Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Maybe it’s the lack of a GBA solution for the Wii. Maybe it’s the way GBA cartridges stick clumsily out of the bottom of my DS Lite. Maybe it’s the slick Virtual Console functionality that I’m quickly getting hooked on. For whatever reason, I’ve decided to sell off all my GBA ports of games that have already, or are eventually likely to, appear on the Virtual Console. So far, I’ve found new homes for Super Mario World and Super Mario 3. And I almost found one for Link to the Past as well, but the buyer backed out before I got the thing in the mail for some reason. Waiting yet are NES Classic Series titles Castlevania and Dr. Mario. I’ve also got a box of NES cartridges to sift through at some point.

Clearly, such a task only makes sense if there’s profit involved, or at least if I’ll break even. So far, that hasn’t been much of a challenge. This is the one stipulation that will keep me from feeling like a hypocrite:

“I bought the cartridge used and still own it, but because there remains no way to play GBA games on the Wii, the only way I can play the game on the big screen is to use my Gamecube, unless I want to pony up 800 points to buy the game again.

You probably have figured out that I won’t be ponying anything.”

Anyone else hear that ponying sound?

Here are some tips for those who wish to do the same, cleaning out the library and filling up the Wii with Virtual Console titles:

Figure out how likely the game is to show up on the Virtual Console (you may want to wait for an ESRB rating to appear for the game). Then, once you’re sure it will show up, list it for sale. When in doubt, err on the side of caution. Wait until it actually becomes available.

As soon as the game shows up on the Virtual Console, the price for your old game will drop, so list it fast. I recommend half.com, your listing stays until it sells, and costs nothing until that time. The buyer pays half.com, half.com pays you, and they take their fee. You can use your eBay account on half.com, because they’re the same company now.

Lowball it. List your game for the lowest amount, even if by only a penny, that the game is going for in the condition you’re listing it. If it’s just a GBA cartridge, offer a free first class shipping upgrade, because the weight is likely to be so low that it will be cheaper to send first class than the half.com default of media mail anyway. Perhaps not if it’s an NES cartridge.

Anyone else planning to empty out their library of retro games in favor of VC versions?