Iwata: 10 million VC downloads doesn't mean end of discs

Speaking in a Gamespot interview, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that 10 million games have been downloaded from Wii's Virtual Console system, but that he doesn't believe downloaded content will replace retail discs in the current console cycle.

"The current state of affairs is that the Virtual Console saw over 10 million downloads by the end of last December," he said. "That's the total number of titles people paid to download. I think that selling over 10 million classic games in that price range stands as proof that there are great possibilities with the download model. Since that's the case, I feel that WiiWare is one answer to a lot of the problems that I perceived even back when I was still a developer myself.

"However, I don't think that packaged, retail games will be replaced by downloads over the next three- to five-year cycle. Packaged games have a number of advantages, from the guarantee of a certain amount of sales volume to the firmly established buying habits and infrastructure that I think should be preserved in the future."

You should definitely read this. Looks like they got very good access. Iwata always gives a good interview, and rounds off this one in trademark style when asked what sort of 2008 he's hoping for.

"One where I can still be smiling come 2009," he said. "I sure hope I won't be crying."