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Nintendo's Christmas present

by: Sean Colleli -
More On: Wii
Yeah, I know, kind of old news, but Nintendo finally added Super Mario Bros to the Virtual Console on Christmas day.  You can also download Street Fighter II, Toe Jam and Earl and a couple other classics.  I'm happy to see the VC getting a little more, shall we say, robust, but I'm still waiting for my Super Metroid, Nintendo. 
North Pole News: Special Christmas Treat on the Way for Wii
 
    This year Santa is getting some competition from another jolly guy with a 
big belly and a red cap. We're talking about video game icon Mario(TM), of 
course. As a special holiday surprise for Wii(TM) owners from Nintendo, the 
original Super Mario Bros. (TM) game for the Nintendo Entertainment System(R) 
will appear in the Wii Shop Channel and be downloadable for 500 Wii Points. 
Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to 
download the game. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at 
retail outlets.
 
    The classic game will make Christmas morning extra special, just as it did 
more than two decades ago. Super Mario Bros. reigns as perhaps the best-known 
and most-played game on any video game system in history. More than 40.2 
million copies of the game found their way into homes worldwide. In addition 
to Super Mario Bros., other top-notch offerings available on Dec. 25 include:
    *  Street Fighter(R) II: The World Warrior (Super NES(R), 1-2 players,
       800 Wii Points): This game revolutionized the fighting-game genre with
       characters that had unique fighting skills, speed, special moves and
       unique endings.
    *  Super Castlevania(R) IV (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Simon
       Belmont uses his trusty whip to fight the powers of evil on his way to
       Dracula's Castle.
    *  Toe Jam & Earl(TM) (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): Two
       fun-loving aliens crash on Earth and must find 10 pieces of their
       spaceship so they can get back home to Planet Funkotron.
    *  R-TYPE(R) (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): This is a
       completely faithful port - right down to the character details - of the
       famous shooting-game masterpiece.
 
    Games available on Jan. 1 include:
    *  Baseball (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Play nine innings of
       fierce sandlot competition with classic NES graphics.
    *  Urban Champion(TM) (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Don't let the
       big, bad bully of the neighborhood push you around! Players fight for
       the right to walk the street.
 
    In just five weeks the library of classic games available through the Wii 
Shop Channel has grown to 33 titles. Every Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific, Nintendo 
adds more classic games to the channel.