Xbox Live Arcade is one of the more compelling reasons to get an Xbox 360 right now. It’s a cost effective way for smaller developers to get content out the door with minimal cost, and has been Microsoft’s bait to lure “non-gamers” to the 360.

The Nintendo Revolution’s Virtual Console functionality seems similar to Xbox Live Arcade. The difference between the two (besides one not existing at the moment), seems to be content. Content is obviously Nintendo’s strong suit, and having three generations of classic games is much more compelling than Zuma, Bejeweled, and yes, even Geometry Wars. Content is definitely key, but what other possibilities could the Nintendo Virtual Console (NVC) serve?

Since the Virtual Console service will serve up NES, SNES, and N64 games, why not give developers the ability to develop for these systems again? On top of the classics Nintendo could spawn the trend of “New Classics”. With NES, SNES, N64, GCN, and Revo games all playable in one system, why not allow all those “systems” to be developed for? Developers should be able to design and release new “NES”, “SNES”, and “N64” games playable only on the NVC system. Not only would releasing these new classics be cost-effective for developers, they would also attract more of the “lost gamers” Nintendo talks about. Older gamers who stopped at Atari or the NES could be drawn into new gameplay ideas by older style graphics. Old School gaming reborn.

Nintendo itself has said that older games may be “graphically enhanced” for their re-releases. Why not go a bit further and allow for modification of actual gameplay. On top of original, new content for the NES, SNES, and N64 platforms older games could get “expansion packs”. New multiplayer levels for Goldeneye, new tracks for Samus to discover in Super Metroid, and new dungeons to explore in the older Zelda’s. Nintendo has already toyed with this idea with the ill-fated N64DD and with the e-Card Reader combined with Super Mario Bros. 3. Even though the games released for the NVC may have graphics from generations ago doesn’t mean they’d have to be controlled the same way. Nintendo could use old school graphics to do new things with the Revolution controller. Just like the Mario levels in Wario Ware Twisted or the TGS preview footage of the girl flicking the controller to make Mario “jump”… old games can be “enhanced” with new controls.

Nintendo’s development studios around the world are sure to have ideas in their heads that would not be viable for a full scale game. Why not allow for these ideas to get out to the public? On top of full-fledged games, perhaps the NVC could offer much smaller “gameplay experiments”. Quirky “non-games” like Electroplankton could be released without needing huge sales. Cultivating these smaller experiments may be a catalyst for larger game designs, or simply spawn an entire genre of digital “toys” much like those found (once again) in the Wario Ware series.

The final trick for the NVC? Capitalize on Nintendo’s strengths by making the entire NVC compatible with the next generation of Game Boy. All that talk of connectivity between the GCN and the GBA may have not produced much compelling content, but surely Nintendo learned some things from streaming content between the GCN and GBA.

As the “third pillar”, the next Nintendo Game Boy would become the Portable Virtual Console. Game Boy PVC would play NES, SNES, N64, and GCN games with ease on top of backwards compatibility with the entire Game Boy line. With on-board flash memory for storage, the PVC would be able to download and emulate all pre-GCN games bought on the NVC, transferred via the Revolution’s WiFi connection. GCN compatibility would be handled through the main medium for the Game Boy PVC, GCN discs.

GCN discs are JUST small enough to be viable for portable play. By the time Nintendo gets around to releasing the next Game Boy, battery technology may be finally able to run over 10 hours with an optical disc. The Game Boy PVC would be a portable NES, SNES, N64, and GCN. The system would bring nothing new to the table as far as gameplay is concerned, but the Game Boy line never has. In fact, releasing classics on a handheld format is something Nintendo has done on the GBA with much success. It’s all speculation, but it seems pretty plausible. Now let’s see what Nintendo really has in store for us.