Backwards Compatibility - How Nintendo Was Forward Thinking

With all these news stories about how Sony is dropping the PS2 components out of the Playstation 3 and moving to software emulation, and how Microsoft is planning to decrease their attention to backwards compatibility on the XBox 360, it seems clear who was being the most logical about the past and future of gaming being able to mesh.

Nintendo and the Virtual Console have managed to easily avoid the problem of backwards compatibility in Nintendo systems. Someone has sold their Gamecube? No problem. The Nintendo Wii plays Gamecube games. Now, someone has broken their NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, or N64. Well, they can buy the games for a semi-reasonable cost on the Virtual Console.

What I think Nintendo will have to do though is somehow make it so that you can use the Nintendo Wii to store your Gamecube games in a registry to your name. That way, when Wii2 comes out five or ten years down the road, instead of having to make it backwards compatible, you can just offer Gamecube downloads for all the items on your game registry.

Now, I can see how there is the potential for the system to be exploited. For example, what is to stop me from borrowing some of Andrew’s games that I never had and adding them to my registry. However, I’m sure with a little clever programming, this can be worked around.

Still, I would hate to have to get rid of my Gamecube library (which is quite extensive). All things considered, perhaps the computer is the better gaming platform through clients like Steam. That way, you can re-download whatever programs are in your name to whichever computer you wish, but only one person can be logged on at a time.

Anyway, just thought I’d say that Nintendo was doing alright by my books in this regard.

Also, I’m tired, hungry and pennyless.