Talk:Virtual Console/Archive 3

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Region lockout

I just wanted to say incorporating a region lock on a console is just dumb. Movies I can understand (or actually I don't, but it's really not the same argument for games), but a console game? Bleh, I know this is Wikipedia and not meant for a protest page, but what the hell? Region encodings suck anyway you look at it. Shadowrun 05:14, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

How sure are people about this? Can anyone provide a link to a source 86.41.203.221 18:00, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

I guess not...... 86.41.202.19 20:50, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Check the Wii page, the system is region locked and they have proof there. TJ Spyke 20:57, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Crap! Sorry, I meant how Virtual Console games aren't being released in a country if that country didn't have them before. 213.94.182.28 19:54, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

That is true, Nintendo said games would only be released in regions they originally came out in (hence why TurboGrafx-16 games are released on the VC in Australia, the system was never released there). TJ Spyke 22:58, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
Actually, Nintendo have never said that. They have merely said that the games available in each region will be different, not that they will be confined to original releases in each region. In particular, the TurboGrafx-16 wasn't released in a lot of countries in Europe, but is still available on the VC. Tim (Xevious) 11:54, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
Do you have a source? I remember reading that they said games would not be available in regions that they weren't released in originally. Things can change though, especially since Nintendo recently said that it's possible they could translate games and release them on the VC (which means North America could finally get games like Mario & Wario, or Sin & Punishment). TJ Spyke 01:10, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
You're asking me to prove a negative there - no, I cannot prove to you that they never said what you've said, since I cannot show you everything that they have ever said. However, I am happy to state that you will not be able to find any source which backs up what you've said - only news stories which draw their own conclusions over Nintendo's original press releases. There is plenty of discussion of this in this thread, particularly here and from here onwards. Tim (Xevious) 11:23, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
I put a citation tag on it for now, I want to give people a chance to find a source. TJ Spyke 23:58, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
I don't see a citation tag by you, maybe I'm overlooking it though.
Anyway, it's mentioned and cited under both the #North America and #Europe texts in titles. JackSparrow Ninja 00:31, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
Under #Australia and New Zealand. The citation is for that being the reason so far Australia hasn't gotten TG16 games. TJ Spyke 00:47, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
Ah, sorry. Didn't say anything then. JackSparrow Ninja 01:05, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Pricing

I am wondering why my contribution of the 1200 point pricing of Zelda : OCarina of time was deleted? It is accurate and I have sited a resource. Nimadude

You would know if you read the edit summary I left. One reason is that the section already says 1000 points is just the starting point for N64 games, so there isn't a need to repeat it. TJ Spyke 01:23, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Game Manuals

Do VC games come with an instruction manual, or is it just a screen that shows you how buttons are mapped on the gamepad? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.133.100.8 (talkcontribs) 12:29, 3 February 2007

They do come with an electronic instruction book, and can be accessed at any time. 22:37, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
I will note that the manuals I have seen are very lame. I'll admit that the original manuals are usually very lame also, but the VC ones are generally slightly worse. 66.254.241.199 16:06, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Your opinion of the manuals is meaningless to the wiki and has nothing to do with the article, so don't talk about it here. -Unknownwarrior33 17:44, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Company Support

What ever happened to that o-so-handy list of companies to have announced support for the Wii. Did it turn out the be false? --Madhackrviper 02:21, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

It's still there, check the Third-Party support section. TJ Spyke 00:45, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

N64 games and the Classic Controller

The Classic Controller appears to be using L instead of ZL and ZR as the N64's Z button, with ZR and ZL filling the function of L. Since there's only two N64 games available on VC for it so far, future games might be different, but it's still interesting to note. Same goes for the GC controller by the way, L and Z are basically swapped. Seems to be more of a usability thing than anything else. Smoke 07:58, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

They're not really swapped, rather, in Super Mario 64 the L, ZL, and ZR buttons on the Classic Controller, and L and Z on the GameCube controller all act as the Z button, and no button acts as the L button (which didn't do anything in that game). But I've heard that this is not the case in Mario Kart 64, so it looks like button mappings for N64 games are decided on a game-by-game basis. 67.49.212.101 00:31, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
It's been a while since I've played Mario 64 on the VC, but I can confirm it's swapped for Mario Kart 64(Having both games, as well as a CC and several GC pads) ZR and ZL in MK64 reduce the bg music volume, which was the function of the L button in MK64 on the N64. If it is on a per-game basis, I wonder what this could mean for Ocarina of Time. It could have controls similar to the Master Quest/Collector's Edition disk. Smoke 09:05, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Ocarina of Time is out now, and it's got a completely different control scheme that mimics that of Wind Waker. X, Y, and Z on the GameCube controller and X, Y, ZL, and ZR on the Classic Controller are used as the three C-buttons for items, while the C-Stick/Right Control Stick also serve as the four C-Buttons. And again, L acts as Z, and no button acts as L, which wasn't used in that game. So now it seems clear that N64 games get individual button mappings.67.49.212.101 18:17, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, that's pretty much the same control setup as the Master Quest disk and Collector's Edition. Also, L is used in OoT to enable/disable the minimap on the N64. Not like it'll be missed or anything though. Smoke 09:45, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
The D-Pad does that in the VC version. 67.49.212.101 18:59, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

Number of games per week.

Looking at the latest update, I'd like to note that when LttP was released, it was the only game to have come out that week. While certainly not the norm, there has at least been one week with only one game, and it will probably happen again if the game is big enough to eclipse anything else that week. Eusis 10:28, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

That's not an average though. Every other week has had at least 2 (and I think only one week had just 2, others have been 3). Assuming that future weeks could have just 1 would be crystal balling. TJ Spyke 00:33, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
It could read that "There have been 1-4 games released per week, averaging at 2/3(whichever is more accurate) per update" or something. It's a simple fact there've been as few as 1 title released per week, and 2-4 seems a bit broad for an average anyway. Eusis 02:09, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
Actually, it's probably been more like 1-5, but whatever, my point gets across. Eusis 02:12, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
It's not much more informative by adding that much extra information. It is to give an indication, so just one average is best. JackSparrow Ninja 09:17, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
You could say that, I dunno, It's actually closer to 1-3, 4 was just an X-mas special --Phred Levi 18:58, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
I guess you didn't check this week since there were 4 games in NA (The Legend of Kage, Donkey Kong Country, Streets of Rage, New Adventure Island) . 2/3 seems average. TJ Spyke 22:24, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Diddy Kong Racing?

does the diddy kong racing game belong to nintendo or rare now? i know they kept they donkey kong franchise but does that include diddy kong racing? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.114.219.84 (talk) 01:21, 17 February 2007 (UTC).

The original Diddy Kong Racing has Conker and Banjo, who are both owned by Rare, who is of course working for Microsoft. As such, it cannot be released on VC, unless Microsoft allows it, which I doubt they will. And yes, that means that DKR can possibly appear on Live arcade on the 360. MrDrake, 13:23, 18 February 2007 (GMT)

Minor point. Rare is not "working" for Microsoft, they are 100% owned by MS. That means eveything Rare used to own now belongs to Microsoft. IF Diddy Kong Racing was added, they would have to remove/replace Conker and Banjo (like they did for Diddy Kong Racing DS. TJ Spyke 23:55, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
However, because Diddy Kong is Nintendo's, MS can't put it on XBLA either. Not untouched at least. Best thing I see could possibly be happening is that they agree on putting it both on VC and XBLA, but I highly doubt that. JackSparrow Ninja 22:29, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Nintendo owns the code and all the rights to the game (except for Conker and Banjo). The chance of the game in ANY form being on Xbox Live Arcade is as likely as Halo 3 being on the Wii. All Nintendo has to do is replace those two characters, which might be more trouble than it's worth. TJ Spyke 22:59, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
The article already states that Nintendo is unable to use any Rare games without Nintendo-owned characters, and if it's already in the article, it's not worth discussing. We might want to note something about ambiguous cases like this one, but we don't really know; after all, a remake of Diddy Kong Racing recently came out for the DS with Banjo and Conker included, so it's hard to say anything definitive. -Unknownwarrior33 17:47, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Why are you replying to a 2 month old topic? Anyways, Conker and Banjo are NOT in Diddy Kong Racing DS. They were replaced by Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong, which further cements the fact that Microsoft owne games (like Conker's Bad Fur Day and Banjo-Kazooie) will not be on the Virtual Console. TJ Spyke 21:31, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Neo-Geo?

[2] Is this site reliable? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Borincano75 (talkcontribs) 20:32, 23 February 2007 (UTC).

The news of the Neo Geo being supported originally came from the Nintendo's Japanese VC site: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/features/virtual_console.html Misterkillboy 07:37, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Now, hopefully they announced this for the rest of the world (since right now it's just for Japan). I'm sure many people would love to play Neo Geo games without paying the huge prices they cost on eBay (and would hopefully cause those prices to drop). TJ Spyke 00:21, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Ocarina of Time?

I just read online that tLoZ Oot is now for sale in the virtual console. I don't know if this is true because for some reason I can use every channel except for the "Wii Shop Channel". If any of you people can confirm this please do! P.S. ASAP! --TheGreenLink 18:50, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

yes --Phred Levi 19:09, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
You're on Wikipedia, you don't even have to ask for that answer. JackSparrow Ninja 20:02, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Not to mention that you could check the official Wii site (wii.nintendo.com), where they list all the VC games released so far. TJ Spyke 21:42, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm on a school computer. most every game site is blocked... --TheGreenLink 18:40, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

While it was a while since you wrote that, I'm gonna give you a little tip. To view the VC game lists, change the "games" in the URL to "titles" [3], this is a redirect and can be used to bypass most censoring programs in network connections. You're still unable to edit the pages though. Fearnavigatr 17:32, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Am I missing something here?

"The greatest selling title on the Virtual Console as of February 28, 2007 is Bonk's Adventure, which was originally on the TG-16." (followed by a cited reference of this page.)
So, unless I'm missing something obvious here... the wikipedia article cites the ign message board, which cites the wikipedia article? I know I'm missing something here; I just don't know what it is. Bladestorm 22:28, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

This sort of thing, whoever put it in whenever, is a simple revert. This is really too odd. JackSparrow Ninja 22:52, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
Actually it's the Gamefaqs message board -- but yeah. Which in general make horrid citations, as they are regularly purged unless the topic is bumped (and even then, locked at 500). Of course, what's even sillier is the person in the thread who said "the guy who runs it", refering to here. LOL. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ 22:58, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
I know there's no "real" information yet, but I really am curious. What is the best selling VC game at this moment? Does NPD Group keep tabs on what is sold through VC? Neo Samus 01:49, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
No, NPD doesn't track Virtual Console sales (or Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Store sales). They also don't track Wal-Mart sales (since Wal-Mart doesn't participate). NPD only tracks about 80% of sales, and uses their data to estimate the remaining 20%. Unless Nintendo releases specific data, all we have to go by is stuff like NeoGAF (which has a thread for people to report for VC games they buy, and have a table on the first page that is updated on a daily basis). TJ Spyke 01:53, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
Yeah I knew about Wal-Mart not being a part of NPD Group sales tracking. That's kind of a downer. I would like to see Nintendo do a top sales chart for Nintendo Power or the Wii website. We should propose the idea to Nintendo. Call, E-mail, write, etc. Anyone with me on this? 65.43.71.130 16:59, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
I haven't read Nintendo Power in awhile, but I think they used to do that. TJ Spyke 00:10, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Japan VC update for Feb. 27, 2007?

