Virtual Console: Difference between revisions

The '''Virtual Console''' is a service available on the [[Wii]], the [[Nintendo 3DS]], and the [[Wii U]]. It allows players to download games that were originally for older consoles, such as [[Nintendo]]'s own [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] (all models), [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] (Wii, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS), [[Nintendo 64]] (Wii and Wii U), [[Game Boy Advance]] (Nintendo 3DS ambassadors and Wii U), [[Nintendo DS]] (Wii U), [[Game Boy]], and [[Game Boy Color]] (Nintendo 3DS). [[Sega]] has provided the Wii and Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console with [[wikipedia:Mega Drive|Sega Genesis/Mega Drive]], [[wikipedia:Sega Master System|Sega Master System]], and [[wikipedia:Sega Game Gear|Sega Game Gear]] games.

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Games on the Virtual Console of the Nintendo 3DS do not have 3D capabilities, except for 3D Classics. They are sold via [[Nintendo 3DS#Nintendo eShop|Nintendo eShop]]. They have various sound effects that play upon selecting a game depending on their originating game system. The Game Boy and Game Boy Color games have the standard Game Boy boot-up screen sound effect play. The Game Boy Advance games have the Game Boy Advance bootup screen occur. The NES/Famicom Disk System games have a coin sound effect from ''Super Mario Bros.'' playing in the background. Finally, the Super NES games have the coin sound effect from ''Super Mario World'' playing in the background.

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<small><nowiki>d.</nowiki> Available only to participants who registered ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]'' and one of ''[[wikipedia:Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire|Pokémon Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire]]'' with [[Club Nintendo (rewards program)|Club Nintendo]] from November 21, 2014 to January 20, 2015. It is currently unavailable to the general public.</small><br>

<small><nowiki>e.</nowiki> Available only on [[Nintendo 3DS#New Nintendo 3DS|New Nintendo 3DS]] systems.</small><br>

All of these games are available as free downloads for consumers who purchased a Nintendo 3DS prior to the August 12, 2011 price drop. The NES titles were first available in Japan on August 31, 2011 for these ambassadors, and available worldwide on September 1, 2011. The Game Boy Advance games were released in Australia on December 15, 2011, and worldwide on December 16, 2011. ''[[zeldawiki:The Legend of Zelda (game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' became available in the Japanese eShop on December 22, 2011, making it the first Ambassador game released to the public. Currently, all NES titles offered by the Ambassador Program are available worldwide on the eShop. [[Nintendo]] has announced that GBA games will remain exclusive to 3DS ambassadors. GBA games have been released on the Wii U instead, and there are currently no plans for Nintendo 3DS Virtual releases.  

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*Timed demos of several Virtual Console games are included in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', all of which star the game's various fighters. The only default Mario title is ''Super Mario Bros.''; ''Donkey Kong'', ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', and ''Super Mario World'' are also included, but they must first be unlocked.  

*In November 2012, the ''Donkey Kong Country'' SNES trilogy was unlisted from the Wii Shop Channel in all regions except South Korea. On November 25, 2012, the games became "unavailable for purchase" on the European Wii Shop, though they were removed in North America without any prior warning. Two years later, in 2014, the ''Donkey Kong Country'' trilogy was released on the Wii U Virtual Console, and were added back to the Wii Virtual Console around the same time. It is unknown why the games were unlisted but it could be due to legal issues with Microsoft, who acquired the games' development studio, [[Rare Ltd.|Rare]], in 2002. At its time of removal, each ''Donkey Kong Country'' title was still available to be re-downloaded by players who had purchased the games during their time of availability.

*Only NES titles support multiplayer due to the GB, GBC, and GBA (Ambassadors only) games being too complicated to recode the games to add wireless features and there being no link port for multiplayer. NES games that have simultaneous multiplayer utilize 3DS Download Play, and Game Gear games, as well as ''Pokémon Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'', ''Gold'', ''Silver'' and ''Crystal'', use local play while NES games that only have alternating multiplayer are played on a single 3DS. To alternate players when playing NES games, simultaneously press {{button|3ds|L}} and {{button|3ds|R}} to display a pair of controllers in the lower-right corner of the top screen; press {{button|3ds|Y}} while they are displayed to switch control between players 1 and 2.

**This feature can also be used when playing Game Boy titles to change the screen color from gray to the classic green.

*Many games (excluding the aforementioned ''Pokémon'' games) have been given the ability to create one save file each. This can be disabled or enabled by simultaneously holding {{button|3ds|R}}, {{button|3ds|X}} and {{button|3ds|start}}.

** This occurs because the 3DS is not powerful enough to emulate the GBA in the same way it does other Virtual Console games. (This is also why GBA games are not available for purchase on the 3DS eShop.) Through hacking, it is possible to load GBA games into a regular Virtual Console emulator, but performance is slow and the ability to do this was removed in a later update.

*[[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Game Boy]] and [[Game Boy Color]] games

*[[NES]], [[SNES]], [[N64]], [[Game Boy Advance]], and [[Nintendo DS]] games

**All games include restore points, [[Wii U GamePad]] Off-TV play, and previously included [[Miiverse]] support. Unlike on the Wii VC, N64 games support Rumble Pak functions which are replicated by the GamePad rumbling when needed. GBA, N64, and DS games also include their original instruction booklets.

File:VirtualConsole.jpg|Icon from the [[Wii]]'s Virtual Console.

File:3DS Virtual Console Image.png|[[Nintendo 3DS]]'s Virtual Console old selection on Nintendo eShop.

File:Virtual Console Wii U Logo.png|[[Wii U]]'s Virtual Console logo.

File:Virtual Console Wii U Screenshot.png|Wallpaper for the [[Wii U]]'s Virtual Console.

== References ==