Microsoftland has not been a pleasant place to live recently. While Google and Apple are making enormous strides in the IT, Internet, and cell phone/mp3 player genres, Microsoft has more or less gotten sued over its Word 2007 XML theft, and have been pushing Microsoft 7.They announced that they also will be creating a virtual arcade (ahem, virtual console) of old arcade and console games for the XBox 360 and PC (and while I haven't read anything about it, I would imagine it would work with the Zune HD as well). To a certain extent, it's great that retrogames will have another home on the XBox and PC. On another level, it is a lame, and way too late, attempt to milk more money from its already strapped consumers.
Nintendo Wii brought the Virtual Console out and brought with it great games that hold a nostalgic value for consumers. The Microsoft games are not going to have that same value for no other reason than most the good games are already owned by Nintendo. If Microsoft wanted a part of this, they should have jumped into it when the window was open. If you look at the list of games that Microsoft is bringing out, they are all older games that Nintendo doesn't have the ability to get (old arcade, Atari 2600, Intellivision). The good games (NES, Genesis, TG-16, late 80's/early 90's arcade) are already emulated on VC.
The problem with pre-NES games is that the current market isn't going to remember them or probably have never played them. What would be the point of getting an older game that you have never played before with inferior graphics, sound, game play then the current system's offerings? For example, Jungler, Road Fighter, Super Cobra, Battlantlis - does Microsoft really think that their average user has played these in the arcade. Hell, I will go one step further and ask, how many people who own and play XBox 360 have even spent much time in an arcade? They have more or less been extinct since the early 90's (Chucky-E-Cheese-esque establishments and Dave 'n Buster's aside).
As a collector of retrogames, I can appreciate playing some of the 2600 and old arcade games but I do have other issues, a.) I have most of them in the original format (2600/Colleco); b.) since they are archaic in nature, they are very easy to emulate (not that I condone such a thing); c.) there are hundreds of flash duplicates available all over the Internet. Who is going to pay money for something (especially PC owners) that they can get for free? It just doesn't make sense. You can grab an app in Facebook that lets you play old video games in Flash format, and that is free, and can be played anywhere.
I took a look at the list and besides Combat! (2600) and Centipede (arcade), I didn't notice anything that would even be remotely worth purchasing. And, having a working 2600 with Combat!, I will tell you that the game doesn't have quite the same replay value that it held in the 80's. I would say about 10 minutes is about all it is worth.
In the end, nice try Microsoft, but you are too late. Nintendo beat you to the retrogaming punch and, as usual, you are left to "borrow" ideas to catch up. Maybe with your next system.
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