I'm kind of curious why the Japanese VC page was not updated for this week? I like to see what titles came out for every region. I would update it myself, but I don't know what "Offcially" came out this week. Any explanations? Neo Samus 19:03, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

I've updated it. Japan got 7 releases this week (bringing their total up to 80). TJ Spyke 00:55, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
Thanks TJ. Like I said I would've updated it, but I wasn't sure if the games listed were actually available or not. Plus, when I noticed it I was on my work's internet and almost all game sites are blocked except for a few that slipped by. Neo Samus 01:46, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

Move

I suggest a move (it was discussed back in February but nothing recently) for this page to Virtual Console (Wii), since the both virtual consoles entries are only different capitalizations. I guess this is a new vote area. (1 vote for a move)Kozmik Pariah 23:00, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

I disagree, there is a disambig link at the top of both pages for those who mistype it. If one had to be moved (which I don't think needs to happen), the other one should be moved since this is the far more well known Virtual Console (a quick Google search show the entire first page is about this VC). TJ Spyke 23:16, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
Considering this DID used to be at Virtual Console (Wii), I'd say moving it back is counter productive. But that's just me. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ 00:54, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
Oh great, another long boring discussion on what the exact form of the name should be used for the article. I suggest we keep it as is, since it is the more widely known Virtual Console, and that the simpler the better. Right now, this is the best and simple there can be. Lamename3000 05:42, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
There's no need to move it. Different capitalisations do lead to different articles, and there's a handy redirection for anyone who goes to the wrong one. I also check the "what links here" on the other VC page from time to time to make sure there are no erroneous links. Tim (Xevious) 15:32, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
i agree with Kozmik Pariah. The difference should be more than just a capital letter. Otherwise, it's just the same word! dalbano13 14:46, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
It's fine the way it is. IF one article had to be moved, it should be the other one since this is the far better known one. TJ Spyke 22:23, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
The difference in capitals and the Otheruses templates do a good enough job to disambiguate both subjects. - Cyrus XIII 01:51, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

List

Can someone put a list of all the virtual console games and udate it?

Virtual Console#Titles JackSparrow Ninja 19:01, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Sports Games

Has Nintendo said anything about sports games which feature real athletes? An example would be classic Madden games, and games such as NBA Jam, or NBA Hangtime. I don't know the licensing issues involved with them, and I would really like to know. I mean just give me NBA Hangtime on the VC, and I would be glued to the t.v. for a long time. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Laugh-O-Gram (talkcontribs) 16:46, 26 March 2007 (UTC).

hey, I think we need to remove MSX and C64 from this artical... on account of you cant even buy any of the games from them on VC. I dont think their going to be coming out very soon, im not even sure they ever will. any reports about them coming out on VC is purely RUMER! which means, its NOT true. So, why do we keep them on the page? We need some serius facts about VC, not rumer.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Samuraiyoshi (talkcontribs)

MSX is confirmed, it's even on Ninteno's Japanese website: [4]. TJ Spyke 23:21, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
As is the Neo-Geo, is it not? Tim (Xevious) 11:45, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
Correct. Nintendo announced that MSX games will start appearing this summer, Neo-Geo gams this fall. Both have only been confirmed for Japan so far though. TJ Spyke 21:59, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
I'm still wondering what they're going to do about the fact that some Neo-Geo games could almost fill the VC memory by themselves ... Tim (Xevious) 22:14, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
IIRC, the largest Neo-Geo games were about 100MB. While i'm sure they could compress those, I think we won't see those ones for awhile. TJ Spyke 22:19, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Time of day

Since it seems to be such an issue, why not just ax the time of day in general. It doesn't really need to be there -- day of the week is just fine. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ 17:08, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Since when is it an issue? New games are uploaded at the same time every week (give or take a few minutes). TJ Spyke 21:09, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
No, they're not; there's been times when they've been available as early as 10 A.M. That having been said, two hours early (in terms of East Coast time) is not "around noon". Times should remain since it seems to be a generally held standard that games are usually released BY that time, but allowances should be made for the fact that they have come out a few hours prior to that time on some occasions. --PeanutCheeseBar 02:53, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
A rare occasion, almost every week it is around noon. Not really worth noting. 02:56, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Why is the time worth noting at all? ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ 03:26, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
It wouldn't be worth noting in each section if each VC Shop released games at the same time of day, but they don't; if they did, we could list it once in one section and be done with it. On top of that, it's not really that rare of an occasion to come out around 11 A.M. I'd accept "around noon" if we were talking about a 15-20 minute window, but we're not. --PeanutCheeseBar 12:12, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Almost every game is out around noon, 1 hour is "around noon" IMO. TJ Spyke 22:02, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
No they aren't; take it from someone whose wife is a major Wii fan, and likes to keep abreast of what new titles come out on Monday. That aside, one hour is just too significant of a time difference to be listed as "about", especially considering it's 1/24 of the day. --PeanutCheeseBar 22:29, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Given that the games have recently come out a few hours prior to noon (including today's releases), I think we need to set the time straight again... --PeanutCheeseBar 14:20, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Super Metroid

Is Super Matroid out yet, or is it still a future release? I can't check because my shop channel won't go on for some reason, and I don't know if the game list is updated. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 168.212.252.30 (talk) 17:45, 23 April 2007 (UTC).

The list here are updated almost instantly. No, Super Metroid is not out yet (in any region). TJ Spyke 05:46, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Square Enix to not support the Virtual Console

Source: [5] magiciandude 07:40, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

1)That is not what the source says. 2)Square Enix owns Taito, and there is already a Taito game (Elevator Action) on the VC. 3)We have already seen a Square Enix game (ActRaiser) on the VC. TJ Spyke 07:50, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Oh, sorry. Thanks for pointing that out. magiciandude 08:11, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

WTF?

This wiki says the Wii VC has games for Commorode 64, Neo Geo, MSX, and some other systems most of you probably never heard of. The VC only has NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, and Turbo Grafix 16. THATS IT! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.104.100.2 (talkcontribs)

I guess you didn't read the entire article. Nintendo announced that MSX games will be added starting in the summer, and Neo Geo games in the fall (both just for Japan so far). Commodore 64 has never been announced by Nintendo though, it was a Japanese website called The Magic Box that said they would be added. TJ Spyke 04:45, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Nintendo of Norway claimed that the C64 port of Impossible Mission was the one coming to VC (as opposed to the NES port). That's yet to be confirmed though. Kelvingreen 08:59, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Are you sure they weren't talking about the remake for the Wii (Impossible Mission (2007 game))? TJ Spyke 09:24, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Nope, definitely the C64 version, although it has since disappeared from the list on their VC page. I suppose we'll find out later this month. Kelvingreen 16:29, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
This turned out to be Nintendo Norway confusing the upcoming Wii version for a VC rerelease, according to an e-mail. Fearnavigatr 23:47, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
Not that I don't believe you (it certainly seems plausible), but could you provide a link to that email? It might even be worth including a piece on the C64 confusion in the VC article here. Kelvingreen 15:53, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
I can include the whole e-mail here, but I'm afraid the messages are in Swedish and Norweigan.
Ja, dette var en glipp fra vår side. Impossible Mission er annonsert som et Wii-spill, ikke som et Virtual Console-spill.

Hilsen Nintendo Support



Original Message-----

From: support@nintendo.no [6] Sent: Sun 15.04.2007 00:29 To: support Subject: Message from nintendo.no

Message from nintendo.no <ID: > ______________________________________________________________________ Form: E-post:

Navn: Jochen Piribauer E-postadresse: jochen_piribauer@yahoo.se Spørsmål eller synspunkt: Hej, jag skriver från Sverige och undrar om rapporten om Elevator Action och Impossible Mission som fanns på er Virtual Console lista fram tills nyligen. Elevator Action är troligt, eftersom det redan finns i USA, men Impossible Mission är det väldigt många som är nyfikna över. Var detta ett misstag från er sida och en förväxling med den kommande Wii/DS-versionen, eller är det officiellt att Commodore 64 spel snart kommer finnas för nedladdning?

Tack på förhand.

______________________________________________________________________ Date: 2007-04-15 00:29:08 | IP-address: *edited out*

And the translation:

  • Nintendo Norway reply:

Yes, this was a slip-up from our side. Impossible Mission is announced as a Wii game, not a Virtual Console game.

Regards, Nintendo Support

  • My message:

Hello, I'm writing from Sweden and I'm curious about the report on Elevator Action and Impossible Mission that was on your Virtual Console-page up until recently. Elevator Action is probable, since it's already released in the US, but many people are curious about Impossible Mission. Was this a mistake from your side and a mix-up with the forthcoming Wii/DS-version, or is it officially confirmed that Commodore 64 games will soon be available for downloading?

Thanks in advance.

I searched long and hard for a better way to include the e-mail here, like a smaller font. Feel free to edit my post to put it in better. In case you need further proof, I'll be happy to forward the original e-mail to you. Either case, this is probably not stuff for the article, as I'd guess it qualifies as original research. Fearnavigatr 11:00, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

No, you're probably right that it shouldn't be in the article, but I think it's useful information to have at our disposal anyway. Thanks for passing it on. Kelvingreen 22:05, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Is no one else going to say "Commorode 64, Neo Geo, MSX... have you seriously never heard of them before!?!" JayKeaton 21:04, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Absence of Rumble and other features

My paragraph on the lack of rumble and other peripheral features in N64 games was axed as being OR. I can understand that argument, but I think it's still important to note that, objectively, the features are missing. Luigihann 12:42, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Specifically,

  • N64 games do not support rumble (originally provided by the N64 "Rumble Pak"), confirmed here: [7]
  • Mario Kart 64 no longer allows for the saving of ghost data (originally enabled by the "Controller Pak") Nintendo says this is due to "unavoidable technical reasons" [8]
  • Kid Icarus no longer supports "secret passwords" from the original (they were, according to the game's box art, enabled by an included "password pak." [9]

I won't speculate on the common cause (as that is, admittedly, OR), but it seems to be a trend worth mentioning. Luigihann 14:33, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Even though it may have been perceived as being OR, I agree that it's important to note that some games emulated via VC are missing certain features. At the moment, I think the lack of rumble in N64 games is more relevant due to the fact that it applies across several games; with a few more examples, it seems it would be safe to say that functionality in general provided by peripherals plugged into the N64 via the controller port is diminished or missing. You seem to have a few sources now, and I can't say I'd argue with you if you decided to re-add the bit about N64 games and missing functionality, though I'd wait before adding anything else concerning any NES games until more examples can be demonstrated. --PeanutCheeseBar 22:50, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Kid Icarus has a source from Nintendo Power (V.214 or V.215 not sure which one) Stating that the orginal passwords will not work with the VC version. Neo Samus 17:56, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Man, the "differences from original versions" section is kind of crap now. Somebody should reword it or rewrite it from scratch, because it just looks sloppy with all the disorganized facts. Luigihann 02:12, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Key mappings

The section Virtual_Console#Storage_and_control looks like pure WP:CRUFT to me : keyboard mappings and the like. Is it relevant to keep this content in the article? --Oscarthecat 16:18, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Most of the section is fine, but I agree that the key mappings are not necessary. -- MisterHand 19:03, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
Agree. I've now removed just the key mappings, in this edit. --Oscarthecat 10:22, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Running figures for Virtual Console downloads?

The Library History section is starting to run like dateline...? Where the section comprises of single-line sentences starting with "on day x..."? Anyway, I've heard that's a bad thing so I was wondering whether it was worth keeping the running statistics, or to formulate a table to house, or something akin to that idea. Any suggestions? --Zooba 13:29, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

turbografx in australia

Arcording to the Nintendo Australia website turbografx games well be available in Australia and New Zeland on july 6 as i discovered a few minutes ago click here to visit nintendo australiaRichardson j 03:09, 10 June 2007 (UTC)


Logo image

Is that really the logo for the Virtual Console, or is it just a picture taken from the website? The only place I've seen it is in the VC FAQs and it really only looks like a picture to fill some room up. --Brandon Dilbeck 21:03, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

I don't think it qualifies for fair use, since it's not really helping to illustrate anything, so I'm going to remove it. --Brandon Dilbeck 21:20, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
Maybe somebody can take a picture of the Wii Shop Channel (when you first log on and see pictures of various VC games). TJ Spyke 21:24, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

?!

