Topic: Virtual Console or Cartridge?

pawn shops and the like will have cheap games, but they're not a reliable source. dedicated video game stores that have wide selections comparable to the VC will charge much more. if you want them cheap you can find them elsewhere, but you have to dig for them and hope they still work when you find them.

...you've never hooked an old system up to an HDTV, have you?

not true, although the N64 is the only system that sees big improvements. all vc games output in 480p, whereas everything before the gamecube was 240p. this doesn't make much difference for 2d games, but with 3d games that have to render polygons it makes a massive difference. take a look at this picture: http://i40.tinypic.com/2ealxtj.jpg
when you increase the resolution you increase the number of those 'points' the polygon is drawn with, allowing them to make smoother and more complex shapes. this is why N64 games look better with less of a blocky quality than the originals, even without a component cable or progressive taken into account.

when you do add component and 480p the color and clarity are instantly improved, and 2D games see the benefits of this as well. in my opinion the SNES has the most beautiful color palette of any system, enough to be deserving of a better cable. i've noticed lots of things in super metroid on the VC that i never did before, like the pulsing red glow lava casts on everything in norfair or the individual drops of water samus kicks up when she runs through water. all the different colored yoshis in mario world also look awesome, with their reds and blues jumping out at you.

(here's the source of that picture above, although i think this guy's example is off. the second, bigger picture should have way more points than the first to illustrate that it's higher res: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15272578&postc...

So older games on the NES and SNES do in fact look better on VC? I never noticed a difference in color but it does take away scan lines. I do like having all games on one system, but I do wish they made a VC channel to help keep your games more organized. By the way, has anyone checked these out?: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/30/nes-and-snes-controller-ada...

My VC games look more polished and crisp because I have my Wii using component cables. My original NES and SNES gaming systems both use RF switches...and my N64 uses just plain A/V cables.

But you are right, TC....N64 look much better on VC!!@!!

Dude, you need to upgrade your Nes and SNES to A/V pronto RF Switches are terrible.
Also the N64 and SNES both support S-Video, which is close to Component in terms of Clearness/sharpness.

I love the convienience of the VC and the aforementioned plus points like better picture on N64 games etc but there is nothing like hooking up an old console. The thrill of seeing if it still works,then getting your hands on the controller that you held for so many hours as a child and looking through the manual that you remember so vividly. You just don't get that sense of nostalgia with the VC. Its still a great thing though especially for rare or import games.

i guess vc because it easier to keep track or where yo stuff is

Break your retro consoles and your games are still with you. Break your Wii and all your VC games are gone. Cartridges has the advantage. If both are cared for, VC has the advantage of game saves lasting longer. Cartridges has another advantage of having it displayed for your collection to really show, and they can be borrowed/shared/traded around with friends.

VC is awesome, but you can never beat having the original cartrige in your hands.

Until the VC supports 60HZ, I'll keep my modded Megadrive - it looks better than the PAL VC versions in that the games are not squashed and slow!

Isn't this whole 50hz thing Euro only?

I won't lose my games with VC and they don't take up as much space

Huh? Who said anything about re-releasing the games in cartridge form again? They are already available, why re-release them? It may be more of a niche market than buying current generation games, but the market is still pretty big. Have you ever typed in NES into Ebay? You said yourself that the VC is there to cash in on people buying old used games, so apparently the market must be big enough that Nintendo sees reason to have the VC in the first place. But hey, nothing wrong with wanting to buy from the VC only if you want, but you're going to miss out on a lot of games that may never appear on the VC.

As for the games looking better on the VC, that's not really an issue to me. I grew up on my games with an RF connection on a small SDTV, so it's not that big of a deal.

That's very true and one of the biggest points I can think of. However according to Nintendo, if your Wii does happen to break you can transfer all your downloaded games onto another Wii.

N64 analog sticks aren't the greatest, and I don't have any other VC supported consoles.

I have most of the N64 VC games on cartidge, but I bought the others on the VC (they're also cheaper than you can usually get them at a pawn shop, the controls are sustainable, and there are no internal battery worries)

It depends on the system and what games you are looking for. I have a lot of Nes, Snes and Genesis games and the systems are hooked up. The only games I would buy on the vc would be imports for those three systems.

The N64 would be good for the vc due to the fact their isn't a lot of games that I would interest in.

I wouldn't buy Neo Geo games on cartridge because it is the most expensive system to collect for. The only way I would buy Neo Geo games is by vc or Compilation.

Imports

Like someone else pointed out, right now there is no guarantee that you can transfer your VC games to the next console. They probably will let you, but we just don't know yet. Right now the only VC games I buy are the rare ones that are really expensive to buy in their original format (like Rondo of Blood).

Cartridge.

The games themselves cannot be transferred; however, it may be possible to link the new system to your account.

@lz2010: Okay, I'm very confused and I don't get it. What use is linking your new system to your account if you cannot transfer games?

@brooks83: That might've been me and I also do the same thing you do, I only buy games that I don't currently already own on cartridge such as Rondo of Blood.

You can re-download them because you already bought them on the previous account.