Difference between revisions of "Virtual Console"

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(I expanded the article using more information. The table is still a work in progress, though.)
(I added more information and finished the structure of the table while reordering the links.)
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Virtual Console games can be retired from the shop, though purchased games can be redownloaded.
 
Virtual Console games can be retired from the shop, though purchased games can be redownloaded.
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Some GameBoy Advance games from the 3DS Virtual Console were available to Ambassadors only, that is, buyers of the Nintendo 3DS before Nintendo announced a price drop.
  
 
Pricing of Virtual Console games can be ludicrous. If you don't want to pay for VC ROMs on your Wii, you can just install them as .wad files through WAD Manager. You can even install .wads from other regions, though you need to watch the PAL/NTSC divide.
 
Pricing of Virtual Console games can be ludicrous. If you don't want to pay for VC ROMs on your Wii, you can just install them as .wad files through WAD Manager. You can even install .wads from other regions, though you need to watch the PAL/NTSC divide.
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==Supported Systems==
 
==Supported Systems==
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
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! scope="col"|Console
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! scope="col"|Wii
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! scope="col"|Wii U
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! scope="col"|3DS
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|-
 
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|Nintendo Entertainment System]] (Famicom)
 
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|Nintendo Entertainment System]] (Famicom)
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|✓
 
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|-
 
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|[[Master System emulators|Sega Master System]]
 
|[[Master System emulators|Sega Master System]]
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|[[Super Nintendo emulators|Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] (Super Famicom)
 
|[[Super Nintendo emulators|Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] (Super Famicom)
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|-
 
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|[[Sega Genesis emulators|Mega Drive / Genesis]]
 
|[[Sega Genesis emulators|Mega Drive / Genesis]]
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|[[Nintendo 64 emulators|Nintendo 64]]
 
|[[Nintendo 64 emulators|Nintendo 64]]
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|-
 
|-
 
|[[PC Engine emulators|PC Engine]]
 
|[[PC Engine emulators|PC Engine]]
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|[[Neo Geo emulators|Neo Geo]]
 
|[[Neo Geo emulators|Neo Geo]]
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|-
 
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|[[Commodore 64 emulators|Commodore 64]]
 
|[[Commodore 64 emulators|Commodore 64]]
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|[[MSX emulators|MSX]]
 
|[[MSX emulators|MSX]]
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|[[Game Gear emulators|Game Gear]]
 
|[[Game Gear emulators|Game Gear]]
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|[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color|Game Boy]]
 
|[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color|Game Boy]]
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|✗
 
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|-
 
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|[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color|Game Boy Color]]
 
|[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color|Game Boy Color]]
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|✗
 
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|[[Game Boy Advance]]
 
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
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|✗
 
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|[[Nintendo DS]]
 
|[[Nintendo DS]]
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|[[Arcade]]
 
|[[Arcade]]
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[[List of Wii Virtual Console button mappings]]
 
[[List of Wii Virtual Console button mappings]]
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[[List of Wii U Virtual Console button mappings]]
  
 
[[List of 3DS Virtual Console button mappings]]
 
[[List of 3DS Virtual Console button mappings]]
 
[[List of Wii U Virtual Console button mappings]]
 
  
  

Revision as of 22:58, 4 March 2015

3ds vc logo.png
Current version: n/a
Active: Yes
OS: Wii, 3DS, Wii U
Authors: Nintendo
Official website: eShop
Source code: Nintendo OSS (Partial)

Virtual Console is a service created by Nintendo that allows users to purchase and emulate games.


Overview

Games played through Virtual Console are usually free of accuracy issues.

In terms of functionality, the Virtual Console emulator is very bare-bones compared to unofficial emulators, but the 3DS version has restore points (save states) and screenshot saving. The Wii U version has both plus controller customization (Game Gear on 3DS also has it), Off TV Play, Pixel smoothing and scaling changing. Despite this, usually only the bare functionality is emulated: there is no way to save ghost data in Mario Kart 64 due to a lack of a Memory Pak emulated.

The different regions of Virtual Console (Japan, North America, Europe/Australia, and South Korea) have different games and update them to different schedules. At times, North America gets games that were exclusive to Japan while Europe/Australia gets games that were exclusive to the previous two regions. These imported games are priced a little higher than normal and tend to be straight ports with no translation. (Exceptions include Monster World IV and Sin & Punishment.) Other games that can be priced higher than normal are games based on externally-licensed properties, one example being the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games.

Virtual Console games can be retired from the shop, though purchased games can be redownloaded.

Some GameBoy Advance games from the 3DS Virtual Console were available to Ambassadors only, that is, buyers of the Nintendo 3DS before Nintendo announced a price drop.

Pricing of Virtual Console games can be ludicrous. If you don't want to pay for VC ROMs on your Wii, you can just install them as .wad files through WAD Manager. You can even install .wads from other regions, though you need to watch the PAL/NTSC divide.

Supported Systems

Console Wii Wii U 3DS
Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom)
Sega Master System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom)
Mega Drive / Genesis
Nintendo 64
PC Engine
Neo Geo
Commodore 64
MSX
Game Gear
Game Boy
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
Nintendo DS
Arcade

Input Key

Virtual Console games come from many different systems and have to be mapped to those on the supported console, sometimes having to be mapped to different controllers. Even then, at times (notably emulated Nintendo 64 games), mappings may not be consistent.

Wii games in the Virtual Console support the Classic Controllers (which were made with the purpose of the Virtual Console) and GameCube controllers. Some games also support the lone Wii Remote. PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 games that support 5-player mode require that the users connect a combination of GameCube controllers and Wii Remotes (with or without Classic Controllers attached to the Wii Remotes).

List of Wii Virtual Console button mappings

List of Wii U Virtual Console button mappings

List of 3DS Virtual Console button mappings