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Virtual Console: Difference between revisions

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(Brawl's Masterpieces mode doesn't actually have a "Go to Wii Shop Channel" prompt as far as I'm aware.)
 
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[[File:Virtual Console.png|thumb|300px|The Virtual Console logo.]]The '''Virtual Console''' ({{ja|バーチャルコンソール|Bācharukonsōru}}, ''Virtual Console''), sometimes abbreviated as '''VC''', is a feature of the [[Wii]], the [[Nintendo 3DS]], and the [[Wii U]] that allows players to officially emulate games from older video game consoles. Supported by the  {{h2|Wikipedia:Wii Menu|Wii Shop Channel}} on the Wii and the [[Nintendo eShop]] on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, the different consoles have differing coverage as to what games they feature.
[[File:Virtual Console.png|thumb|300px|The Virtual Console logo.]]The '''Virtual Console''' ({{ja|バーチャルコンソール|Bācharukonsōru}}, ''Virtual Console''), sometimes abbreviated as '''VC''', is a feature of the [[Wii]], [[Nintendo 3DS]], and [[Wii U]] that allows players to officially emulate games from older video game consoles. Supported by the  {{h2|Wikipedia:Wii Menu|Wii Shop Channel}} on the Wii and the [[Nintendo eShop]] on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, the different consoles offered differing coverage as to what games they featured. The Virtual Console has since been retired, with the currently available [[Nintendo Switch]] offering classic games with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The currently supported consoles on this service are NES, SNES and Game Boy/Game Boy Color with the base package, with N64, GBA, and Sega Genesis costing extra as part of the Expansion Pack. After the shutdown of the Wii Virtual Console on January 30, 2019, and the shutdown of the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console on March 27, 2023, it is no longer legally possible to purchase software provided by any Virtual Console service.


==List of consoles on Virtual Console==
==List of consoles on Virtual Console==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Platform !! [[Wii]] !! [[Wii U]] !! [[Nintendo 3DS]]
! Platform !! [[Wii]]<ref name="Wii Mode">Wii U can play them in Wii Mode</ref> !! [[Wii U]] !! [[Nintendo 3DS]]
|-
|-
| Arcade ||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Wii Mode">Only available in Wii Mode</ref>||{{n}}
| Arcade ||{{y}}||{{n}}||{{n}}
|-
|-
| NES / Famicom ||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{y}}
| NES / Famicom ||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{y}}
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| Nintendo 64||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{n}}
| Nintendo 64||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{n}}
|-
|-
|Sega Master System||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Wii Mode">Only available in Wii Mode</ref>||{{n}}
|Sega Master System||{{y}}||{{n}}||{{n}}
|-
|-
| Sega Genesis ||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Wii Mode">Only available in Wii Mode</ref>||{{n}}
| Sega Genesis ||{{y}}||{{n}}||{{n}}
|-
|-
| Turbografx-16||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Japan only">Only available on Japanese 3DS systems</ref>
| Turbografx-16||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Japan only">Only available on Japanese 3DS systems</ref>
|-
|-
| Neo Geo||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Wii Mode">Only available in Wii Mode</ref>||{{n}}
| Neo Geo||{{y}}||{{n}}||{{n}}
|-
|-
| Game Boy ||{{n}}||{{n}}||{{y}}
| Game Boy ||{{n}}||{{n}}||{{y}}
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| Game Boy Color||{{n}}||{{n}}||{{y}}
| Game Boy Color||{{n}}||{{n}}||{{y}}
|-
|-
| Game Boy Advance||{{n}}||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Ambassador">Only available to members of the [http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/746/~/nintendo-3ds-ambassador-eligibility Nintendo 3DS Ambassador] program.</ref>
| Game Boy Advance||{{n}}||{{y}}||{{n}}<ref name="Ambassador">10 Game Boy Advance games were released for members of the [http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/746/~/nintendo-3ds-ambassador-eligibility Nintendo 3DS Ambassador] program. They were not released otherwise.</ref>
|-
|-
| Nintendo DS ||{{n}}||{{y}}||{{n}}
| Nintendo DS ||{{n}}||{{y}}||{{n}}
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| Sega Game Gear ||{{n}}||{{n}}||{{y}}
| Sega Game Gear ||{{n}}||{{n}}||{{y}}
|-
|-
|Commodore 64<ref name="C64">Only available in North America and PAL regions. All games were removed from the Wii Shop Channel in August 2013.</ref>||{{y}}||{{y}}<ref name="Wii Mode">Only available in Wii Mode</ref>||{{n}}
| MSX<ref name="MSX">Only available in Japan.</ref>||{{y}}||{{y}}||{{n}}
|-
| Commodore 64<ref name="C64">Only available in North America and PAL regions. All games were removed from the Wii Shop Channel in August 2013.</ref>||{{y}}||{{n}}||{{n}}
|}
|}
===Notes===
===Notes===
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==In the ''{{B|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series==
==In the ''{{B|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series==
===[[Masterpieces]]===
===[[Masterpieces]]===
A majority of the [[Masterpieces]] featured in ''Brawl'' and {{forwiiu}} work via the Wii's Virtual Console engine. In addition, all Masterpieces are timed, and when the timer runs out, the player is told about how the full version can be purchased for the Virtual Console.
A majority of the [[Masterpieces]] featured in ''Brawl'' and {{forwiiu}} work via the Virtual Console engine. In addition, all Masterpieces are timed.