The second and fourth sentences under 'Library History' say the same thing. You're welcome. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.54.174.9 (talkcontribs)

Thanks, I've fixed it. Remember, Wikipedia is the encyclopedia anybody can edit, so if you find an error feel free to be bold and correct it yourself. -- MisterHand 00:59, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

External Link?

To follow the rule of non-conflicting interests, I can't edit in a link to a site I contribute to, but I'd like to at least see if everyone would think it would be appropriate to put this link under "External Links":

http://www.the-bell-tree.com/vg/virtualconsole.php

There is an updated list (every week right when games are released) of every single game, sorted by system. Each game is listed along with a screenshot and a brief description. Also, there are reviews with recommendations for over half of the currently available games (nearly 60 out of the available 98), listed by the week in which they were released.

Like I said, I'd add it myself, but it's against the rules, so please discuss here about adding it or not. Miles Blues 21:44, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

So, shall they be added? Miles Blues 01:11, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
We only need 1 really. I would go with vc-reviews. TJ Spyke 02:12, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
I think both would be good, since they differ a bit, and offer unique opinions on the games. Also, as a side note, someone added a link to a site called WiiGeeks earlier today or yesterday, but I removed the link. The site was just a list of the games with links to videos on Youtube and auctions on eBay for the games... there's no point linking to a site that only provides links to content on other sites for games. Miles Blues 22:29, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
I think only one is needed, and I would go with vc-reviews since it's not US-centric. Tim (Xevious) 09:45, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
I don't care which one is used, but there should only be one...and typically the site with the most traffic is picked. We don't want the article to turn into a link farm for everybody with a VC-related site. (see WP:EL) -- MisterHand 13:30, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
There are only 3 external links at the moment, and to be honest, both of these sites would be good in my opinion. Both offer reviews of VC games, as well as overviews, but by only linking to one of the review sites, a game that may have a good review on one site and bad on the other would not get the best possible representation possible, which is why both should be linked to. Also, although you may say the one is "US-centric", the difference among the libraries of VC games in Japan, Europe, and North America are minimal, so that should not be used as a determining factor to eliminate one from being in the links section. I follow Nintendo/Wii news closely, and to my knowledge, there aren't very many sites with such in-depth coverage of VC games as these two sites - so adding both would not make the article a "link farm". Miles Blues 20:53, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
People are not stupid, and if they want to find more reviews of VC games they are able to search themselves. Also, vc-reviews contains more information, including PAL issues with games and details of the latest releases in all regions. The only thing that the other site has in addition is a different opinion, and opinions are not what Wikipedia aims for. Tim (Xevious) 09:32, 9 June 2007 (UTC)
VC-Reviews provides the points cost, origianl system, release date on VC and what controllers can be used for the game, as well as a review and rating. The Bell Tree provides the original system, original release date, VC release date, developer and points cost, as well as a review and rating. Both also have screenshots from games. Basically, the only differences are that VCR tells what controllers can be used and TBT gives the developer and original release date. Also, if "People are not stupid, and if they want to find more reviews of VC games they are able to search themselves," then there is absolutely no point to an External Links section. The point of the links section is to provide links so people don't have to go looking. Miles Blues 17:44, 9 June 2007 (UTC)
So the "extra" bits that TBT gives is information which is available on Wikipedia anyway, while it loses other information compared to vc-reviews which isn't available on Wikipedia. We certainly don't want to link to every site which contains information on VC games, so why not restrict it to just the one that contains the most information (and, incidentally, the one that acknowledges that the world is not restricted to the US). Tim (Xevious) 00:06, 10 June 2007 (UTC)
It's unfair to say that TBT does not "acknowledge that the world is not restricted to the US." The differences between the library of of North American VC games and European VC games is minimal (TBT covers only NA, VCR has from Eur. and NA). I still think it would be best to have both, for a couple reasons:
1) WP:NPOV#Undue_weight - The best way to not have a "weighted opinion" is to link to multiple sites (not too many, but 2 is not very many at all). Both VCR and TBT have well-written reviews on the games. A person reading the article may have similar tastes to one site rather than the other, and after reading a couple reviews, they'll be able to choose which they prefer, rather than only being shown one site in the article.
2) In the Wikipedia:External links section, it says, under the 'What should be linked section, "Sites with other meaningful, relevant content that is not suitable for inclusion in an article, such as reviews and interviews."
3) In the Animal Crossing article, both Animal Crossing Ahead and Animal Crossing Community are linked to. Both provide very similar information, yet it would be tough to choose between the two if only one was linked to. The best solution for the VC page could possibly be to do something similar to the Animal Crossing page - create 2 subsections (Official Sites and Unofficial Sites), with the first 2 links currently in the article under Official Links, and the third link along with VCR and TBT going under the Unofficial Links subsection. Miles Blues 02:16, 10 June 2007 (UTC)
It's been 2 weeks... anyone else have any thoughts on the matter? Miles Blues 15:10, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
I say put both in. Your arguments are valid enough, and the two do provide distinct-enough information. Tim (Xevious) 15:07, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the thoughts, Tim... how does everyone else feel about this? Sorry I was gone recently - I was sorting out the whole fiasco on the NA VC list page... Miles Blues 18:48, 30 June 2007 (UTC)
TO be honest, it doesn't matter to me if we have just one or both. TJ Spyke 03:52, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
I guess I'll go ahead and add both sites. Should there be 2 subsections in external links (one for official, one for unofficial)? Miles Blues 02:08, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

No force feedback

Is it absolutely impossible to acquire force feedback, even with the Gamecube controller? 67.188.172.165 00:34, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

To my knowledge, the Virtual Console does not implement force-feedback for N64 games (the only console VC emulates that supported force-feedback). — KieferSkunk (talk) — 00:36, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

United States pricing

No pricing is given for individual games. The Virtual Console has been out long enough this should be published, right? NathanJ79 11:04, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Pricing is right here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Console#Pricing Miles Blues 22:57, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Broadband only?

I have heard VC is broadband only. If so this should be stated, perhaps as a Requirement, since not all of the world is broadband connected - such as a guy living in the country in eastern North Carolina. All we can get outside of Greenville this way is dialup. If that renders the virtual console useless here, it should be noted. NathanJ79 11:04, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

To connect to the Internet, you need broadband and Wi-Fi - thus to get online to download games you will need broadband. However, people have found ways to get around this and connect with dial-up - such as specially configuring their computer to work with dialup and the Wi-Fi USB adapter. So no, it should not be mentioned. Zomic_13 23:41, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
I am not aware of any official verbiage from Nintendo saying that Broadband is required, but the size of their system updates, WiiConnect24 service data, Virtual Console games, etc., would make downloading via dialup very impractical. I think the only major requirement for the Wii to connect to the Internet is that it have a TCP/IP connection - AFAIK, it doesn't measure the connection speed or anything like Xbox Live does. The Wii needs to be able to obtain an IP address of its own (or set one manually), and dialup services generally don't do that. In a dialup scenario, the modem itself gets the IP, and communication with the modem is serial, not TCP/IP, hence your needing to "share" your connection with something like Windows Internet Connection Sharing. Additionally, there are very few Wi-Fi routers that can take care of connecting to the Internet for you via dialup - most of them are only designed to work with broadband services. So basically, you have to really work at it to get the Wii to connect via dialup. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:55, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Links

I noticed someone had removed the 2 external links for the unofficial review sites we had decided to add in June. Just wondering if consensus is still to have those in there or not. Miles Blues 04:30, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't know... do we NEED to have two VC review websites? Do we need ANY at all? LN3000 07:47, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Agreed. I don't think we need them at all. They don't lend anything to the article. The KZA 10:17, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Well, it's criticism for the product being talked about in the article... that's why I suggested they be added in the first place. Miles Blues 18:21, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Also, since it was agreed upon to have the links in, they should stay until we decide to remove them, right? Miles Blues 18:23, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Where was this agreed upon? — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:16, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Virtual_Console#External_Link.3F Miles Blues 21:15, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
Ah, okay, I missed that. Given the discussion, it sounds like more editors agreed that VC-Reviews was good enough to qualify, but in general, 'unofficial sites' qualify as fan sites and the like, and should be used very sparingly. Unofficial fan/review sites are generally not included in links or used for citations unless they are universally recognized as THE authority on a subject - for example, TheForce.net relating to Star Wars, Nausicaa.net relating to Studio Ghibli films, etc. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:49, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
I have mixed thoughts about this... but I don't think they should be there. I'd be fine either way... anyone else with thoughts on this? Miles Blues 18:00, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
I'm not convinced that either site qualifies as an "official" site - in fact, they're noted for being unofficial, and as such they need to have significant notability in their own right (mainly to represent consumer reception) before they're solid as external links. I think in this case, it's better to leave them out. They'll probably be okay to use for citations, though. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 18:36, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Recreate Wii Shop Channel article and merge this with that.

The Virtual Console is easily the biggest feature of the Wii Shop Channel, but merging them creates a wider coverage, as well as more notability. - A Link to the Past (talk) 20:42, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Euro Virtual Console

I just received this in my inbox this afternoon, talking about games which were localised in Japan and the US, but not Europe, being released on the European Virtual Console. Eternal Fire 18:45, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Import Games

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. Starting today the VC(US version, btw) will be having import games marked with a flag. The first two import games added today are the original Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 and the N64 game Sin and Punishment. The Great Morgil 18:57, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Adult!?

Someone obviously put these in as a joke. Under the North American and Europe titles it states that next week Nintendo will release adult games under an 'adult' label.

Can this get removed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.130.12.106 (talk) 23:36, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

I think it was removed a few hours ago. TJ Spyke 23:49, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Wii points- price rise in Australia

Unless I'm mistaken, the price of a 2,000 point Wii card has increased in Australia to $35 (in past couple of months). I would assume the cost of buying them by credit card has also increased. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.90.183.21 (talk) 02:43, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

Do you have proof that the RRP (I think that is what Australia uses, similar to the MSRP) is raised? It might just be some stores that raised the price (like how some stores in the United States charge $25 instead of the normal $20). TJ Spyke 02:49, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

Merge discussion

I am proposing a merge discussion on several Wii articles - the discussion to be, however, what to merge and where. If anyone would like to join in, please go to Talk:Wii. - A Link to the Past (talk) 17:51, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Clean Up References

Hey the References is getting a little out of hand. Would any care if I or some one clean it up? Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by WiiNet (talkcontribs) 06:41, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Prices in another regions

Do you guys think its important to add info about Wii Points prices in another regions of the world? Like Brazil (representing South America) and so on? --Shiggy 00:35, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Correcting the Canadian prices

Should the Canadian prices be changed to reflect the dollar being higher then the US dollar. Because i recently bought a wii points card for 18.99 before taxes.99.250.7.155 08:18, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

No. The value of Wii Points do not fluctuate with the changing values of dollars. Wii Points cards can be purchased for different prices here in the US as well, but regardless of the price the point value does not change (100 Wii points is always equal to $1 in the US regardless of whether a 2000 point card was bought for $15 or $25). - Zomic13 08:53, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
The value of Wii Points in a certain country should be judged only by the cost of the points in the Wii Shop Channel and not the cost of Wii Points cards. -Zomic13 08:53, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
Someone else changed the prices again. TJ Spyke 00:41, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

NeoGeo emulation

Interview at Gamasutra with D4, the one bringing NeoGeo games to the VC. Interesting is that they will be adding some features like difficulty settings to make games more accessible to casual users. -- ReyBrujo 01:46, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Virtual Console Channels!

