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Virtual Console

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Virtual Console is the name for the emulation service initially provided to Wii users, and later to Nintendo 3DS and Wii U users. It allowed players to purchase and download games by browsing a specialized section of the Wii Shop Channel and later the Nintendo eShop. This required the user to connect to the internet, and to also purchase Wii/Nintendo Points beforehand to make the purchase.

Overview

Wii

Games downloaded are stored on the Wii's 512MB flash memory that is built into the system. From there games can be transferred to an SD card, but could not be played directly from the SD card until an update allowed the Wii to utilise the flash memory to play games saved on an SD card. Games on the SD card can be transferred back to the Wii it came from, but not to another system.

Games available come from a variety of systems including: Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES and Nintendo 64, Sega's Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis, NEC's TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine and TurboGrafx-CD/CD-ROM², SNK's Neo Geo AES, and various Arcade systems. It also supports region specific consoles such as Commodore 64 (Europe only) and MSX (Japan only). Some publishers may choose to release region-specific games internationally in the special Import category (for example, the standalone Bomberman '94 was released overseas this way).

NES, Master System and TurboGrafx-16 games can play properly with the Wii Remote, but games for other consoles will likely require either a GameCube controller, or the Classic Controller, which was sold separately.

Games for PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 cost 600 points. Games for CD-ROM² systems cost 800 points. Games in the Import category cost an additional 100 points. Despite continuous strong sales of the Wii, additions to the Virtual Console service had slowed down considerably since the service was introduced in 2006, partly due to the launch of WiiWare.

On September 29, 2017[1] it was announced that the Wii's Wii Shop Channel (Where the Wii's Virtual Console is housed) would be shutting down on January 31, 2019 at 3PM JST/5PM AEDT/1AM EDT/6AM GMT/January 30, 2019 at 10PM PST. The ability to buy Wii Points to purchase games was stopped on March 27, 2018 at 5AM JST/7AM AEDT/March 26, 2018 at 1PM PDT/4PM EDT/9PM BST. In the interim between not being able to buy points and its closure, players were still able to download items they had previously purchased.

Nintendo 3DS

Gradius running on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, with square pixel aspect ratio.

The Virtual Console was also brought to the Nintendo 3DS, with games available primarily coming from handheld systems including Nintendo's Game Boy and Game Boy Color, and Sega's Game Gear. The 3DS also received games normally available on home consoles, such as the NES, Super NES (available only on New Nintendo 3DS systems) and the TurboGrafx-16 (Japan only). A select number of Game Boy Advance games were made available as exclusives for the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Programme.[2]

Games downloaded are stored on the SD card inserted into the system and loaded from the HOME menu. They can only be played on the system they were originally purchased on.

TurboGrafx-16 games were released solely by Konami, and only a total of four games were released.

On February 15, 2022[3] it was announced that the 3DS's eShop would be shutting down in March of 2023. The ability to add funds with a credit card was stopped on May 23, 2022 while the ability to add points through eShop cards was suspended entirely on August 29, 2022, although download codes were still able to be redeemed until its shutdown in March 2023, however. Users who linked their Nintendo Network ID from their Nintendo 3DS to their Nintendo Account on the Nintendo Switch were able to use a shared wallet and purchase things from the 3DS eShop until its closure in March 2023.

Wii U

The Wii U's Virtual Console service features games originally released on Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, NEC's TurboGrafx-16, and the MSX (Japan only). TurboGrafx-16 releases were primarily handled by Konami and were at first exclusive to Japan, but had later come out for Western regions a few years later, even after the release of the Nintendo Switch. These games included button and screen configurations and the use of in-game savestates, as well as support for up to five players with the Wii U GamePad required for at least one player. However, Virtual Console games released for the Wii are compatible with the Wii U and can be played in the system's Wii Mode, including TurboGrafx-16 games - the Wii U versions of games already owned in Wii Mode could be purchased for a discounted "upgrade" price.

Games downloaded are either stored on the system's 8/32GB internal flash memory, or on an external hard disk drive connected to the system.

On February 15, 2022[3] it was announced that the Wii U's eShop would be shutting down in March of 2023. The ability to add funds with a credit card was stopped on May 23, 2022 while the ability to add points through eShop cards was suspended entirely on August 29, 2022, although download codes were still able to be redeemed until its shutdown in March 2023, however. Users who linked their Nintendo Network ID from their Wii U to their Nintendo Account on the Nintendo Switch were able to use a shared wallet and purchase things from the Wii U eShop until its closure in March 2023.

It was later clarified that the Wii U eShop would shut down on March 27th, 2023.[4]

PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 games on the Virtual Console

Wii

Japan

North America

(As of 28 July 2016)

Europe/Australia

(As of 28 July 2016)

Nintendo 3DS

Japan

(As of 28 July 2016)

Wii U

Japan

(As of 2023)

North America

(As of 2023)

Europe

(As of 2023)

External links

References

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  1. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/support/information/2017/0929.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-12-29 06:42)
  2. ↑ http://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2011/Nintendo-3DS-Ambassador-programme-253337.html (archive.today)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/57847/~/wii-u-%26-nintendo-3ds-eshop-discontinuation (Wayback Machine: 2022-02-16 02:23)
  4. ↑ https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/57847/~/wii-u-&-nintendo-3ds-eshop-discontinuation (Wayback Machine: 2022-11-04 19:59)
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