Virtual Console

This article is about the Virtual Console component of Nintendo's game download services. For the computer user-interface concept, see Virtual console.

Virtual Console
DeveloperNintendo
TypeClassic video game re-release distribution
Launch date
  • Wii
    November 19, 2006
  • Wii U
    January 23, 2013 (soft launch)
    April 26, 2013 (official launch)
  • Nintendo 3DS
    June 6, 2011
DiscontinuedWii
January 30, 2019
Wii U and 3DS
March 27, 2023
Platform(s)
StatusDiscontinued

The Virtual Console[a] is a defunct line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past home and handheld consoles and were run in their original forms through software emulation (excluding Game Boy Advance titles on the 3DS and Wii titles on Wii U), therefore remaining mostly unaltered, and could be purchased from the Wii Shop Channel or Nintendo eShop for between 500 and 1200 Wii Points, or using real currency, with prices depending on the system, rarity, and/or demand.[1][2]

On Wii and Wii U, the Virtual Console's library of past games consisted of titles originating from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS, as well as Sega's Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive and Game Gear, NEC's TurboGrafx-16, and SNK's Neo Geo AES. The service for the Wii also included games for platforms that were known only in select regions, such as the Commodore 64 (Europe and North America) and Microsoft's and ASCII's MSX (Japan),[3] as well as Virtual Console Arcade, which allowed players to download video arcade games. On the other hand, the Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS had a smaller library consisting of NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Gear titles.

Launching with the Wii at the end of 2006, Virtual Console titles had been downloaded over ten million times as of early 2008.[4] The distribution of past games through the Virtual Console is one of Nintendo's reasons for opposing software piracy of old console games.[5] On January 30, 2019, the Virtual Console service was discontinued on the Wii, following the shutdown of the Wii Shop Channel.[6] On March 27, 2023, the Virtual Console service was discontinued on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.[7] Purchased titles remain playable.


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  1. ^ Orland, Kyle (September 14, 2006). "Nintendo Japan Conference Not so Liveblogging". Joystiq.
  2. ^ "Fils-Aime Talks American Launch and More". thewiire.com. September 14, 2006. Archived from the original on November 21, 2006.
  3. ^ "Nintendo Japan Virtual Console overview" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  4. ^ Iwata, Satoru (February 20, 2008). "Q&A: Nintendo's Satoru Iwata". GameSpot (Interview). Interviewed by Tor Thorsen; Randolph Ramsay.
  5. ^ "Nintendo Anti-Piracy". Ap.nintendo.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  6. ^ Ryan Whitwam (January 30, 2019). "Nintendo Begins Phasing Out Wii Virtual Console, Making Classic Games Inaccessible". Extremetech. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  7. ^ Faulkner, Cameron (July 19, 2022). "Nintendo will close the Wii U and 3DS eShops on March 27th, 2023". The Verge. Retrieved July 19, 2022.