Is it possible to organise Virtual Console games into their own respective console channels? I.e. N64 games into an N64 channel; SNES games into a SNES channel; etc. I've been told "it's not" on previous discussion boards, but the first image on the "Wii Menu" article shows both an N64 and NES channel. What's the story? --Dark_Wolf101 (talk) 21:48, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

No, sorry but it's not possible, the images are of the games channel while they display the logo of the console they're originally on.  Doktor  Wilhelm  22:27, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
You CAN, however, move the channels around such that your games are organized by system, so long as you have at least one free slot to put an item temporarily while you move them around. But the system logo in each channel just alternates with the title screen of the game, to identify which system the game is for. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 22:58, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

virtual console numbers

http://wii.ign.com/articles/838/838286p1.html 129.120.159.176 (talk) 00:17, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Languages

I added the following text. Some user removed it saying it is nsourced and NN IMO. I suppose NN stands for Not Needed. I do not see why that would be the case.

An alternative would be to add this in the euro section of the VC page.

TEXT: In the European Virtual Console some but not all games are available in the languages they were originally published in.

Some games are multilingual (as they were in their original form, example: Super Mario 64), others are avaiable in mutliple versions (example: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past). The Wii's country setting decides which version will be available for download. If a user wants to download more than one version, he is charged once per version.

An example for a game not available in all of its original language choices is Kirby's Adventure. The NES game was published in a fully localized version in Germany, but only the English version has been made avaiable for users connecting to the Wii Shop Channel, with a German country setting, in time of the game's Virtual Console release. Daniel c W 10:06, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Can you provide a reliable source (see WP:RS) for all that? TJ Spyke 10:11, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
yes and no. nintendo's customer service supports what i wrote and i checked it multiple times - i.e.: used that knowledge to download an eglish version of zelda 3 from germany. (and i know you could download the german version from england as well) anyway i found NO written text on the internet in english or german about it via google. after checking your link and wiki's texts about No original research and reliable sorces I don't think I need those, because, it is not likely to be challenged or challenged at all and it does not match any terms under "What is excluded?" from [Wikipedia:No_original_research] (Also every european wii owner can check it - and it is like meantioning the total number of VC-games in the article; that number is accepted w/o being sourced) Daniel c W 20:13, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
As I see it, the language selection for certain VC-titles depends on country and language setting. My Wii is set to Switzerland, English, and I can choose between English, French and German versions, ActRaiser and ALTTP are available in English, French and German, but Kirby's Adventure only in English and French. Screenshot of the Kirby's SelectionZueriHB (talk) 05:55, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Saving Games section

I'm un-reverting the section about saving games - there was no mention of what games could be saved, and the information about saving games on the wii console hardly exists anywhere on the net. It has been learned by experience. 71.158.175.59 (talk) 19:23, 12 January 2008 (UTC)


Master System, Game Gear, and Mark III Joining the Virtual Console

Source. Parrothead1983 (talk) 13:45, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

The above post is proof that some people don't bother checking an article first. I added this info over 8 HOURS before your post: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_Console&diff=186784177&oldid=186112836. Also the Mark III is just the Japanese name for the Master System (like the Famicom is the Japanese name of the NES). TJ Spyke 02:10, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
Not quite. The SG-1000 MkIII is basically the same hardware as the Master System, but it's not quite accurate to say that they're the same thing with different names. The MkIII required extra hardware add-ons to do what the MS did out of the box, and the MS itself was later released in Japan in 1987. Kelvingreen (talk) 11:53, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
There, there, it costs nothing to say "Thanks, that is already in the article." ;-) -- ReyBrujo (talk) 02:55, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
I know. I am just sick of this happening in wrestling articles (a match will be added to the PPV article, and then hours later someone will post on the talkpage the same info which means they didn't check the article first). TJ Spyke 03:09, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
Technically speaking, Sega Master System is the only one that should genuinely be considered joining the VC lineup. The MkIII and GG are little more than hardware variations of the SMS, and therefore their titles are considered part of the SMS library. Referring to the MkIII and SMS as individual platforms is just as redundant as making the same distinction between the GBA and GBA SP-- they're one of the same so mentioning both is unnecessary. As for Game Gear, since it was the exact same hardware only in a compact format, all its titles were essentially SMS games in the first place-- most of which were also SMS releases overseas (if not here as well). Basically, the only difference between SMS and GG games were portability. There are sure to be "SMS" games released via VC that were only previously released under the "Game Gear" name in some regions, but since they'll be running on a home console, and not a handheld they'll just be considered previously unreleased SMS titles. --76.212.224.227 (talk) 19:54, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
The Mark III is the same as the Master System, but the Game Gear is a totally seperate system. TJ Spyke 00:13, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
It is format-wise, but as far as actual hardware goes they're pretty much the same 8-bit hardware (aside from GG's support of stereo sound and a few other minor additions) . That's why so many GG games were SMS ports (or vise versa). In fact, they can barely be considered ports at all since the only conversion needed was a change of screen resolution size. Overall, the only definable difference between GG and SMS/MkIII games is that SMS/MkIII display games through a TV, whereas GG games are displayed on a screen built into the hardware. Basically, all 8-bit Sega games were interchangeable, and if a GG game isn't being played on a handheld, can it really still be considered a GG game... especially if said game was released on SMS in another region?

--24.154.105.181 (talk) 02:09, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Just because Sega chose to release most of their games on both the Master System and Game Gear doesn't make them the same system. You are trying to make it seem like Game Gear was just a portable Master System. Also, stop removing Game Gear from the pricing table, it is borderline-vandalism due to the fact that it is confirmed for the VC and is a seperate system. TJ Spyke 03:13, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
Except it pretty much *is* a portable Master System. I believe there was even an adapter to let you plug SMS games into it. Liam Markham (talk) 23:41, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
The Game Gear was based on improved Master System technology, so it could play Master System software, but a Master System would not be able to play GG games, because it was inferior in minor, but significant ways. Kelvingreen (talk) 08:31, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
There was a Genesis adapter that let you play SMS games in it, a SNES adapter to let you play GB games, a Intellivision adapter to let you play Atari 2600 games, etc. Just because they were similar in tech doesn't make them the same system. TJ Spyke 01:04, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
Which is also true of the Mark III and the Master System. Similar, and compatible, but not the same. Kelvingreen (talk) 08:29, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
The differences are so minor, it's the same way that the Famicom and NES are the same system even though Nintendo made minor tweaks between them (for example, the NES added support for RCA composite cables and had the 10NES security lockout added). TJ Spyke 09:35, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Commodore 64 games

Commodore 64 games will be available on the VC, the games will cost 500 Wii Points each. Source. Rhonin the wizard (talk) 12:43, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Definition of Virtual Console seems misleading

The current lead, and other portions of the article, define "Virtual Console" as the portion of the Wii Shop Channel that allows players to purchase and download games, and it also says that the Virtual Console emulates the consoles that run these older games. This may be how the CEO at Nintendo described it in a press release, but the way it's currently worded is technically incorrect.

  • The Virtual Console is a built-in feature of the Wii itself that provides emulation services for the selected consoles.
  • The Wii Menu launches the Virtual Console with the selected game (when a VC game is selected).
  • The Wii Shop Channel allows users to purchase and download games for the Virtual Console, and therefore the Shop Channel has a Virtual Console section. HOWEVER: It is a separate entity from the Virtual Console itself. The main reason this shop channel and the VC are so closely interlinked is because it's not possible to get VC games onto a Wii any other way (you can't transfer VC games from one Wii to another).

I think the article should call out the distinction between these entities both in the lead and as separate sections, so that people understand the difference between the online service and the intrinsic functionality of the console. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:17, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

You have been misinformed, you should do your research before you make edits. The term "Virtual Console" is only used correctly in describing the Wii Shop's lineup of classic titles. "Virtual Console" is NOT a built-in hardware feature. The Wii does not contain any hardware of any past system other than GameCube. Each VC title is nothing more than an individually programmed software application-- more specifically, they're tailor-made emulation programs which contain their particular game's ROM. The reason it appears that VC titles can't be transferred to other Wiis is because of the Wii Shop uses a "license" system. Whenever software is downloaded from the Wii Shop, a license is encoded onto that particular Wii console granting it ability to run the software. This is actually the case for all software (even the free ones) from the Wii Shop, not just VC titles. Software (including VC games) actually, CAN be transferred to other Wiis, they just won't run unless a license is recognized. The software itself will transfer. For example, say you recently downloaded Star Fox 64, and a friend of yours downloaded it awhile ago, so he has the older version which didn't have the preserved slowdown rate. You like the faster version better, and would like it on yours. If you were to copy his version and transfer it to your Wii, it WILL work because your Wii has the license to run it. The program itself is not specific to a single Wii. It can run on any Wii as long as it's authorized to run it.It has nothing to do with any kind of "Virtual Console" hardware, because there is no such thing. VC games are emulated entirely through the software, no special hardware is involved. If it were, it would be impossible to add support to new systems like Neo Geo and MSX.--75.24.50.220 15:10, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
At no point did I claim that the Wii hardware-emulates any other console. I said that it is a feature of the Wii, and I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that people would understand that the specific technical implementation of this feature is less important to the WP article than the description of the feature itself. To address your points above:
  • The built-in Wii software provides emulation support for the NES, SNES, etc. It is a non-removable software feature (non-removable by the user, though a System Update could change it).
  • The individual game titles available for download via Wii Shop are just the ROM images packaged up with metadata, image and documentation data, and DRM licensing that is keyed to the online Wii account used to make the purchase. The titles themselves do not contain emulation software.
  • My understanding is that even if Wii A and Wii B both have the same title downloaded, you CANNOT transfer the title from Wii A to Wii B and play it on Wii B - that just won't work, because the license associated with SF64-A does not match the license on Wii B. I am not 100% sure on this, but I would need to see an official citation describing the difference. You *can* transfer the content itself, but SF64-A won't actually play on Wii-B even if SF64-B exists on the same console.
  • My understanding is also that the emulation differences between two Wiis have to do with the version of the Wii Console software itself, as well as various settings on the Wii (for instance, Wiis configured in widescreen mode apparently exhibit different behavior in some VC games than those in 4:3 mode), etc. On the software side of things, running a System Update on both Wiis over the 'Net or by installing from a game disc (as in Metroid Prime 3) would cause both downloaded copies of SF64 to behave the same (minus any settings issues).
  • Nintendo has not announced any "game-by-game servicing" scheme in which you can update a VC title to fix bugs, that I'm aware of. (This differs from the PS3 and 360, where the emulation software is built in to the downloaded package and can be updated on a game-by-game basis.)
To say that Virtual Console is ONLY a function of Wii Shop is technically incorrect - Wii Shop gives you access to the games, and without it you wouldn't have a way to use the feature. But the software to emulate the consoles themselves resides on the Wii, not in the downloadable packages - otherwise, the packages would be much larger than they are. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 19:11, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
You clearly haven't tested any of things you're arguing against and are only going by your own assumptions. I know this because I, on the other hand, have tested it first hand. The whole SF64 scenario I mentioned, is something I actually did, so I know it works. Also contrary to what you believe, Nintendo actually does offer "game-by-game" updates. Not only do I know this from having downloaded more than one of these updates myself, but this very same Wikipedia article even discussed these various updates further on down the page (go look for yourself). Plus, I've performed multiple system updates since I originally downloaded SF64, and it hasn't updated my version, so the emulation clearly isn't preformed by the system software. I assure you everything you keep trying to re-assert really is incorrect, take my word for it.
Even if you don't want to take my word for it, your edits still aren't legitimate because you didn't provide a source. Therefore, the only legitimate description that can be used on this page is the indisputable one, of it as a section of the Wii Shop. If you try to change it again, it will be considered vandalism and you will be reported.--24.154.105.181 22:10, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
Three points here:
  • First, please do not assume that I'm acting in bad faith. You have also not sourced your version of the intro, and unless the Japanese-only "overview" link that's cited in the intro explains this discrepancy, your edits are no more valid than mine are. I disagree that your version is "indisputable" - I find it just as disputable as you find my version.
  • Second, I would encourage you to create an account if you intend to report me for vandalism. Reports to WP:AN/I by anonymous users against established ones rarely go anywhere. If you want to lend yourself some credibility, you should consider establishing an identity on Wikipedia first.
  • Third, if the technical nature of Virtual Console is as you say it is, surely there must be a reliable, published source that verifies your claim. I am certainly not saying that I'm absolutely right on this matter, and I'm not taking ownership of this article by any means. But all the advertising and discussion I've seen (including with a couple of NOA employees) has seemed to indicate that Virtual Console is not just the Wii Shop channel.
    • Granted, you're right that I need to find a source about my version of the intro, and I haven't provided one. But as I said earlier, just because it's unsourced does not automatically make it wrong, nor does that qualify it automatically as vandalism.
I don't really appreciate being threatened with a report of vandalism - to me, that seems like you're asserting yourself as owner and arbiter of what is right. While I consider your points valid, I would like to see an official source on your end backing up what you say, or else I can no more accept your assertions as fact than you can mine. I will attempt to locate a reliable source for my version as well. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 22:54, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
My apologies, I didn't intend that to come off as a threat-- it was meant to be a reminder since it was the second time you changed it without citing anything to back your claim. My wording may have appeared more harsh than I intended, but I assure you was not trying to be rude, or asserting myself as an ultimate authority. What I was pointing out was what you were asserting (for the second time), was not supported by any source and therefore should not be continued to be changed back unless one could be provided. Granted, I was in error as well by not including a source either, but it is "indisputable" in a way. After all, it can hardly be argued that "Virtual Console" isn't a section of the Wii Shop. It can be disputed as to whether or not it's only limited to that description (especially with a source), but that was not being asserted in my version of the article.--24.154.105.181 00:13, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
Apology accepted. As to the "indisputable" portion: It's true that Virtual Console is a section of the Wii Shop channel, but is it not also true that Virtual Console is a feature of the Wii? Or at least one of its primary selling points? It's similar to Xbox Live Arcade, in that both services allow you to download games to their respective consoles, but the Wii's service is much more targeted, and the way it's run suggests that the Wii Shop channel supports the feature, but is not in itself the feature. That's what I was getting at.
If we can find a source that definitively describes one or the other of these assertions (or hey, we might be surprised and find that neither one of them is true!), then that should be the basis for a final lead. Let's leave it your way for now until we come to a resolution. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 00:20, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
Just a quick update: I did some searching around for a technical description of the VC from any verifiable source, and couldn't find one either way. We may have difficulty citing either version of this lead. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 00:38, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

