Wii 2000 Points Card

First things first: the Wii Points Card allows you to purchase classic video games from the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and Turbo Grafix 16 consoles and download them onto your Wii console. Nintendo has many great old games available already and is adding more regularly (generally about once a week).

Basic information: 100 Wii Points roughly equals 1 dollar. You should never pay more for a Wii Points card because you can buy the points directly from Nintendo at a rate of 100 to the dollar. On the flip side if you can get these cards cheaper (and sometimes you can buy them at a bit of a discount) you get a great deal.

What's available: There are new games being released all the time. I have a wishlist a mile long for these games, but some of my favorites include Zelda, the original Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, Donkey Kong Country, Golden Axe, Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario World, and Mario 64. Again--almost every week there's something new. A current list is available on Nintendo's website.

Game Cost: The cost for classic games varies a little but is fairly uniform. NES games start at 500 points (at this time there is only one game that I'm aware of for the NES that costs more). Most Super NES, Genesis, and TG 16 games cost around 800 points, and N64 games run about 1000. Considering a nostalgia trip used to sometimes cost as much as the original game (the original Zelda used to run about $50, and that's if you had an old Nintendo to run it on) these games are a great deal.

Why buy the card?: I purchase most of my points directly from Nintendo without using these cards. So what purpose do they serve? Simple--they're great for gifts. I love that these come in 2000 point increments--it means my friends and family have a cheap gift idea for me and can give me something I'll really enjoy rather than trying to pick out a game for me themselves. And of course if you've got a gift card or discount for your favorite retailer you can pick them up cheaper. It's a great alternative to just buying the points on your Wii.

Overall this is a great way to get your hands on some classic games. You may prefer to buy them directly on the Wii (as I do), but keep this option in mind when special occasions roll around and people are asking what to get you!

This WiiPoints card, which is the equivalent of $20, allows one to purchase and download games from the Wii's virtual console, part of the Wii Shop channel. Already, at launch, 12 games throughout the history of gaming were available, including Pinball (Nintendo Entertainment System), Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis), SimCity (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), and Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64). Nintendo is planning to add new games every Monday, to come to a total of 30 by the end of the year. Beyond that, "new classics" are coming throughout 2007 such as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super Nintendo), and Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64). Many of these games can be controlled with the included Wii Remote or the backwards-compatible GameCube controllers. Some require the Wii Classic Controller, but a great number use the other two aforementioned control methods.

NES games start at 500 points ($5), Super NES at 800 points ($8), and Nintendo 64 games at 1,000 points ($10)

The general feeling is the Sega and TG16 games will be starting at 800 wiipts.

NES

* Mario Bros.
* The Legend of Zelda
* Donkey Kong
* Donkey Kong Jr.
* Ice Hockey
* Pinball
* Soccer
* Tennis
* Urban Champion
* Wario's Woods
* Baseball
* Solomon's Key

Super NES

* F-Zero
* SimCity

Nintendo 64

* Super Mario 64

SEGA Genesis

* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Altered Beast
* Golden Axe
* Columns
* Ecco the Dolphin
* Gunstar Heroes
* Space Harrier II
* Toe Jam & Earl
* Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

TurboGrafx-16

* Bonk's Adventure
* Super Star Soldier
* Victory Run
* Bomberman '93
* Dungeon Explorer

I bought this card from Amazon below the retail price of $20. But I don't understand why it is now over 20 dollars. If you already own a Wii, you don't need to buy this card. You can purchase Wii points through your Wii console by using the shopping channel. The only time I would recommend buying this online is if the price is below $20, if it is above that, DO NOT buy it. Using your Wii console, you'll never pay more than $20 for 2000 points.

Before, for some reason, this card was being sold for the price of twenty-five dollars. Obviously, if you bought it then you were paying five dollars more than you have to. Now the Wii points card is at an affordable price, and it's not so bad. This one comes with 2000 points. That's equivalent to twenty dollars, and you'll need it to be able to download virtual console games and other wii-ware (if they so charge you for it).

I'll be the first to admit that I probably wouldn't buy a Wii Points card right off the bat simply because I'm comfortable buying points directly from the network and charging the to my card. This brings up the question as to why ANYONE would spend money to buy a wii points card at all. Don't be shocked when you see people doing it. There are a couple of good reasons.

Firstly: There's sales tax. In certain states when you charge to your credit card, you're paying more than twenty dollars to purchase wii points. With the Wii Points card, there are no taxes. EVER. Not even when you buy it in the store. So some people save an extra buck or two by buying the card as opposed to charging to their credit card.

Second: They make fantastic gift cards, especially if you happen to know someone who can't get enough of classic gaming! If you really know someone who loves classic games, you can help this person out by just giving them a Wii Points card.

Third: Maybe for some reason (be that you hate them or whatever) you don't have a credit card. How then, is one supposed to purchase Wii Points without a credit card? So you can do the next best thing, just simply get a Wii Points card.

So while it isn't necessary, if you're someone who goes nuts with the virtual console, then you might want to consider using a Wii Points Card from time to time.

The Wii points card...
What is it?
It's a plastic card that says Wii Points on the front & has a scratch off code of Numbers on the back...
What do you do with it?
Frist it must be activated, Normaly done at the POS (Point of Sale) Once activated you can enter the code on the back into the Wii Shop Channle to create Wii points...
What's a Wii Point worth?
Normaly speaking it should equal $1 = 100 Wii points...so a 2000 Wii point card should never be more that $20
Where can i get one?
Try Amazon.com or your local retailer or game shop.
Do you need them?
Not really, the Wii Shop Channel lets you but wii points online (Credit Card needed)
Then what are they good for?
Fantastic gifts for anyone you know who has a Wii...

You can buy this directly through the shop channel on your Wii for $20. Why in the world would you pay an extra $34 to get it from Amazon???

The main reason why I bought the Wii Points card instead of buying the games directly over the internet via the Wii was because I don't have a credit card to do so. So I had to resort to buying a Wii Points card instead. I had no problems with inputing the code (or spending the points) and the virtual console games work great. My only disappointment is in the fact that 2000 points really doesn't give you much wiggle room when most games cost non-multiples of 5 (like the TurboGrapx for 600 points and the Sega Genesis and Nintendo SNES games for 800 points) so 2000 points wasn't the best choice of an amount to put on a card. But all-in-all if some other games that I want come out in the future, I wouldn't have any problems with buying another Wii Points Card.

As long as Amazon keeps this under $20 (face value), and you were meaning to get some Wii points anyway, then this makes a perfect way for you to qualify for free super saver shipping. In addition, residents in most states do not need to worry about paying for tax, making the few pennies under Amazon's $19.99 price pennies earned.

This $20 valued Wii points card is selling for over $50! Unbelievable. Just get it direction from the Wii Store and pay $20.

This review was written on Dec 27 2009 at 3:02am, when the price was over $50 for this $20 card. If the price is $20 or less, go ahead and get it with free shipping, but if not, look elsewhere.