Virtual Console (Wii)
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Image:Img virtualconsole.jpg Virtual Console is a video game download service that is currently offered by Nintendo for its Wii gaming console. It launched with the Wii system release on November 19, 2006 in North America and is expected to launch in Japan, Australia, and Europe when the system is released in those regions. Described by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata as "the video game version of Apple's iTunes Store", the service features titles from past Nintendo consoles (NES, SNES and N64) and formerly competing systems, the Mega Drive/Genesis and TurboGrafx-16. Nintendo has mentioned MSX compatiblity but has yet to announce any games from it. <ref name="Wii FAQ">Casamassina, Matt. "title=IGN's Nintendo Wii FAQ", IGN.com, 2006-09-19. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>. Gamasutra also announced that Commodore 64 titles will be released, but no further announcements have been made.<ref>http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11060</ref>
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[edit] Library history
- For a list of games for the Virtual Console, see List of Virtual Console titles (North America).
Image:Wii Virtual Console - Mario 64.jpg
While the gameplay remains unchanged for all of the classic titles offered via the Virtual Console, Nintendo has stated that some of the games may be improved with sharper graphics or better framerates<ref name="classic">Patrick Klepek. "Nintendo Remaking Classics", 1up.com, 21 June, 2005.</ref>. In addition, gamers may be able to download games that were not previously released in their region, and some multiplayer games may be playable online, if it is technically possible<ref name="miyamoto&iwata">Juan Castro. "Miyamoto and Iwata Talk Revolution", IGN, July 25, 2005.</ref>. The Virtual Console service will not be used exclusively for retro games, however no specific non-retro game has been announced for the Virtual Console <ref name="VClaunchlist">"Virtual Console Launch List", play-nintendo.com, 2006-09-09. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.</ref>. At E3 2006's Wii Conference, a Virtual Console demo was shown with the following games being downloaded: The Legend of Zelda, Excitebike, Punch-Out!!, F-Zero, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Wave Race 64.[citation needed]
Satoru Iwata stated in a speech on March 23, 2006, that Nintendo, Sega and Hudson Soft are working in collaboration to bring a "best of" series of games to the Wii<ref name="gen&tg16">Tor Thorsen. "GDC 06: Revolution to play Genesis, TurboGrafx games", gamespot, March 23, 2006.</ref>. This gives the companies a pool of over 200 Sega games from which to choose. At E3, Hudson also declared it would bring upwards of 100 titles to the Wii's virtual console. Additionally, Hudson mentioned that its lawyers are working on acquiring the licenses to games from now defunct companies<ref name="hudson100games">Casamassina, Matt. "E3 2006: Hudson Declares 100 Games for Wii", IGN.com, 2006-05-11. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>. There are widespread rumors surfacing on the Internet which speculate that there will be Neo Geo, Sega Saturn, Game Boy, and Commodore Amiga games on the service at some point in the near future<ref name="CNNItunes">Morris, Chris. "Nintendo, Sega team form gaming iTunes service", cnn.com, 2006-09-09. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.</ref>.
[edit] Third party support
Unnamed Nintendo employees have reportedly speculated that licensing issues will be a predominant factor in determining whether a game is available for Virtual Console<ref name="playfeed-e3facts">Cardinal, Chris. "Live From E3: Fun Wii Facts Confirmed", playfeed.com, 2006-05-11. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.</ref>, giving the examples of GoldenEye 007 and Tetris as games that might be too expensive to license for the Virtual Console. Tecmo has announced it plans to "aggressively" support Virtual Console by releasing classic games such as Ninja Gaiden, Rygar, and Tecmo Super Bowl<ref name=TecmoSupport>Shawn White. "Tecmo to Aggressively Support Virtual Console", thewiire.com, August 29, 2006.</ref>. Tecmo was the first third-party game developer to release a game on the Virtual Console (Solomon's Key on the NES). Craig Harris of IGN reported that Rareware titles not featuring Nintendo characters would not be available to download due to Rare's current licensing, but neither Rareware nor Microsoft (who currently has majority ownership of Rareware) has confirmed this<ref name=NoRare>Glen Bayer. "Rare games for Nintendo Virtual Console?", N-Sider.com, March 27, 2006.</ref>. SNK Playmore has recently announced intentions to help support the Wii Virtual Console by releasing the Samurai Shodown series and a few other games to the Virtual Console<ref name=SNKsupport>Ron Kimberly. "Various new SNK tidbits - Virtual Console support + more", gamesarefun.com, May 15,2006.</ref>. Midway also plans to bring classic Mortal Kombat games to the Virtual Console<ref name=MKcreator>Captain. "Mortal Kombat creator discusses Wii development", aussie-nintendo.com, September 9,2006.</ref>.
Atlus, Namco Bandai, Banpresto, Capcom, Chunsoft, D4 Enterprise, Enterbrain, HAL Laboratory, Irem, Jaleco, KEMCO, Koei, Konami, Midway Games, NCS Masaya, Netfarm, Paon, Rocket Company, Square Enix, Sunsoft, SNK Playmore, Taito, Takara and TOMY are confirmed supporters<ref name="24devIDed">Niizumi, Hirohiko, Brendan Sinclair. "24 Wii VC devs ID'd", gamespot.com, 2006-09-14, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.</ref>. Currently, only Sega, Hudson, and Tecmo offer any third party games for the Virtual Console.