One of the sources quoted further down in the article seems to refute the claim that you can transfer a VC game onto another console. Check out current reference 29 to this interview. The quote is as follows:


This appears to address the question of getting around DRM on two Wiis. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 00:15, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

"The built-in Wii software provides emulation support for the NES, SNES, etc. It is a non-removable software feature (non-removable by the user, though a System Update could change it).

The individual game titles available for download via Wii Shop are just the ROM images packaged up with metadata, image and documentation data, and DRM licensing that is keyed to the online Wii account used to make the purchase. The titles themselves do not contain emulation software."

Incorrect. Each title you download contains the emulation software for that system. If it didn't, you wouldn't be able to play, say, a NeoGeo title, which the system originally launched without support for. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to download a game for a system that the system originally didn't have support for, without doing a Firmware update. Firmware updates can add in support, but the system itself does NOT contain a universal emulator for each system. I am sure there is basic support for each of the systems originally supported, but each title will still come with an emulator. Draknfyre (talk) 22:45, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Do you have any reliable sources? And no, sites that are just guessing that with no proof themselves aren't reliable. TJ Spyke 18:26, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

UK prices

While points cards are often sold for £15, there are lots of places that sell them for £14 (such as Woolworths) or even higher (Zavvi charges £20!). The price charged online is consistent with the rest of the table, so I've narrowed it down to just that. Tim (Xevious) (talk)

We list what Nintendo has as the MSRP (or whatever the UK name for that is, I think RRP). TJ Spyke 16:50, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
It used to be RRP, but that was anti-competitive, so now it's S(uggested)RP or E(stimated)RP ... in any case, I've found three sources in the last week which give different ERPs (one at £13.99 [a trade brochure from Nintendo's distributor], one at £14 [an advert from Nintendo UK], one at £14.99 [play.com]) so I don't think we can really rely on any of them. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 10:14, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Virtual Boy Confirmed for VC

Said somewhere that links needed to be posted here first so here:

http://www.vc-reviews.com/news/2008/03/virtual_boy_confirmed_for_virtual_console RGamer2009 (talk) 03:13, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

April Fools' Day. -- ReyBrujo (talk) 03:55, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Commodore 64

I see that Commodore 64 is now in VC. It has 2 Games for now.International Karate and Uridium. Each 500 Points I think it should be updated now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.3.54.69 (talk) 16:34, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Already done. There is a mention of C64 being added for the European VC, and the corresponding list-of-games page has had those two games listed. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 18:35, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Delay on HDTVs -- Punch Out only?

There's a blurb in there that links to some mention that Punch Out is delayed on HDTVs, causing the game to be more difficult as the timing is thrown off. While I won't argue that this can happen, this seems to be misleading as the problem is not only in Punch Out. Many HDTVs use filters to smoothly upscale an image to the generally larger screen, and this is what results in the delay the article poster refers to at the linked page. Newer HDTVs either don't have this issue or will have a "Game Mode" setting which disables filters in an attempt to get the picture to the screen as quickly as possible, thereby reducing or eliminating the delay that causes this issue.

I propose this statement be removed or clarified as it is currently confusing and misleading, and could lead to the assumption that there is something wrong with the game in question rather than the user's TV setup. STLocutus 20:51, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I was just about to make a new section about this issue, when I saw this section. I just removed the statement simply because being hooked up to an HDTV wouldn't cause lag for a game. As was stated in the paragraph, this was due to upconversion issues within the TV itself and thus has nothing to do with the Virtual Console as it would happen with any old games and/or systems. -Zomic13 (talk) 05:07, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

No Virtual Console update week.

I think it should be made known that the week of May 12th, 2008 was the first week where there was no update of classic games put up for download on the Virtual Console. Of course this was because of the launching of the system's first Wii Ware games. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.206.124.190 (talk) 10:36, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Keyboard as a controller

Shouldn't the USB keyboard be included as a controller, considering you can use it for Commodore 64 and MSX games. I know that no games from these platforms has been released in the States, but I think we should include it just for good ol' Blighty.  :-D. --Super Shy Guy Bros.Not shy? 21:25, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Okay, so I've updated the section. Please feel free to amend it if necessary. --Super Shy Guy Bros.Not shy? 21:37, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


Okay, so I was wrong about that. I've fixed the information. --Super Shy Guy Bros.Not shy? 18:13, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

What in the world is this supposed to mean?

In January 22, 2008, 2 new consoles for Virtual Console is PlayStation and Sega Saturn because it has 3000 wii points like $50 per 3000 for each retails.

I took this off of the pricing section because it fails to say anything intelligible or helpful, but I'm sure the poster intended for it to do so. Can anyone make any sense out of this? SixteenBitJorge 18:09, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Vandalism. Most likely added by an IP. TJ Spyke 01:07, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Playstation!?! That'll never happen, not while the PS3 exists. Digifiend (talk) 13:25, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Will we ever be able to download Gameboy and/or GBA games?

I would like to know if you will gever be able to download gameboy classics. (Alex-thong 21:41, 2 June 2007 (UTC))

Nintendo has said that GB games won't be available on VC... this cold change, of course, but not for a while if it does. Miles Blues 22:58, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

The GBA (and the Game Boy Player add-on for Gamecube) is backwards compatible with old Game Boy carts. DS isn't though, it only plays GBA. I reckon Wii's successor's VC might have the Game Boy (in about 5 years time!), until then use an emulator or a GBA. Digifiend (talk) 13:28, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Just a note: While this hasn't gotten any traffic in a while, it's still important to note that Wikipedia is not a forum. This sort of discussion doesn't really belong here. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 15:54, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Cleanup in Third Party Support section

I added a cleanup tag to the Third Party Support section to propose that we remove the list of third-party developers supporting the Virtual Console. This is basically just a list of information that isn't really very meaningful to someone not intimately familiar with the games that those companies are responsible for. It would be much better for us to mention in a general sense, "Virtual Console is supported by more than X third-party developers, including (particularly notable names with citations)." — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:13, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Differences from original versions

I have put the following back in, why was it removed in the first place? I'm guessing I'm not the only one that sometimes determines what games to download based on what has changed from the original versions. Maybe someone (like me) wants to have all versions of a particular game, such as the version of Punch-Out!! that says "camera crew" (only on the VC) and the original version. In any case I feel that these facts regarding Punch-Out!! (which I added, with proof) and Zelda I and II, (which someone else originally added) are very relevant to this section.

The Virtual Console versions of The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link are not the original NES releases, but instead the updated versions featured in 2003's The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition compilation disc for GameCube.

Punch-Out!! has at least one notable change from the NES version. One of Piston Honda's between-round quotes, on the NES version is as follows: "Where is the NHK TV Camera? Hello, Tokyo!". NHK is an actual broadcasting company in Japan, so (assumed due to copyright reasons) is replaced by "Where are my camera crew? Hello, Tokyo!"[1] in the Virtual Console version. This change, however was not made to the version of the game included in the GameCube Animal Crossing game.

Marioxb (talk) 17:05, 10 June 2008 (UTC)June 10th, 2008, MarioXB


  1. ^ [1]

Close, but no cigar...

Being an avid retrogamer, I think it's great whenever "the classics" show up on modern consoles in any form. Unfortunately, advances in display technology mean that the "Virtual Console" will always be missing something.

A feature that was implemented in MAME and other emulators long ago is the ability to generate "scanlines" over the game graphics to simulate the appearance of a standard arcade monitor or analog TV. Like it or not, these games just don't look the same in hi-def, so unless you plug your Wii into an old analog set (which means using composite or S-Video connections at best), you're gonna see a lot of jagged edges and "stair-stepping" that raster "refresh interval" (or whatever those lines are called) smoothed out in the past.

I don't own a Wii, so I guess it's possible that the "scanlines" feature is available in the Virtual Console, but given the fact that the game graphics are stretched rather than being pillarboxed when the display is set to 16:9, I doubt the designers thought about scanlines. I certainly recognize the need for LEGAL emulation, but all the limits placed on users (~300MB available for games, high cost for games you can buy used for less, etc.) will probably just drive more people to MAME and/or MESS.

