Nintendo announced that upon its release on November 19, 2006, the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console service has amassed over 4.7 million downloads. This rate equals out to around 1,000 games downloaded every hour since launch. In addition, the forthcoming release of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on June 4th will mark the 100th classic game available on the Virtual Console.
The top five classic games downloads are:
1) Super Mario Bros. (NES)
2) Super Mario 64 (N64)
3) Mario Kart 64 (N64)
4) Super Mario World (SNES)
5) The Legend of Zelda (NES)
George Harrison, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nintendo of America, said, "With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play. Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of people are getting connected and checking out the information and entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a Mii or just checking the weather, everyone has a favorite channel."
Rumors that Nintendo is planning another new downloadable games service appeared two weeks ago. Considering the success of the Virtual Console, it would be a no-brainer for Nintendo to capitalize on this endeavor.
