Editing Virtual Console

{{delete|Talk page}}[[Image:Virtual Console logo.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Virtual Console logo.]]'''Virtual Console''' (バーチャルコンソール ''Bācharu Konsōru''), sometimes abbreviated as '''VC''', is a feature of the [[Wii]] that emulates older video game consoles and allows you to play games originally released for those consoles. This feature is supported by the [[Wikipedia:Wii Menu#Wii Shop Channel|Wii Shop Channel]]. The Virtual Console currently emulates the [[Wikipedia:Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Wikipedia:Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and [[Nintendo 64]], as well as the [[Wikipedia:Sega Mega Drive|Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]], NEC's [[Wikipedia:TurboGrafx-16|TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine]], the [[Wikipedia:MSX|MSX]] computer and the [[Wikipedia:Neo Geo (console)|Neo Geo]] home system.<ref name="Nintendo Japan Virtual Console overview">{{cite news|url= http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/features/virtual_console.html|title=Nintendo Japan Virtual Console overview|publisher=Nintendo|language=Japanese|accessdate=2007-02-25}}</ref>

==Library history==

While the gameplay remains unchanged for all of the classic titles offered for the Virtual Console, Nintendo has stated that some games may be improved with sharper graphics or better frame rates.<ref name="classic">{{cite news|url= http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3141582|title=Nintendo Remaking Classics|author=Patrick Klepek|date=2005-06-21|publisher= 1up.com}}</ref>  While the company has stated that the Wii Shop will not be used exclusively for retro games, no original games have yet been made available through the service.<ref name="VClaunchlist">{{cite news|date=2006-09-09|url=http://www.play-nintendo.com/news/06090902.html| title=Virtual Console Launch List|publisher=play-nintendo.com|accessdate=2006-11-15}}</ref>  As with disc-based games, the Virtual Console service is region-locked - that is, different versions of games are provided to different regions, and game availability may vary from region to region.<ref name="Region Locked">{{cite news|url= http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=68306|title=Wii upholds Cube region lock|publisher=Eurogamer.Com| date=2006-11-10}}</ref>

 

Nintendo president [[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">{{cite news |url= http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146528.html|title=GDC 06: Revolution to play Genesis, TurboGrafx-16 games |author=Tor Thorsen |publisher=GameSpot |date=2006-03-23}}</ref> 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">{{cite news|last=Casamassina|first=Matt|authorlink=Matt Casamassina|coauthors=|date=2006-05-11|url= http://revolution.ign.com/articles/708/708057p1.html|title=E3 2006: Hudson Declares 100 Games for Wii|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2006-11-13}}</ref> Nintendo announced MSX compatibility on September 19, 2006,<ref name="Wii FAQ">{{cite news|last=Casamassina|first=Matt|authorlink=Matt Casamassina|date=2006-09-19|url= http://wii.ign.com/articles/733/733464p5.html|title=IGN's Nintendo Wii FAQ|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2006-11-13}}</ref> announcing on February 23, 2007 that the MSX titles ''Eggy'' and ''Aleste'' will be released in Japan.<ref name="Nintendo Japan Virtual Console Index">{{cite news|date=2007-02-23|url= http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/index.html|title=Nintendo of Japan's Virtual Console Index|publisher=[[Nintendo]]|language= Japanese|accessdate=2007-02-23}}</ref> Added to the Japanese Virtual Console page was a heading for Neo Geo games. They will appear in late 2007 to all regions.<ref name="NeogeotoVC">{{cite news |date=2007-04-17|url=http://au.wii.ign.com/articles/781/781316p1.html|title=The Return of the NeoGeo| accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>

 

 

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">{{cite news|last=Cardinal|first=Chris|date=2006-05-11|url=http://www.playfeed.com/index.php/playfeed/article/live-from-e3-fun-wii-facts-confirmed-0511060329/|title=Live From E3: Fun Wii Facts Confirmed|publisher=playfeed.com|accessdate=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 re-releasing classic games such as ''Ninja Gaiden'', ''Rygar'', and ''Tecmo Bowl''.<ref name=TecmoSupport>{{cite news|url= http://www.thewiire.com/news/436/1/Tecmo_to_Aggresively_Support_ViruConsole|title=Tecmo to Aggressively Support Virtual Console|author=Shawn White|publisher=thewiire.com|date=2006-08-29}}</ref> Tecmo was the first third-party game developer to release a game on the Virtual Console: ''Solomon's Key'' from the NES. Since then, Capcom and Konami, among others, have also released titles.

 

Matt Casamassina of IGN reported that Rare titles absent of Nintendo-owned characters would be unavailable for purchase due to Microsoft's acquisition of Rare,<ref name=NoRare>{{cite news|url=http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=1886|title=Rare games for Nintendo Virtual Console?|author=Glen Bayer|publisher=N-Sider.com|date=2006-03-27}}</ref> but none of the three companies has announced this. SNK Playmore has recently announced intentions to help support the Virtual Console by releasing the ''Samurai Shodown'' series and a few other games to the Virtual Console.<ref name=SNKsupport>{{cite news|url=http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=6456| title=Various new SNK tidbits - Virtual Console support + more|author=Ron Kimberly|publisher=gamesarefun.com| date=2006-05-15}}</ref> Midway also plans to bring classic ''Mortal Kombat'' games to the Virtual Console.<ref name=MKcreator>{{cite news|url=http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/index.php?v=news&p=4841|title=Mortal Kombat creator discusses Wii development|author=Captain|publisher=aussie-nintendo.com|date=2006-09-09}}</ref>

