By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Let's spend the sunk cost unwisely.
Remember the highly-relevant and important warning article from 2017? Nintendo announced that the Wii Shop Channel would close to all transactions on January 30, 2019. I'm sure you've thought about it every day since, dreading the moment that is now upon us.
(I'd like to say that was all sarcasm, but people freaked out when Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection shut down. Just check the comments section.)
I haven't thought about it until after I got Piranha Plant. For fun, I decided last night I'd write a short, silly article saying good-bye to the Wii Shop Channel for the last time. After looking through my mess of Wii accessories, going through the pains of finding batteries for the Wii Remote, getting the Wii Remote to sync up to the Wii with that painful red button, setting up the Sensor Bar, realising the Sensor Bar doesn't work, attaching the Classic Controller to the Wii Remote since that doesn't require motion control, and setting up my new Internet connection (compared to what was saved a decade ago)...
...I went to the Wii Shop Channel. And rather than a short silly article, I realised that I'd have to write something far more complicated and comprehensive, because this is what I saw:
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| WHY DO I HAVE 2200 WII POINTS? |
I had 2200 Wii Points on my Wii Shop Channel account, or the equivalent of $22. This whole time, I wasn't aware I had anything there. I haven't used the Wii Shop Channel in six and a half years, after all.
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| I'll credit the Wii Shop Channel for getting me into the Mega Man series, but that Wii Points Card in March 2011 was completely unnecessary. |
Crap, what was I going to do with these? Spend the sunk cost on Donkey Kong Country games that were once-removed but are available until the end? Well, no, there's a superior trilogy of games that caught my eye.
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| Between 2017 and now, the CAPCOM mini-site on the WiiWare releases of the Ace Attorney Trilogy now 404s. But here's the last chance to buy them! |
Something I didn't know: The WiiWare titles are based off the European versions of the games. Does that mean Benjamin Hunter is actually in this? Certainly a question worth investigating.
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| The European release? Is the instruction manual doing what the actual Ace Attorney game does, and just call everything foreign “Europe” without specifying where it actually is? |
...That said, I didn't investigate it. Instead, I gifted Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney to fellow KoopaTV staffer Kamek. You know, because he's the one that gifted me Sexy Poker.
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| I tried sending Kamek a message with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, but I guess WiiConnect24 discontinued. And suddenly my Internet connection died? I don't know. |
I don't think CAPCOM gets any money from this unless Kamek actually goes to his Wii and accepts the gift. And it might be too late for that to happen.
For all I know, Kamek doesn't even have a Wii anymore.
To entice him one way or another, I gifted him a 500 Wii Point massage:
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| Enjoy your massage! is a WiiWare game that I didn't know existed until today. I have no idea what it's about or how it plays. But, hey, thanks for Sexy Poker eight years ago! |
While I'm gifting things to Kamek, I just want to stress that gifting was one of the best features of the Wii Shop Channel, and the eShop channel doesn't directly support it. Massive shame.
Now I only have 700 Wii Points. Before all of this, I contemplated just buying Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 with my 2200 Wii Points, since those are games I really should go and play, but it's the Wii. I'm never going to touch my Wii again unless I suddenly have a weird craving for Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Probably better to buy Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 on the Nintendo Switch so I could play it on a console that doesn't require a Sensor Bar.
I spent my last points on Donkey Kong Jr. Math, another game I positively adore.
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And that's it for the Wii Shop Channel. If Kamek doesn't pick up his gifts within 45 days, I'll get refunded 1500 Wii Points. And by the time that happens, there won't be any Wii Shop Channel for those funds to go.
Simultaneously, I'm discontinuing my Wii U lanyard that I got from the Nintendo E3 2013 event, which was the lasting thing I had of my Wii U since I don't play that anymore either due to Super Smash Bros. For Wii U being the last thing there.
Two generations gone at the same time. No more Wii or Wii U. Transition done.
Ludwig saw a lot of value in the Wii Shop Channel back in the day for its extensive Virtual Console that gave him the opportunity to play many classic games that he missed. But now the Wii has long been a plastic dust bowl. KoopaTV will keep you up to date on what happens with those gifted games, at least. No one cared about the Wii Shop Channel closing back during its announcement... but how about now?
We still use the Wii U and I transferred all my Wii data to the Wii U's Wii mode so my Wiishop and Virtual Console games are safe and sound. Just a bit lazy to go through the menu to select the Wii Mode and actually play the games on it.
ReplyDeleteI never transferred anything to this day.
DeleteAnd I never want to set a sensor bar up again.
Big advantage of the Switch: You can go through the HOME menu with the GameCube controller, which you can't do on the Wii or Wii U.
I wish they'd bring back gifting.
ReplyDeleteWould you want to enjoy a massage from me, too? ;)
DeleteNah... *looks up game's review scores just in case* ...Nahh.... XD
DeleteKody B. below thought it was great!
Delete"Enjoy your massage!" is an underrated gem that deserves much more recognition that it received. To say that the title is nothing more than 'shovelware' is a great injustice that I simply cannot stand. Also, its Metascore of 21 on Metacritic does not reflect the average player's feelings towards this masterpiece. Do not let the reviews fool you. This game, dare I say it, was one of the best games of its generation. Now that the Wii Shop Channel has closed, I feel that a part of me has died inside knowing that no one will be able to download and experience the compelling story and gameplay of this work of art ever again. We lost so much more than just the Wii Shop Channel yesterday; we lost one of gaming's greatest, too.
ReplyDelete...I'll take your word for it!
Delete(I don't think Kamek accepted the gift.)