I'm getting rid of all my old analog consoles because they just don't look right hooked up to a hi-def LCD TV, and from here on out, that's what TVs are going to be... 16:9 LCD, plasma, or DLP displays. Without the option to overlay scanlines on the image, even games for the original PlayStation look kinda blocky in hi-def. As long as the legal, fully-licensed options are so limited and poorly done, projects like MAME, MESS, and other fan-created emulators will thrive. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.254.10.80 (talk) 07:05, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Yah boo sucks. If you want your retro games to look like they did when you played them on an old CRT TV, then plug your Wii into an old CRT TV. You can use RGB SCART if you like. You seem to be complaining that you can't get a good picture out of the old TV types, and then complaining that the games weren't designed around a good picture. What an amazing revelation. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 09:38, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Not at all... I simply meant that with MAME you don't have to keep an old CRT around to get the same look. I can't stand CRTs... I mean there's an element of nostalgia, but the image distortion caused by the curved face of the tube, the weight and depth... no thanks. I just wanted to point out that for all the supposed greatness of the VC, emulation has been done much better and with far more authentic results for years. Most of the companies that own these old games are either out of business or have moved on to such bigger things that they don't give a rip about their old junk. Unlicensed emulation is for all intents and purposes a very light grey legal area. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.254.10.80 (talk) 06:19, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Japanese Pronunciation

I'm pretty sure Virtual Console is officially pronounced in Japanese as ヴァーチャル ンソール/Vaacharu Konsouru, because now, for foreign words, a word that starts out with a "V" is pronounced with a "V", although the sound of a "B" only replaces the sound of a "V" that follows some syllables in a word, because the Italian names: Valentina is pronounced in Japanese as Varentiina, and Victoria is pronounced in Japanese as Vikkutouriia. --PJ Pete

Wrong. Check the sources in the article. - Zero1328 Talk? 05:01, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
I'm going to have to agree with Zero; everything I've ever seen or read points to the "B" being used in lieu of a "V". --PeanutCheeseBar 12:17, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
Also, the use of an u with a dakuten is a modern addition and is still fairly uncommon. Just because it can be used doesn't mean it is. - Zero1328 Talk? 06:48, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
More importantly, is it really even necessary? In 90% of the articles where I see the katakana pronunciation of English names of Japanese properties, it's entirely unnecessary. What purpose does it serve? Kcumming 21:29, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
Despite the fact that I agree with PJ Pete in that using a ヴ for V sounds in Japanese is not all that uncommon, as Zero1328 says, this whole conversation was pretty pointless. All that was needed was to check how was this service called on Japanese and by Japanese, and that was easily accomplished either checking the Japanese Wikipedia, or by actually checking a Japanese Wii, which, by the way, says バーチャルコンソール. Jjatria (talk) 16:01, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Do we really need to keep a current count of Virtual Console games?

Question: Is it really necessary or encyclopedic to keep a running count of the number of VC games that have been released in each region? It requires someone to go and update this page frequently, and ensure that the "as of" date and the number of games for each region, and I've already had to correct this information once. (Not that it's a huge deal to do that, but...)

Wouldn't it suffice to just say that the library is updated every week, usually with three games in each update? We have separate pages to list the games as it is. I vote we summarize the nature of the VC releases and remove the running count to simplify this page. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 18:46, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

To me, it's no different than updating the number of episodes of a TV show. Maybe it could be updated just once a week though (someone updating North America, Europe, Australia and Japan all at once), but there would be people updating it right away rather than waiting. It's not that hard to update and being able to see how many VC games each region has on one page could be helpful. TJ Spyke 22:59, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Not to mention that I do think there is some encyclopedic value in keeping track of, for instance, release dates for all these title. I, for one, constantly check said section.Jjatria (talk) 16:03, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Unless I'm mistaken, the price of a 2,000 point Wii card has increased in Australia to $35 (in past couple of months). I would assume the cost of buying them by credit card has also increased. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.90.183.21 (talk) 02:42, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

Sending Virtual Console games as gifts

I own a Japanese console and I too am able to send Virtual Consoles games I bought to other people as gifts. I'm adding Japanese users to the proper section. Jjatria (talk) 16:07, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Australian version of virtual console.

Ever since the release, one question is on my mind, can all games play in 480i and 480p because I do get confused on what the article is trying to say. America and other countries has these features right away but Australia is different. I'm an Australian and I hope you can minimise the confusions by giving me examples, like playing Mario Kart 64 between the two countries so I can clearly see the difference. Johnnyauau2000 (talk) 02:38, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

See the section entitled "Component Cable" above. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 10:20, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Controversy over "switcheroo" with VC games

Most of us all know about Mega Man, YS Book I and II, and Samurai Shodown II being announced by Capcom, Hudson, and SNk respectively, and then seeing the Wii-kly update revealing only Sonic the Hedgehog and Splatterhouse II, with Nintendo even responding saying that "only the Wii-kly update should be considered a reliable source" and that VC updates may change because of a number of variables, which set off many. I think it should be added, since the switcheroo was covered on major web sites, and Nintendo made an official response. - A Link to the Past (talk) 20:58, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

It's trivial at best, not worth mentioning. Rhonin the wizard (talk) 06:10, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
Doesn't really sound any different to me than the multitude of times that games have been delayed in the mainstream stores. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 15:45, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
There's no controversy in those because those are companies who are delaying their own games, this is a case where three companies announced that three of their games would come out tomorrow, and Nintendo delayed their releases without telling them. - A Link to the Past (talk) 18:46, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
Not sure I totally agree. In this case, Nintendo is acting as the publisher, and there have been a number of cases where commercial games have been delayed by their publishers despite announcements by the developers that they'd be released on a certain date. It's not as common as the developer delaying the game due to development issues, but publishers do it too, for whatever reason. I agree it seems a little odd that Nintendo would have any good reason to delay a release on Virtual Console - one would think it'd just be a matter of uploading a few files to the central server, as opposed to doing all the work to publish and package physical media. I'm just pointing out that it's not the first time a publisher has delayed something, and it won't be the last by far, I'm sure. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 23:52, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
It doesn't change the negative reaction from significant sources. If it was just a typical case of a publisher delaying games, there wouldn't be such negative reaction - and the fact that these companies made press releases announcing their releases mere days from the PR's release indicates that they're completed games, and knowing the state of the Wii Shop Channel, does not suggest a delay based on a need to. The fact of the matter is that publishers likely give the developers more of a heads-up than they do here - these companies heard about this change when we did. - A Link to the Past (talk) 06:46, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Component Cable

Running a VC game over component cable, will that improve picture if played on a PAL Wii? If so, in what way? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.25.249.31 (talk) 20:52, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Not really the place to ask this question, but I would think you'd have the same experience with PAL component as with NTSC component. If I'm not mistaken, 480p looks and works the same on both. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:01, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
Indeed, but in fact there is no PAL or NTSC over component. PAL or NTSC refer to the colour encoding that allows all colours to be sent across one wire; component has the colours split out. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 10:03, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. Sorry about the wrong location. While it's still here though; Would that eliminate contingent borders as well then? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.25.249.31 (talk) 21:08, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Contingent borders? Not sure what you mean. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:10, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

I mean the borders appearing on top and bottom of the screen of most VC games on PAL consoles.

I have no idea, then. Sorry. :/ — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:32, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
Even over component the VC games run at 576i in European territories, so the borders will remain. However, as the article says, most SNES games have been optomised to minimise the borders, as have N64 games, and the TurboGrafx games are in native 60 Hx 480i anyway so there are no borders there either. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 10:03, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

I see. But would NTSC versions run at 480p using a component cable then? Or just 480i? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.25.249.31 (talk) 10:40, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea. I have a feeling that they're 480i only; I'll look next time I'm able to. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 13:52, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Alright. Thanks. If someone knows, I'd be happy to know. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.25.249.31 (talk) 15:43, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

All Virtual Console games display in the current output mode of the Wii. For NTSC Wiis, if the setting is 480p over Component, the VC game will display in 480p as well. Whether the output is interlaced or not has nothing to do with the emulator running the original game - those games all use a display buffer that doesn't care how the signal is output to the screen.
I've confirmed this with the game "Bomberman '93" (TG-16) - my TV de-interlaces 480i signals, thus producing some horizontal artifacting when given a video signal at 60 frames per second. The intro sequence to this game includes a part where the whole screen shakes horizontally at 60 FPS. The objects on screen shake properly on an interlaced display, but appear to take on horizontal stripes on my TV in de-interlaced 480i. (In 480p, it shakes properly again.)
Does that help? — KieferSkunk (talk) — 23:01, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. A bit confused though. What is the difference between interlaced and de-interlaced? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.218.149.2 (talk) 08:25, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I stopped reading this discussion a while back, so I fell behind. Check out Interlace, which discusses the scan technique in general. A quick synopsis, tho: Interlacing means that the display scans across every other line at a time (does all the odd rows first, then all the even rows). This means that in a 480i signal (interlaced), you receive all odd lines first (1, 3, 5, 7, ... 479), then all even lines (2, 4, ... 480), and the entire display (all lines) takes 1/30th of a second to complete. It doesn't appear to flicker because of the interlacing, but effectively, you can either get 30 frames per second of high-resolution signal, or 60 frames per second of lower-resolution signal. On an interlaced display, this appears as a coherent image because the signal matches how it's being displayed.
In a 480p signal, however, you get all the lines in order (1, 2, 3, ... 480) at double the speed of a 480i signal. The entire screen refreshes at 60 times a second, which is part of why TVs must be specifically designed to display a Progressive signal in order to do so. Many such TVs will automatically "upscale" an interlaced signal to use the progressive display, so that it displays a whole screen at 60 frames per second, but only updates the particular set of rows being sent to it in the signal (the other set of rows remain at what they showed in the previous scan). This process is called "de-interlacing", and it results in the sort of image "shredding" I described above, like in the Bomberman '93 example.
Does that help a bit more? — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:25, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
If only there was an online encyclopaedia on which you could look such stuff up ... Tim (Xevious) (talk) 09:52, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
Um... you could try looking it up. :P — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:25, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

"All Virtual Console games display in the current output mode of the Wii" So it will display in 480p on PAL Wii? I find it weird if it could do that on NTSC but not PAL. Or did you mean that playing over component (480p) doesnt matter for any region? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.25.249.31 (talk) 01:04, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

What I meant was that, to my knowledge, the Virtual Console displays at the same resolution as the Wii does in its default mode, whatever that happens to be for your region. If the Wii is set to display at 576i (PAL), then your VC games should also use that mode. I don't know what the actual display formats are in the PAL region - all the modes I've mentioned here have been in the NTSC region. Your mileage may vary. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:27, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
While Kiefer's correct for the US, he's not for Europe. The games you buy on the European VC are the original PAL versions of the games, which were rewritten to include other languages, and to display on a PAL (576-line) screen. Many games were simply shrunken down; some were properly PAL-optimised. Other then SNES and N64 games, all games are the original ones released in Europe - so those that were optimised will be full-screen; others will have borders. Because these all are designed for 576-line displays, they won't ever output at 480i or 480p, no matter what your Wii's set to. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 15:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
Like I said, I don't know what the PAL equivalents of 480i and 480p are. Presumably 576i and 576p? Is there such a thing? And if so, is it true that if your Wii is set to progressive-scan mode, VC titles output in progressive mode as well? That's what I was trying to get at. :P — KieferSkunk (talk) — 15:20, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
There is such a thing as 576p, but I don't think anything has ever used it. It's not available on the PAL Wii - for progressive, you're restricted to 480p. So on the PAL Wii, you can choose 50Hz (576i), 60Hz (480i), or EDTV (480p). And here ends today's lesson!  :) Tim (Xevious) (talk) 15:26, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
Ah, thanks for the clarification. What happens then if you set your Wii to EDTV (480p), then load up a PAL VC game? Does it stay in 480p or switch to 576i? I suppose it makes sense for it to mode-switch in that case because otherwise there wouldn't be enough physical resolution to display the game. (BTW, for anyone who wants to call "not a forum" on this conversation: This does have potential to improve the article.) — KieferSkunk (talk) — 18:22, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
Yes, it switches. My TV kidly lets me know it's displaying in 576i! This is with the exception of TurboGrafx games, which are supplied in the 60Hz 480 (i or p) format anyway, because the PAL TurboGrafx (which was released in very very limited quantities) actually did the NTSC>PAL conversion internally anyway. And also with exception of the games which were never released in Europe and are now presented in 60Hz only versions. Tim (Xevious) (talk) 11:01, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
"There is such a thing as 576p, but I don't think anything has ever used it." <-- the PAL PS3 does Plugwash (talk) 23:30, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

Kid Icarus Differences

This game was not changed so that the special passwords would not work. Rather it used an extremerly rare version of the game, that was probably actually a development version. Why they used this version instead of the released version is not clear. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.186.255.26 (talk) 00:26, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Do you have a source for that? All any of us have been able to see is that there is a technical difference in the ROM image compared to the original cartridge. The specific reason as to why this was done is not known and hasn't been announced. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 17:39, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Why is Virtual Console promoted all over WIKIPEDIA?

