Friday, September 29, 2017

Mark your calendars, folks: March 27, 2018, is the last day you'll be able to add or buy Wii Points

I know what some of you are thinking: why the hell should I care if I can't buy Wii Points or add them to my Wii account after March 27, 2018? And, really, maybe you shouldn't care. If you don't own a Wii (or Wii U), or you own one but no longer use it, the fact that you'll no longer be able to buy or add Wii Points to your account after the above-mentioned date shouldn't bother you much.

If you do still own a use a Wii (or Wii U), though, you might appreciate the reminder that the Wii Virtual Console offers a lot of NES, Master System, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, SNES and Neo Geo gems. (Don't take my word for it, check out this impressive list of North American Wii Virtual Console releases.)

Anyway, this news certainly bothers me. OK, so "bothers" may be too strong of a word, but it definitely saddens me a bit. That's because I still use my Wii fairly regularly. And not only that, but there are still a good number of Wii Virtual Console and WiiWare games I'd like to buy and play.

For instance, I've long meant to purchase Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom for the NES and Super Mario RPG for the SNES via the Wii Shop Channel. Also, Shining in the Darkness for the Genesis and Monster Lair for the TurboGrafx-16. (I own an actual copy of that last game, but you just know neither it nor my PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 system will last forever.)



As if that weren't bad enough, there are a ton of Japanese Virtual Console games I'd like to purchase before Nintendo pulls the plug on the Wii Shop Channel. Granted, doing so will require me to pick up a Japanese Wii, and I'm not sure that's in the cards at this point, but the point stands.

I mean, just look at some of the great games that have been made available via the Japanese Wii Virtual Console and nowhere else. Mizubaku Daibouken, Parasol Stars and Star Parodier for the PC Engine. Pepenga Pengo for the Mega Drive. Twinkle Star Sprites for the Neo Geo. Clock Tower, DoReMi Fantasy and Sutte Hakkun for the Super Famicom.

Is it really possible I'll buy a Japanese Wii as well as all of the above-mentioned Virtual Console titles  before March 27, 2018? (Technically, I wouldn't have to do the latter until January 31, 2019, but I'd have to purchase Wii Points for them by the earlier date.) Possible, sure, but I wouldn't call it likely. As always, though, I'll give it my best shot.

How about you? Will any of you spend your hard-earned cash on some Wii Points between now and the end of March so you can pick up a few final Wii Virtual Console games?

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