Could the DSi become a portable Virtual Console?

Now the dust has finally settled from the Japanese launch of the Nintendo DSi it seems to us like a good time to look at the future ramifications of the Big N's latest piece of hardware. Although the new handheld is more of an advancement of previous DS tech rather than a fully-fledged successor, there's one aspect of the console that has us very excited indeed - the ability to download content to the DSi's 256MB of internal memory (check out our How to download the Nintendo DSi Browser guide).

At present Nintendo has only released solid plans for what it calls 'DSiWare' - special games either created specifically for play on the new machine, or retooled versions of existing titles (such as the Art Style series, which is currently doing the rounds on the Wii's WiiWare service) - but prior to launch there were indications that it might be used for other purposes, such as the distribution of retro titles from Nintendo's back catalogue.

Rumours suggested that the company might pick and choose titles from its considerable arsenal of Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance product (something that is lent further credence by the removal of the GBA slot on the DSi), and such a move would certainly make the new console even more attractive to fans of classic gaming.

This is all well and good, but personally speaking we'd love to see Nintendo go one step further and extend the brilliant Virtual Console service (which is currently limited to the Wii) to the DSi.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Virtual Console, listen up: it's a basically a way of playing vintage titles from yesteryear on current hardware. At present the service supports NES, SNES, PC Engine/TG-16, Mega Drive, Master System, Neo-Geo, C64 and N64 games, with the opportunity of more 'channels' being added in the future.

Using the 'Wii Points' virtual currency, you pay for games and then download them to the Wii's internal memory. It's a gloriously straightforward way to enjoy past classics and although both Sony and Microsoft provide a similar facility via their Playstation Store and XBLA portals, Nintendo has done a better job overall of ensuring a steady stream of brilliant games - which is little surprise when you consider the long and proud history the company boasts.

Imagine having that choice in portable form, though. Naturally there are limitations - the DSi might struggle to emulate all of the retro hardware supported by the current Virtual Console service, but as long as the 8- and 16-bit machines are replicated then fans would have little reason to complain. Being able to boot up the likes of Super Mario World, Sonic 2, Shining Force, Mega Man, Splatterhouse, F-Zero, Donkey Kong Country and Wonder Boy whilst on the move should be a prospect for dedicated gamers to salivate over.

Nintendo could even show a bit of customer loyalty by ensuring that the service is cross-linked between its home and portable formats, so any games you've previous purchased on the Wii could also be downloaded on the DSi, free of charge. It would also be seriously cool if it could implement some way of syncing save game data between the two; imagine progressing through The Legend of Zelda on your Wii and then continuing your heroic quest on the bus to work via the DSi.

Given the ease with which players can link-up for wireless gaming via the DS, one would also hope that Nintendo might incorporate seamless multiplayer support. There are numerous games currently available on the Wii Virtual Console that are ideal for playing with friends.

At present we don't know what Nintendo has planned for the DSi in terms of retro gaming. Given the speed with which the company established the Wii Virtual Console it's obvious that it takes retro gaming very seriously indeed, and one would imagine that it will be loath to allow such a sure-fire money making proposition pass it by on the DSi.

The real question is: how far will Nintendo go? Just providing support for Game Boy titles would leave many gamers hungry for more; the DS hardware should be perfectly capable of emulating more powerful systems. Hopefully by the time the western launch of the DSi takes place in 2009 we'll have a clearer picture of how Nintendo intends to utilise its considerable back-catalogue of killer games.