It seems a bit ridiculous that a game company such as Nintendo is getting wikipedia to pretty much advertise its emulation service. On most game pages there is a link to a games status on the Virtual Console. There are many different ways to legally play these games without using Nintendo's Virtual Console so I'm not sure why a commercial operation is receiving such preference. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 06:08, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

I don't see how listing a games re-release on virtual console is any different from listing any other re-release of it on a new platform which wikipedia generally also does. Plugwash (talk) 11:37, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

My point is what if other emulators also do this then, XBOX LIVE , my emulator, we should just go to every game page and list when it got released on it? Hundreds of emulators with their release dates in regards to these games? —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 13:00, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

In virtually every case where a game has been re-released on XBLA, a mention of the XBLA release is also there. XBLA has had far fewer emulation releases than Virtual Console, however - Microsoft seems to have dropped emulation in favor of its Indie Games market, so you'll see less references there.
Also, there are some games that have been released on so many different platforms that it's impractical (or impossible) to list them all. (See Pac-Man.) A good-faith effort is made to do so in a fair manner, but we don't always get it right.
Finally, I'll point out that most times, you'll see release dates for principal platforms (arcade, VC, XBLA, etc.) in the infobox, but a much more comprehensive list of ports and re-releases in the article text itself. I'm sure you're already aware of those instances, but it's worth noting that this practice is more in line with the general guidelines and VGProject guidelines than trying to fit it all in the infobox. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 06:19, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

There are other emulators besides those two though. What makes these ones special? —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 12:41, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

What makes them different is that they aren't just providing an emulator and expecting you to obtain the game from either dumping your own card (yeah right) or from some romz site. They are re-releasing the game legally for a new platform (using emulation to avoid the cost of a rewrite). Plugwash (talk) 15:29, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, your example of differences is merely one of how to do something. It isn't that much harder to buy a cartridge copier and then legally dump your own games and play them on your PC. In fact it's cheaper than buying a Wii or an XBOX if you already own the games (which many do). Buying the carts off EBAY/wherever, dumping them and then playing them is a VALID, LEGAL way to replay these games on other platforms that should be covered on every single game that these commercial emulators are on. To not do so shows bias towards Nintendo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 01:44, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

So while you have a point that there are legal ways to obtain ROMs for emulators like MAME and MESS, the games are not RELEASED for MAME or MESS - they're still in their original formats. The main difference between that and what Nintendo is doing with Virtual Console is that Nintendo is actually releasing the games, in their original formats, for their specific hardware platform, as a commercial product that you can only buy on and for that platform. That is a legal and NOTABLE method of releasing the games. ANYONE (with the necessary knowledge and hardware) can dump a ROM and plug it into a homebrew emulator, and as such, there's nothing particularly noteworthy about that that pertains to any specific game - it's noteworthy to articles about emulation, but not to articles about the games being emulated. See the difference? — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:01, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

What you are saying KieferSkunk is that the difference between the Wii Virtual Console and other emulators is they charge ~$10 to download the ROM with the emulator and you call this a "release". Are you saying that if someone else started SELLING the games with their emulator then it is also "Notable" and will be listed? Because that is the only difference and it seems weird that Wikipedia is willing to bend over backwards to list something due to the fact that is commercial and others are not. The word "released" seems to be highly pointed towards commercialism in your mind when in reality it is many things.

Going by your own words. "ANYONE (with the necessary knowledge and hardware) can write an emulator and plug it into a website to sell, and as such, there's nothing particularly noteworthy about that that pertains to any specific game - it's noteworthy to articles about selling emulation, but not to articles about the games being emulated." —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 00:59, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but the bar is NOTABILITY. Nintendo is a notable company, due in part to its commercial success, so when they release something, it's notable. MAME is a notable project, but it in no way competes with Nintendo, nobody releases games on a schedule for it, and the fact that certain games are playable on it does not mean that we should add a MAME entry to their articles. By now, almost every game that has ever been released on almost every platform has an emulator it can be played on, so it would be pointless to put a blurb in every game article that it's "available for" MAME, MESS, or whatever other emulators can play it. (In short, the fact that you can play an NES game on an NES emulator is not in itself notable.)
However, Nintendo's status as a major game company, plus the fact that it is releasing only a very small collection of games from a selected set of platforms (compared to the total range of games on each platform and the much wider range of platforms in existence), gives those particular games notability for being released on that platform. While Virtual Console is technically an emulator, it is also a commercial platform that has its own independent notability, as does Xbox Live Arcade (which has emulated versions of games from multiple platforms).
I will concede that this notability is starting to wane a bit as the library expands - toward the beginning of Virtual Console's existence, the fact that there were only about a dozen games released there made those specific games VERY notable, but as Nintendo's collection approaches "all games", it begins to seem superfluous. If it comes to pass someday that Nintendo somehow releases every NES game ever made on Virtual Console (something I highly doubt), it might no longer be necessary to list every game or a VC release date for every game. But as it is, I don't see a reason to not list VC release dates, since VC is a particularly notable platform by a notable company.
And as I said before, in cases where games are also OFFICIALLY released on other platforms, those other platforms are given a mention either in the infobox, the article prose, or both, and how this is done is taken on a case-by-case basis depending on how many platforms/releases there are for that game. (Most games released on VC have only ever been released on their respective platform and Virtual Console, so it makes sense to list them in the infobox. Games like Pac-Man and Galaga, which have been released in some form on many different platforms, are more difficult to classify.) — KieferSkunk (talk) — 01:42, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

I do believe it is notable to list the games VC supports yes. However going over every game page on WIKIPEDIA and stating it is on VC is what seems over the top. Not every emulator in the world gets on WIKIPEDIA because they aren't notable. The ones that are however in theory are notable enough to get the same treatment as a commercial operation. I think the distinction between what you find notable and not in this case is clearly in your own reality. The fact a game gets emulated on Wii is as notable as being able to play the same game on PC with notable emulators, yet this isn't mentioned in the same manner VC is. It seems like Nintendo has a lot of editors on Wikipedia that are forcefully ensuring their corporate point of view is maintained with ridiculous spaghetti logic such that you've presented. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 09:01, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

"The fact a game gets emulated on Wii is as notable as being able to play the same game on PC with notable emulators..." No it's not. You're missing my point: Games have not been RELEASED for emulators. The whole point of an emulator is to be able to play a game that was designed for a different system. The fact that you can dump a ROM and play it (legally or illegally) on a PC doesn't change the game's own notability. The fact that the game was specifically released by a company for use on a specific system IS notable, provided it meets the policy requirements for such. As such, we treat every game that's released on Virtual Console in the same way as we treat games released on XBLA, in "emulator packs" (like the Namco Collection series, and then also noting which systems received the pack), etc.
The fact that you can dump or download a ROM to play in MAME, MESS, etc., is only notable in light of the emulator in question. That's a technical fact about the emulator. But with extremely few exceptions, you would be hard-pressed to find a game that is specifically notable as being playable on those emulators - and that involves finding reliable sources that assert this notability.
Basically, what I've been trying to say is that Virtual Console is treated like any other commercial platform, and as such, games released for it are given the same treatment as games released for other platforms. It's not "corporate allegiance" or anything like that - it's following consistency in policy. That's all. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 09:42, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
Sorry, games were "released" for these emulators in the same manner that Virtual Console "released" them. Adding a link to a Wii page to download a game doesn't make it any different to any other emulator. You are making out VC to be something other than what it is, it is an emulator, a product that plays old games. Virtual Console should not be treated as its own platform unless other emulators are afforded the same luxury. You and other Nintendo fans are the only ones making the distinction between what Virtual Console is and other emulators, whether that is through ignorance or corporate alliance I guess we will never know. Yes Nintendo is a notable company, however many emulators are also notable, in some cases a lot more notable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RetroRalph (talkcontribs) 07:39, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
You cannot take just any ROM for the NES and play it on Virtual Console. VC limits you to the releases Nintendo has chosen to publish to its service. So there IS a difference. Whether you interpret that as a difference worth noting or not, it falls under WP policies, and it has nothing to do with us being fans of Nintendo or any other company. Assume Good Faith, please - you are accusing established editors of having an agenda (a form of personal attack). I'm pretty sure that any "fanboyism" would be considerably more obvious.
The distinction I think you're failing to acknowledge here is the difference between an emulator (a program) and a platform (a hardware platform, an operating system, and/or a distribution network). Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network are all distribution networks, on which emulated versions of classic games can be and have been released. We credit the releases on those networks, as we do for emulations-on-disc (things like Namco Museum), as those are OFFICIAL releases by the copyright owners of the games. But, as I've pointed out numerous times, no company has officially released any of their games specifically for use with freeware/shareware emulators - the fact that you can dump a ROM and use it on a PC-based emulator is a detail of the emulation community, but not of the game or the company that created the game.
It's worth pointing out that in some cases, the fact that a game has become popular for emulation enthusiasts DOES become notable. Cases like this include when a major company like Nintendo sends a cease-and-desist order to the makers of a freeware emulator, or to a site distributing ROM images of their games. Such cases have gotten press attention and have become notable incidents, and in a few cases, they have centered around specific games. Even so, details about WHEN the game was dumped for X emulator are unlikely to be notable in and of themselves, and prose about the case would most likely be best suited for articles on emulators in general, perhaps the specific emulator, perhaps the specific company, and probably only rarely the game in question. (If it was a specific game that sparked the controversy, sources would justify including info about it in the game's article.)
Now, having said all that, which other emulators are notable in your opinion? Which other emulators should be called out as having games released for them? And on what basis do you establish that notability? — KieferSkunk (talk) — 19:48, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
I will also add that there are a few cases in which the copyright owner of a game has released the game into the public domain (the first major example being Robby Roto). That IS a notable event for the game itself, and the fact that it's freely playable on freeware emulators is a notable detail (and has been covered in the press, for Robby Roto anyway). The date on which that happened is worth mentioning in the game's article, though you would call that a release into the public domain, not a release for any specific emulator. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:08, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
One more point, and then I promise I'll stop overwhelming the talk page with replies: Your assertion here is basically that Virtual Console is just an emulator. (More correctly, a series of emulators, since each individual system has its own emulator.) According to the article, the name "Virtual Console" refers to both the emulator programs AND the section of the Wii Shop Channel, meaning that Virtual Console is both a program and a distribution service. This is backed up by dozens of sources. So what seems to be the cornerstone of your argument, that VC is no different than any other emulator program, does not appear to hold water in light of what's already been established in the main article. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 20:18, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
We're not promoting the Virtual Console, but at the same time you could say we were, but unintentionally so. Of course we'll "promote" it over emulators, because it's a notable service - IGN and GameSpot both review games for the service. We don't see anywhere near as much coverage on a ROM dump or any emulator, and the Virtual Console requires an ESRB rating for games [which costs money to get]. The Virtual Console is an aspect of the Wii, and just because they use emulation does not mean that it is the same as an emulator. Namco Museum uses emulation, but it's not an emulator, so what is the difference in this case? - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 20:34, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
This entire argument is absurd. VC is not just an emulator. It is a legal, legitimate way for gamers to buy and play copyrighted games. Wikipedia's readers should be informed which games can be played on the VC and which cannot. Period. --TorsodogTalk 21:03, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
Agreed. Someoneanother 21:20, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
To be fair, one of Ralph's arguments is that you can also legally and legitimately play games on other, non-commercial emulators. He's right: This is legit due to the copyright loophole that enables you to have a single backup copy of physical media. (A ROM dump is classified as such a backup, but it requires that you also own the physical media in question.) So I'm afraid that VC merely being a legal and legit way to play games is not a sufficient argument, IMO. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:07, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
ROM dumps are irrelevant, as is the constant repetition of VC being an emulator - it's a service where certain titles are available to buy, not all. Games available on VC are not necessarily available to play on the console on retail discs, so merely listing it for the Wii would actually be incorrect since you need to use the VC to play it. There is no promotion, merely editors providing the information which readers look for. Someoneanother 21:20, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Does the Virtual Console upscale older games?