[edit] Pricing
On September 14 2006, Nintendo revealed that Virtual Console games in Japan would be priced at JP¥500 for NES titles, JP¥800 for Super NES titles, and JP¥1000 for Nintendo 64 titles, with points purchasable via credit card or a "Wii Points" card. In the United States, Wii Points are priced at $19.99 MSRP (2000 points), yielding game prices of US$5, US$8 and US$10, respectively<ref name=not-so-lb>Kyle Orland. "Nintendo Japan Conference Not so Liveblogging", joystiq.com, September 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=Reggie-USLaunch>The Wiire Staff. "Fils-Aime Talks American Launch and More", September 14,2006.</ref>. In the UK, Wii Points cost £14.99 per 2000, and in the Eurozone, €20 per 2000.
| Country | NES | SNES | N64 | Mega Drive/Genesis | TurboGrafx-16 | Commodore 64 | MSX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii Points | 500 | 800 | 1000 | 800 (600 in Japan) | 600 | - | - |
| Australia | $7.50 | $12 | $15 | $12 | - | - | - |
| Canada | $6.25 | $10 | $12.50 | $10 | $7.50 | - | - |
| Europe | €5 | €8 | €10 | €8 | €6 | - | - |
| Japan | ¥500 | ¥800 | ¥1000 | ¥600 | ¥600 | - | - |
| United Kingdom | £3.75 | £6.00 | £7.50 | £6.00 | £4.50 | - | - |
| United States | $5 | $8 | $10 | $8 | $6 | - | - |
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has indicated that new small-scale titles could be developed and sold through the Virtual Console at a price of between JP¥500 and ¥1000 (approximately US$4-$9, GB£2-£5),<ref name="Iwata briefing Famitsu">(Japanese) "Wiiの発売日、価格の発表は9月。WiiとDSの連動は『ポケモン』から", Famitsu. Retrieved on 2006-06-07.</ref><ref name="Iwata briefing IGN">Casamassina, Matt (2006-06-07). Virtual Console Prices Revealed. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-06-08.</ref> and that free downloads may be offered as a bonus with the purchase of specific Wii titles, similar to Nintendo Europe's VIP 24:7 incentives<ref name="dlnotfree">"Iwata: Revolution downloads not free", IGN.com, 2006-06-08, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2006-11-14. (in english)</ref>.
[edit] Storage and Control
Image:Wii classic controller.jpg Games downloaded from Virtual Console library will be stored on Wii's built-in 512 MB flash memory, but not on SD cards, though save files from some Virtual Console games can be saved on SD cards. If the internal memory is filled, Virtual Console games can be deleted to create more room. If the player wants to play those deleted games at a later date, they can be downloaded again at no additional cost. The Virtual Console games are locked to the Wii they were bought on, so a player cannot play their Virtual Console games on another Wii by simply swapping the memory cards. In the event that a Wii is damaged and the Virtual Console games can no longer be played, Nintendo will provide support. <ref name="othercontrollers">"Interview: Virtual Console: Secrets exposed", ComputerAndVideoGames.Com, November 3, 2006.</ref>
The Virtual Console service will be region-locked - that is, different versions of games will be provided to different regions, and game availability may vary from region to region. <ref name="Region Locked">"Wii upholds Cube region lock", Eurogamer.Com, November 10, 2006.</ref>
Virtual Console games can be played using three different controllers. The Wii Remote itself (turned on its side) can be used for NES, TurboGrafx-16, and some Sega Genesis games, and the separately sold Nintendo "Classic Controller" can be used for all Virtual Console games. The controllers from the Nintendo GameCube can be used for all Nintendo systems' games, however Nintendo's site claims that it can only be used with some TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Genesis titles.<ref>http://wii.nintendo.com/virtualconsole.jsp</ref> All Virtual Console games have their buttons mapped to the respective buttons on the controllers, e.g. users cannot use X and Y instead of A and B. <ref name="othercontrollers"/>
With the release of Bomberman '93, it was revealed that TurboGrafx-16 games can support full 5 player games using a combination of Wii Remotes/Classic Controllers and GameCube Controllers (1 Wii Remote and 4 GameCube Controllers or 3 Classic Controllers and 2 GameCube Controllers, for example).
| Platform | Wii Remote | Classic Controller | GCN Controller |
|---|---|---|---|
| NES | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SNES | No | Yes | Yes |
| N64 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Genesis | Some | Yes | Some |
| TurboGrafx-16 | Yes | Yes | Some |
[edit] Titles
There were 12 titles total of NES, SNES, N64, and Genesis games available at launch on the Virtual Console for the North American region. Two TurboGrafx-16 titles were added two days later on November 21, 2006. The store is expected to update on Mondays, but so far has not done so consistently since it has had updates on two Tuesdays since launch.<ref>http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-16-2006/0004476212&EDATE=</ref> Around 30 titles are expected to be released by the end of 2006. There are currently 17 Virtual Console titles available; a current list of released and anticipated titles with additional available information can be found at the Wikipedia article linked above.
Below is a table of classic games that are expected to be available for download on the Virtual Console Service in the other three regions (Japan, Australia, and Europe). Ten titles will be added monthly starting January 2007.[citation needed]
| System | Japan<ref>Chris Kohler, "Japan Gets Way Better Virtual Console Lineup", Game|Life, 2006-10-31. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.</ref> | Australia<ref>"Captain", "26 Virtual Console games head to Australia", Aussie-Nintendo.com, 2006-11-02. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.</ref> | Europe<ref>"Taking you back to the old school", Nintendo Europe, 2006-11-01. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|
| NES | |||
| SNES | |||
| N64 | |||
| Mega Drive/Genesis | |||
| TurboGrafx-16 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] External links
- nintendo.com
- The Virtual Console Archive - Virtual Console titles reviewed and rated
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Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Nintendo consoles | Multi-emulators | Nintendo Entertainment System emulators | Super NES emulators | Nintendo 64 emulators | Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis emulators | TurboGrafx-16 emulators | MSX emulators | Commodore 64 emulators | Wii | Online gaming services
