there are compilations that are very poor and not worth bothering with.

Simply put, rent the collection. If you like only certain games in a collection, then pick the corresponding VC Download; else, buy the collection.

Myself, I (actually "The Moon") have all 3 Sonic Collections, yet I am waiting for Knuckles Chaotix and the Sonic Arcade games to reach Virtual Console.

I prefer compilations, but I take what I can get.

I hate compilations. Classic / retro gaming for me is a spontaneous kind of thing -- I might want to play a quick Mega Man 3 stage while waiting for something to cook on the stove. There's nothing more ridiculous than having to find the disc, change it out, have it go into GC mode, plug in the GC controller... even with Wii game compilations it's a chore to always need that disc, and to wait for the disc to be recognized / get past the Wii disclaimers etc, when you're only planning on playing one game for 5-10 minutes.

VC is the far better option, even when it's more expensive. I have the Mega Man Collection for the GC, and I played through Mega Man 2 using that, but now I'm probably going to just keep buying the other games in the series on the VC instead. I want all my retro games to be waiting on menu / SD menu, a click away, resuming where I left off instantly, and using the Wii remote. No wasted time, no fuss, just give me the next stage in SMB:LL and let me play for 5 minutes.

There's 3 Sonic collections? I was only aware of 2; Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Gems.

Knuckles Chaotix would be cool. Infact that's just about the only 32X game worth a damn. I don't really understand why Sega just buries it.

That is definitely a good point, though if I'm loading up a comp disc it isn't just to play one game -- the Gamecube controller and having to use HBC/GeckoOS are what keeps me from running Midway Arcade Treasures more than I do...

I don't really know why but I prefer having games from the VC. I sold the Sonic collection and have been gradually buying the games again for the VC.
Maybe it's because for me most compilation disks only have a few games I want and a lot of filler. It just looks soo nice to have all your favourite classic games together.

What about a balance between them, I have some compilations like Sonic's, Megaman's, Metal Slug, Capcom, Snk, most for PS2, I like alot of the games on these, but I just love a few, so I'll get those few on VC (if they ever come out) to comfy play them on my Wii anytime I want, and keep the collections for the other games.

It's a bit confusing, actually.
*Sonic Mega Collection includes all the Mega Drive games.
*Sonic Adventure DX includes, in addition to the titular game, all the Game Gear games.
*Sonic Mega Collection Plus includes all the Mega Drive games from SMC and half the Game Gear games from SADX. It's also PS2/Xbox-only, while Mega Collection was GC-only, and SADX was GC/PC only.
*Sonic Gems Collection includes Sonic CD, R and Fighters, as well as the other half of the GG games not included on SMCP. This way, the PS2 owners get all the classic games, the GC owners get all the classic games, but about a third of them twice over, and the Xbox owners miss out on half the GG games and the other Gems games, since Gems never got an Xbox release.

The controls on the Megaman Collection for Gamecube are all screwed up. The VC versions are far superior.

Oh, I didn't realize SADX included Game Gear Sonic's. Although I'd still have trouble labeling that a "collection" since those games are just bonuses.

Yes, I was talking about Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Gems Colection, and Sonic Adventure DX. (Now if only Sega would release the last retro Sonic games: arcade, console, and handheld...)