Unusually, ''Smash 4'' features Masterpieces of Game Boy titles, which are not supported by the Wii U's Virtual Console. As a result, players are told about how they can download the two Game Boy titles, ''Kirby's Dream Land'' and ''Dr. Mario'', on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console.
Unusually, ''Smash 4'' features Masterpieces of Game Boy titles, which were not supported by the Wii U's Virtual Console. As a result, players are told about how they could download the two Game Boy titles, ''Kirby's Dream Land'' and ''Dr. Mario'', on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console. When the timer runs out, the player is told about how the full version could be purchased for the Virtual Console, though the prompt to take players directly to the Wii U eShop for NES and SNES titles is no longer functional.


===Re-release of ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''===
===Re-release of ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''===
''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' was released onto the Wii Virtual Console for Japan on January 20, 2009, as to celebrate the ten years since the game's first release in Japan on January 21, 1999. It was later released to Europe and Australia on June 12, 2009, and later still, to North America on December 21, 2009. While not officially available for the Wii U's Virtual Console, the Virtual Console re-release of ''Smash 64'' could still be purchased and played when the Wii U was running in Wii Mode.
''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' was released onto the Wii Virtual Console for Japan on January 20, 2009, as to celebrate the ten years since the game's first release in Japan on January 21, 1999. It was later released to Europe and Australia on June 12, 2009, and to North America on December 21, 2009. While not officially available for the Wii U's Virtual Console, the Virtual Console re-release of ''Smash 64'' could still be purchased and played when the Wii U was running in Wii Mode. However, the discontinuation of the Wii Shop Channel on January 30, 2019 made the game legitimately unavailable.


While the Virtual Console version of ''Smash 64'' can be used in tournaments, its use is generally discouraged compared to using emulators such as [[Project 64k]], or using the actual Nintendo 64 console. This is due to the limited support of controllers for the Virtual Console compared to either of the two previous options; furthermore, the Virtual Console port can suffer from frame-skipping, which can potentially disrupt players' inputs.
Due to lack of N64 controller support and significant performance issues like frame-skipping, the Virtual Console version of ''Smash 64'' is not used for tournament play. Players use the original [[Nintendo 64]] hardware for in person tournaments or [[Project 64k]] for online events.


==External links==
==External links==

Latest revision as of 00:25, November 25, 2023

The logo of the Virtual Console.
The Virtual Console logo.

The Virtual Console (バーチャルコンソール, Virtual Console), sometimes abbreviated as VC, is a feature of the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U that allows players to officially emulate games from older video game consoles. Supported by the Wii Shop Channel on the Wii and the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, the different consoles offered differing coverage as to what games they featured. The Virtual Console has since been retired, with the currently available Nintendo Switch offering classic games with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The currently supported consoles on this service are NES, SNES and Game Boy/Game Boy Color with the base package, with N64, GBA, and Sega Genesis costing extra as part of the Expansion Pack. After the shutdown of the Wii Virtual Console on January 30, 2019, and the shutdown of the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console on March 27, 2023, it is no longer legally possible to purchase software provided by any Virtual Console service.

List of consoles on Virtual Console[edit]

Platform Wii[1] Wii U Nintendo 3DS
Arcade Yes No No
NES / Famicom Yes Yes Yes
SNES / Super Famicom Yes Yes Yes[2]
Nintendo 64 Yes Yes No
Sega Master System Yes No No
Sega Genesis Yes No No
Turbografx-16 Yes Yes Yes[3]
Neo Geo Yes No No
Game Boy No No Yes
Game Boy Color No No Yes
Game Boy Advance No Yes No[4]
Nintendo DS No Yes No
Sega Game Gear No No Yes
MSX[5] Yes Yes No
Commodore 64[6] Yes No No

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Wii U can play them in Wii Mode
  2. ^ Only available on New Nintendo 3DS
  3. ^ Only available on Japanese 3DS systems
  4. ^ 10 Game Boy Advance games were released for members of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. They were not released otherwise.
  5. ^ Only available in Japan.
  6. ^ Only available in North America and PAL regions. All games were removed from the Wii Shop Channel in August 2013.

In the Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

Masterpieces[edit]

A majority of the Masterpieces featured in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U work via the Virtual Console engine. In addition, all Masterpieces are timed.

Unusually, Smash 4 features Masterpieces of Game Boy titles, which were not supported by the Wii U's Virtual Console. As a result, players are told about how they could download the two Game Boy titles, Kirby's Dream Land and Dr. Mario, on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console. When the timer runs out, the player is told about how the full version could be purchased for the Virtual Console, though the prompt to take players directly to the Wii U eShop for NES and SNES titles is no longer functional.

Re-release of Super Smash Bros.[edit]

Super Smash Bros. was released onto the Wii Virtual Console for Japan on January 20, 2009, as to celebrate the ten years since the game's first release in Japan on January 21, 1999. It was later released to Europe and Australia on June 12, 2009, and to North America on December 21, 2009. While not officially available for the Wii U's Virtual Console, the Virtual Console re-release of Smash 64 could still be purchased and played when the Wii U was running in Wii Mode. However, the discontinuation of the Wii Shop Channel on January 30, 2019 made the game legitimately unavailable.

Due to lack of N64 controller support and significant performance issues like frame-skipping, the Virtual Console version of Smash 64 is not used for tournament play. Players use the original Nintendo 64 hardware for in person tournaments or Project 64k for online events.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.ssbwiki.com/index.php?title=Virtual_Console&oldid=1842154"