Rare’s age-old Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye, frequently quoted as being one of the best multiplayer shooters of all time, is going to be released on the Wii Virtual Console if Reggie Fils-Aime has his way. Considering he’s the president of Nintendo of America, you could expect he’s the person to have his way on this. If you then consider however that the Rare development studio was bought by Microsoft some years back and still owns all the rights, it may be harder than it sounds at first.

Goldeneye on the N64

As CVG reports from an interview MTV.com had with Reggie:

“Would I love to see it on virtual console? Absolutely. But there are a lot of issues there,” the Nintendo boss said, adding that there’s still a chance that we’ll be shooting up Facility on the Wii: “Suffice it to say we would love to see it, so we’re exploring all the rights issues.”

Since Rare was bought by Microsoft it was at first mainly known for delaying titles, as Kameo: Elements of Power got shifted twice to a new platform before finally becoming a solid but hardly superior launch title on the Xbox 360. Companion launch title Perfect Dark Zero seemed to most people hardly finished when it was released, although it had a passable multiplayer experience. With the recent release of Viva Piñata it would seem they’re finally back at their old quality.

Apart from the obvious question of how much dough Microsoft will want to make from the Goldeneye license, the issue is further complicated by the general James Bond license currently being owned by powerhouse publisher Activision. All in all, it seems like Reggie can dream, but it will be an expensive dream if he will ever be able to realize it.