Since the launch of the Wii, retro-craving gamers around the world have downloaded over 4.7 million games from the Virtual Console...more that 1,000 games an hour. Now Nintendo has announced that this Monday will see the release of the 100th classic game on their Wii Shop Channel, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the NES, otherwise known as the Zelda game I did not finish. The one where things got all side-scrolly and platformy, perhaps paving the way for the 3D Zelda titles of today.

Goodness, has it been 100 titles already? Our little boy is growing up so fast. *wipes away a tear* Nintendo's George Harrison gushes:

"With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of people are getting connected and checking out the information and entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a Mii or just checking the weather..."

Just not playing games, which would be kinda nice. Hit the jump for more information, including the top five downloads to date. I hear Mario might be involved. Michael Fahey

WII HITS YET ANOTHER MAJOR MILESTONE: 100TH CLASSIC GAME ADDED TO VIRTUAL CONSOLE

Gamers Worldwide Already Have Downloaded More Than 4.7 Million Retro Games, at a Rate of 1,000 an Hour

REDMOND, Wash., June 1, 2007 Nintendo is giving video game fans a way to access their favorite classic games, all without leaving the comfort of their homes. And gamers have responded en masse as the library of downloadable game classics continues to grow. The upcoming addition of Zelda II The Adventure of Link on June 4 marks the 100th classic game available on the Wii Shop Channel. And since going online Nov. 19, owners of Nintendo's hot Wi video game system have downloaded more than 4.7 million classic games from Wii's Virtual Console, a rate of more than 1,000 games every hour since launch. The top five classic game downloads globally to date, and their original system are:

1) Super Mario Bros.(NES)
2) Super Mario 64 (N64)
3) Mario Kart 64 (N64)
4) Super Mario World (SNES)
5) The Legend of Zelda (NES)

Wii lets players visit the Wii Shop Channel to redeem Wii Points to download classic video games from the original Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super NES and the Nintendo 64, and the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx16 consoles. These games are nostalgic totems to veteran gamers, and simultaneously, new, easy-to-play entries for younger players. These games demonstrate Nintendo's staying power across generations by letting veteran gamers relive their glory days while their children play them for the first time. The addition of Zelda II The Adventure of Link brings a fourth Legend of Zelda game to the Wii Shop Channel from three classic Nintendo platforms, providing exciting adventures that span the decades. Additional classic games are added to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday.

"With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of people are getting connected and checking out the information and entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a Mii or just checking the weather, everyone has a favorite channel."

The Wii Shop Channel is one of the many entertainment and informational channels that are available via the Wii system. Others include the Forecast Channel, the News Channel, the Mii Channel, the Everybody Votes Channel, the Photo Channel and the Internet Channel. Each of these broadens the appeal of Wii to new audiences and draws in consumers who might not otherwise be interested in a video game system.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Bo Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 409 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.