 

Confirmed third-party companies supporting Virtual Console include: Atlus, Namco Bandai, Banpresto, Capcom, Chunsoft, D4 Enterprise, Enterbrain, G-mode, Irem, Jaleco, KEMCO, Koei, Midway Games, Natsume, NCS Masaya, Netfarm, Paon, Rocket Company, Konami, Spike, Square Enix, Sunsoft, SNK Playmore, Taito, Tecmo, Takara, and TOMY.<ref name="24devIDed">{{cite news|last=Niizumi|first=Hirohiko|coauthors=Brendan Sinclair|date=2006-09-14|url= http://www.gamespot.com/news/6157639.html|title=24 Wii VC devs ID'd |pages=1 |publisher=GameSpot |accessdate=2006-11-16}}</ref>

 

The Wii Shop Channel has functionality to allow games to be updated. This has been used three times so far to update ''Military Madness'' and ''Star Fox 64'' in North America and Europe<ref name=" Virtual Consolation Prize: Military Madness Fixed">{{cite news|date=2007-02-11|url=http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/02/virtual_consola_1.html |title=Virtual Consolation Prize: Military Madness Fixed|publisher=wired.com|accessdate=2007-02-12}}</ref> and ''Mario Kart 64'' in Europe and Australia. ''[[w:c:zelda:The Legend of Zelda|The Legend of Zelda]]'', ''[[w:c:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]'', ''Super Mario Bros.'', ''Donkey Kong Country'' and ''Super Castlevania IV'' have also been given updates in Europe and Australia to fix previous problems with the Wii Component Cables. These updates are free of charge to those who have downloaded a previous version of the game.

 

 

 

!width=125 |Country

!width=100 |NES

!width=100 |SNES

!width=100 |[[Nintendo 64|N64]]

!width=100 |Mega Drive/Genesis

!width=100 |TurboGrafx-16

|$6.25 ||$10 ||$12.50 ||$10 ||$7.50 ||- ||-

|$9.50 ||$15.20 ||$19 ||$15.20 ||$11.40 ||- ||-

|46 SEK ||74 SEK ||92 SEK ||74 SEK ||55 SEK ||-||-

|$5 ||$8 ||$10 ||$8 ||$6||- ||-

|-  

|$8.4 ||$13.4 ||$17 ||$13.4 ||$10||- ||-

 

Games downloaded from the Virtual Console library are stored in the Wii's built-in 512 MB flash memory, though only less than 400 MB is actually available to the user. Games can be transferred to a removable SD card but they cannot be played from this external memory. If the internal memory is filled, Virtual Console games can be deleted to create more room, and the games can be downloaded again at a later date at no additional cost. Virtual Console games are locked to the Wii on which they were purchased — they cannot be transferred to another Wii via an SD card. In the event that a Wii is damaged and the Virtual Console games can no longer be played, Nintendo provides support.<ref name="othercontrollers">{{cite news|url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=148658|title=Interview: Virtual Console: Secrets exposed |publisher=ComputerAndVideoGames.Com|date=2006-11-03}}</ref>

 

Games on the Virtual Console 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 Mega Drive/Genesis games, and the Classic Controller can be used for all games. The controllers from the [[Nintendo GameCube]] can also be used, causing the wireless controller, the WaveBird, to have an increased popularity.<ref name="popularity">{{cite web|url=http://gamepeople.wordpress.com/2007/01/25/like-a-wavebird-from-the-ashes/|publisher=GamePeople|title=Like a WaveBird from the Ashes|accessdate=2007-01-28|format=HTML}}</ref> The Nintendo Gamecube controller can be used for all Nintendo systems' games, however Nintendo's site claims that it cannot be used with some TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis/Mega Drive titles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wii.nintendo.com/virtualconsole.jsp|publisher=Nintendo|title=In-Depth Regional Wii Coverage |accessdate=2007-08-11}}</ref>

 

 

 

! width=125 | Platform

! width=100 | [[Wii Remote]]

! width=100 | [[Classic Controller]]

! width=100 | [[GameCube Controller]]

|-  

|[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]

|-

|[[Image:X mark.svg|15px|No]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]

|-  

! [[Nintendo 64|N64]]

|[[Image:X mark.svg|15px|No]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]

|-  

|Some ||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||Some

|-  

|[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||[[Image:Yes_check.svg|15px|Yes]]||Some

==''Super Smash Bros.''==

''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' has yet to have been released on the Virtual Console.

Chris Kohler of the magazine ''Wired'' has criticized the overall release strategy of games on the Virtual Console as a handful of games were relased at the launch of the Wii, though now only two or three games are released each week. Kohler also took issue with the Virtual Console's aspect ratio which stretches the 4:3 games when the Wii's system settings are set for a 16:9 television.<ref>{{cite web |author=Kohler, Chris |title=The Wii 4:3 Hall Of Shame |publisher=Game <nowiki>|</nowiki> Life |date=2006-12-05 |url=http://blog.wired.com/games/2006/12/the_wii_43_hall.html |accessdate = 2007-08-11}}</ref> The prices for the games have been criticized as too high, especially for the NES games,<ref>{{cite web |author=Kolan, Patrick | title=Virtual Console Up Close |publisher=IGN |date=2006-12-12 |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/750/750821p1.html |accessdate = 2007-08-11}}</ref> given the prices of many of the games on eBay and the near-zero costs of manufacture and distribution.

==References==