I was wondering about it since the Legend of Zelda OoT has an upscaled version on GameCube so it's not really a problem to do it with an emulator... Maybe somebody should check it... 84.1.205.38 10:43, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, the N64 VC games are upscaled to 480i and 480p. 67.49.212.101 23:45, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
the n64 games are not upscaled, they render in a higher resolution - that is a difference Daniel c W 01:59, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
...Isn't that what "upscaled" means? 67.49.212.101 02:58, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
No. Upscaled: a picture is scaled to the new resolution (bitmap pixel wise) Rendering: the original data are used to render in a higher resolution. I. E. the games output 3D Data (polygons, textures) and those are used to render the picture. if it would "just" upscale, the rendered picture would be "stretched". so you won't see more details finer edges, etc. Daniel c W 11:47, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
it is an emulution, so the games output resolution is upscaled to the wii's resolution, some PAL games stretch to avoid black bars Daniel c W 01:59, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
Worth noting: All games in Virtual Console stretch to fill the screen, but do not preserve aspect ratio. In other words, if you're running in Widescreen mode (16:9), an NES game will be stretched farther horizontally than vertically. (This assumes that this wasn't addressed in a recent system update - last I saw this behavior was in February.) — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:09, 12 July 2007 (UTC)


I'm making an edit to clear this up. N64 could do a few different resolutions, the popular ones were 320x240 and 640x480. It seems like the VC releases are taking any game that was 320x240 or smaller and giving the game's graphics double the resolution, instead of just upscaling (stretching it) to reach 640x480. Nice feature, especially if you use 480p Wii output for clarity. But any system older than N64 IS upscaled, meaning stretched to fill the Wii's screen, because they're all 320x240 or smaller. Put your Wii in widescreen mode and its still all the same, except horizontally stretched across your TV so it looks all out of proportion. Ugly, unless its one of the few N64 games that did Animorphic widescreen, like Jetforce Gemini...then you could turn on 'wide' mode within the game and get a larger screen area, like some Wii and Gamecube games do. No systems on VC older than N64 had any widescreen-mode games. 68.44.43.61 (talk) 18:07, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

More accurately, the wide-screen mode in the Wii doesn't actually change the signal format in any way - it just horizontally squashes all the graphics so that they appear in the same proportion when your TV is set to 16:9 mode. But the Wii lacks the resolution or horsepower to do a proper 16:9 "translation" of a VC game, so it just displays the game in 4:3 mode again. (This is evidenced by the Home menu also being in 4:3 mode when in Virtual Console, even though it's in 16:9 mode at the Wii Menu.) — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:01, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Why is the South Korea VC left "unchanged" since March?

Why has Nintendo of South Korea abandoned the Virtual Console? Has it shut down? Has it lost its place in the stock market? What? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.32.80.191 (talk) 12:47, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Picture of the VC menu

Just thinking....this article may need some sort of picture...if applicable. Like maybe of the Virtual Console. Thoughts? 24.10.181.254 (talk) 06:32, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, that didn't come out right. I meant to say that we need a picture of the Virtual Console Menu maybe, maybe not...Thanks. 24.10.181.254 (talk) 22:40, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Be-all and end-all on pricing

After seeing a number of threads here discussing how to display the pricing for the various games in the various markets, it took only one Wikipedia guideline to indicate why it doesn't matter, and it's this one: Wikipedia is not a catalog, therefore pricing information is not needed. Discuss. --McDoobAU93 03:13, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

I agree - I've maintained that including the pricing info, even if it's in virtual currency, is against our guidelines. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 15:11, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

Stop removing "NES" and "SNES" sections from "Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console" section.

Nintendo said that NES and SENS games would be added to the eShop in addtion to Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, and TurboGrafix-16 games. So stop removing them, thank you.

-Blake —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.134.188.237 (talk) 04:32, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

Fine ... provide a link to that statement and it can stay. --McDoobAU93 04:34, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

I looked at the source for the info you posted on your talk page when we started discussing this, and my reading of it seems to suggest that these games will be more than simply 3D ports of them ... specifically, this statement: "Moreover, [Reggie Fils-Aime] said that the games would not be simply remade to include the 3D effects, but they would include new elements to be better fitted for the Nintendo 3DS." This tells me that these are totally new games using the originals as a starting point, and thus shouldn't be included in a list of Virtual Console titles, even if under a separate table, which are direct ports of the original games. --McDoobAU93 15:27, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

From reading this article, it is not easy to conclude if emulated games can be played online.

I got a shot of Virtual Console online, with SFII Turbo. Amazed and delighted that I was finally gonna be able to destroy Nintendrones online, I found out these games can't be played online. However, this wiki entry is not written in a way that can easily confirm this with a quick read. I suggest a slight rewriting... Kim Kusanagi (talk) 03:10, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

To my knowledge, Nintendo has never considered making multiplayer VC games playable across Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It's not something that can be used or not used, much like a developer can choose to implement Kinect on an Xbox 360 game or PlayStation Move on a PS3 game; it simply doesn't exist. Since it's not a feature of the service, no need to mention it. --McDoobAU93 16:44, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

Separate "List of Virtual Console games for 3DS" pages

Just noticing that User:WIILUIGI3DS is creating new list articles for the major regions, specifically for Virtual Console games for the 3DS. As of right now, such articles exist for North America and Japan. I just wanted to know if there was a discussion somewhere on this, or if this work is really necessary - the lists are fairly short (though we're pretty sure they'll grow over time), but I wonder if this work doesn't cause WP:WEIGHT issues. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 21:38, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

No updates since June

Hey! I posted this on the PAL VC releases article's talk-page, but didn't get a reply so I'm posting it here. Does anyone know why there haven't been any VC releases in Europe/PAL region since June? The last game to have come out on the VC was Super Adventure Island II. --TheHande (talk) 07:31, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

3DS Ambassador Program

Editors are making good-faith attempts to add information regarding the upcoming games set aside for early adopters of the 3DS, as compensation for the upcoming price-drop for the system. Many of these games will be available for all consumers in due course; Nintendo hasn't said yet when the NES titles will be released to eShop, and I wouldn't be too surprised to see the "exclusive" GBA titles released after a period of time ("no plans" doesn't mean "never"). The main problem with these edits is it's giving undue weight to the Ambassador program. There is a mention of it in the discussion of 3DS Virtual Console, with appropriately-vague descriptions of how it works. When the games are launched, they can be listed in each region's respective list of 3DS Virtual Console games. In those articles, it would be appropriate to mention when they were released for Ambassadors (NES) and that they are Ambassador-exclusive (GBA), but again it shouldn't be given that much bandwidth, in my opinion. --McDoobAU93 04:02, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

Not sure if this is much of an issue, but I included a total number of titles available including the ambassadors in my recent edits for the Japanese and North American sections (List of Titles Available). Is this something that should be counted? If not, anyone is free to remove the bracket including the ambassador information. Although, I added the number of launch titles for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console because it didn't look right to have only Wii. DivineAlpha (talk) 22:38, 7 September 2011 (UTC)

Gamecube?

Nintendo Planning of Porting Nintendo Game Cube Games to The Wii U? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 23.29.204.79 (talk) 12:48, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

There was an interview conducted in 2011, cited and linked in the article where this is mentioned, where Nintendo suggested that Gamecube titles would be available on Wii U in download form, but did not say if this was truly "Virtual Console". No further statements have been made regarding Wii U's version of the Nintendo eShop, including any statements about portability of VC/WiiWare from Wii to Wii U. --McDoobAU93 14:28, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

"Suspending play" section

Is the "Suspending play" section really necessary? It seems to me to be naught but a how-to guide. Just because one can provide sources for statements doesn't necessarily mean they need to be used. I thought I ought to mention this here before I deleted anything. SpinyMcSpleen (talk) 05:56, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

I think that, like a lot of other content in this article, the "suspending play" feature can be summarized in one or two sentences in the main body of the text. It's an important feature, but it doesn't need its own section or a lot of extraneous detail. — KieferSkunk (talk) — 07:10, 21 December 2007 (UTC)
Suspending play section is valuable since it's not obvious that the virtual console can save games. 71.158.175.59 (talk) 19:23, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

many emulators allow for saved states so im not quite sure on why it says that it is unlike many other emulators because that isnt even true — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.17.248.35 (talk) 10:14, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

The 3DS NES titles are NOT the 50Hz versions

"PAL Issues" in the criticisms section claims that "The ambassador and the full release versions of the NES games, however, retain their original PAL formats" (i.e. bordered/slower) which of course is not true. Last night I corrected this whilst also mentioning that Balloon Fight which was recently released in the Wii U eShop WAS the slower 50Hz version. The revised version read:

"The ambassador and the full release versions of the NES games also run at 60 Hz but when Balloon Fight arrived on the Wii U eShop it was again the PAL 50Hz version[73]"

This morning I notice that my edit has been reverted. "Remove how-to info, since Wikipedia isn't an instruction manual". I'm not sure how my edit reads like an instruction manual--and I can't see anything tonally different than in the rest of the section--but could someone please make the correction in a Wikipedia-approved manner? GeoffFire (talk) 12:19, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

Whoops. I appear to have had an old version of the section up. Nothing (from my edit) has been reverted. I am officially an idiot. GeoffFire (talk) 12:31, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

Wii U Virtual Console?

The cite note for IGN's article entitled "Virtual Console Up Close" link has changed, to: http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/12/13/virtual-console-up-close

but it's from 2006, and it's in the Wii U section? is this the right article or is the article just a mess? Bumblebritches57 (talk) 16:05, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Done I fixed the citation per your comment, but when I searched for the phrase you included, the citation is used in the "Criticism" section, which is about Virtual Console as a whole. It comes up as citation #63 in the current version of the article. Is this the one you mean, or is it somewhere else? --McDoobAU93 18:54, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Split

The proposer didn't write anything in the proposal, so here is my own. The article is very long, and splitting it up into more readable chunks would make it easier to read, so that readers do not lose interest. --Joshua Issac (talk) 15:57, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

  • Oppose - Excluding tables, references, etc., per Wikipedia:Article size, the article is about 6000 words, well within the range described in Wikipedia:Article size#Readability issues, so readability is not hampered. Facts common to all versions should be grouped under a relevant section to avoid duplication, and extraneous detail should be removed. --Joshua Issac (talk) 15:57, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

Notice of Virtual console move discussion

There is currently a move discussion underway to potentially make Virtual console (lowercase "c") a WP:PRIMARYREDIRECT towards this article. The discussion can be found at Talk:Virtual console#Requested move 21 April 2015. Steel1943 (talk) 21:14, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

NES/Famicom imports and Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow should be added

There were two NES imports on the 3DS Virtual Console, which were released in North America and Europe in both 2013 and 2014, respectively; Summer Carnival '92 Recca and The Mysterious Murasame Castle. Also Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue, and Pokemon Yellow are coming to the Virtual Console on February 27, 2016. The latest Nintendo Direct confirmed it. Whoever keeps reverting the edits is clearly wasting their time and doing it for all the wrong reasons. (talk) 01:12, 30 November 2015 (UTC))

Limited amount of titles released weekly in North America

Lately, Nintendo of America hasn't been doing a good job with the Virtual Console, so I added an sub-article under "Criticism". (66.85.84.89 (talk) 13:55, 31 December 2015 (UTC))

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