Counterpoint: Foul Play on Wii
It's pretty simple to figure out why Nintendo would choose to rerelease GameCube hits on the Wii. There are a few reasons, including exposing great games to a larger audience, adding fun Wii controls, and, to be cynical, artificially inflating the first-party release schedule with "core" games. Every one of us would agree, I'm sure, that the last goal is misguided, but it is my belief that they won't achieve significant success with the other two either.
First off, yes, the Wii audience is a lot bigger and more varied than that of the GameCube. But the kind of games Nintendo has chosen to remake for Wii -- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the Pikmins, Chibi-Robo -- won't sell that many more just because there are more people to buy them. I will be pilloried for saying this, but these "secondary" Nintendo franchises appeal mostly to one group: not just the "core," but the "Nintendo core." The kind of people who know who Shigeru Miyamoto is and create online petitions about Kid Icarus sequels. These people already have GameCubes, and they already bought these games.
As for the updated Wii controls, Pikmin may benefit, as will the "unofficial" Play on Wii remake of Resident Evil, but not everything is improved with the addition of motion. Especially when that game was designed specifically for a different controller. Especially especially when it was designed specifically for a different specialized controller. I am speaking, of course, about Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, which was built around the idea of controlling DK's movements with the Donkey Konga drums.
The new controls, which replace hitting the drums with swinging the remote and Nunchuk like drumsticks, will replace the precision of the drum hits with the whooshing of sticks against air. I can't see how this is going to add any value. Really, without the drums, the controls are abstracted to the point where the only way they make sense is if you know that there used to be drums. You'd get more out of a cheap used copy -- which you can play on Wii!
Finally, there's the fact that, at a probable $40, you're paying more for these remakes than for the originals (with the exception of the ridiculously eBay-speculated Pikmin 2). A $40 copy of Chibi-Robo won't bring in any more takers than a $12 copy. Side note: if you haven't, buy Chibi-Robo already, seriously.
I don't want to put forward the idea that I dislike these games. In fact, my displeasure stems from the fact that they are all very good games -- some are great, groundbreaking, unique games. I'd rather see them remembered as successful GameCube games rather than failures on Wii.
