yeah, Ian. I think your underestimating the draw of the older games.
Most hardcore Nintendo fans will own the games in question, and even still have a working SNES/NES. But, newcomers to the videogame scene, casual players, and old school Sega fans (such as myself) who never owned a SNES, will be more than happy with the download service as is.
'Sides, they practically -guaranteed- Smash Bros. Online at launch, and that will go a looooong way to sell systems and keep people occupied til the games come out.
On another note...Nintendo seems to be learning from their mistakes. Reggie is evidence of that. Announcing Smash Bros Online is also evidence...
I don't think Nintendo will let there be a sizable drought after launch anyways. What with Zelda Rev, Mario 128, the aforementioned SSBMOnline, and the new "teh mature" franchise (which may or may not be a horror game), already in production, they seem to be aiming for keeping us knee deep in Rev goodness.
If it launches in March, and Nintendo is finally playing their cards rights, then all the right people already have dev kits, and are already working on our new games. I really don't think we have anything to worry about.
Sides, I'm betting on a Summer release, anyways.