NES Remix is a really weird Virtual Console ad ⊟
Though I have yet to play it, I sure have been thinking about NES Remix. The Retro Game Challenge-like Wii U game came out of nowhere, and was fairly unusual for Nintendo – not because it recontextualizes old NES games, though there’s not nearly enough of that. No, it’s weird because it seems designed to promote the Virtual Console!
A screen in the game (image above snapped by Kotaku) actually points you out to the eShop, where you can buy the games featured in Remix. And in what cannot possibly be a coincidence, every game featured in NES Remix is part of the Wii U Virtual Console’s tiny selection of NES games.
I’m going to take this as a good sign for the future of the Virtual Console. Not only is Nintendo actually stepping up promotion of the service, it’s advertising it with a custom game (Does that mean it’s the development side of Nintendo doing the promotion?). Sure, it’s a $15 ad, but for an ad that is also its own neat game, that’s totally cool. If anything, it’s Nintendo at its Nintendo-est: responding to criticism in a way that nobody expected, and maybe nobody knew they wanted.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out the other great things Nintendo’s been doing with Virtual Console lately, like the themed sales and bundle discounts. It all points to a bright future for the past!
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