Virtual Console

The Virtual Console (バーチャルコンソール, Bācharu Konsōru?) (sometimes abbreviated as VC) is an online service for the Wii that allows players to purchase and download games and other software. The Virtual Console lineup consists of titles originally released on past consoles. These titles are run in their original forms through software emulation, and can be purchased for between 500 and 1200 "Wii Points" depending on system and rarity and/or demand.

The library of past games currently consists of titles originating from the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Nintendo 64, as well as Sega's Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis, NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and TurboGrafx-CD, SNK's Neo Geo AES, Commodore 64 (Europe and North America only) and MSX (Japan only). Virtual Console Arcade allows players to download video arcade games. As of December 2007, over ten million Virtual Console titles have been downloaded.

Storage
Games downloaded from the Virtual Console library can be stored in the Wii's built-in 512 MB flash memory.

Wii system software version 4.0 allows Virtual Console games to be saved and played from a removable SD card. Firmware updates prior to 4.0 can only allow games to be transferred to SD cards for backup purposes; they cannot be played from this external memory.

Virtual Console games are locked to the Wii on which they were purchased—they cannot be transferred to another Wii via an SD card, although it is possible to purchase games in the Wii Shop Channel and send them as gifts to people on their Wii Friends list. This procedure does not work across regions and it has been reported that bought titles cannot be sent to users from other countries either, even if they are on the same region. In the event that a Wii is damaged and the Virtual Console games can no longer be played, Nintendo will provide support, providing the serial number or console email name can be provided.

Control
Virtual Console games can be played using three different controllers. The Wii Remote itself (turned on its side) can be used for the NES, Sega Master System, TurboGrafx-16, and some Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Neo Geo games, and the Classic Controller can be used for all Virtual Console games. The controllers from the Nintendo GameCube can also be used for all games on the Virtual Console, except for some TurboGrafx-16 games.

All Virtual Console games have their buttons mapped to the respective buttons on the controllers, however, in certain circumstances users can use X and Y instead of A and B, if the original controller does not have X and Y buttons. In certain titles, such as Nintendo 64 games, there may be specific controls tailored to the Classic Controller or GameCube Controller. So far, none of the Nintendo 64 titles released have been able to support the Rumble Pak feature of the N64 controller, resulting in the Stone of Agony being useless in the Virtual Console version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Updating games
The Wii Shop Channel has functionality to allow games to be updated. This has been used three times so far to update Military Madness and Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars (in North America and Europe) and Mario Kart 64 (in Europe and Australia). The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country, and Super Castlevania IV have also been given updates in Europe and Australia to fix previous problems with the Wii Component Cables. These updates are free of charge to those who have downloaded a previous version of the game.

The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda was one of the original titles available for the Virtual Console in all regions. It was available in North America on November 19, 2006; Japan on December 2, 2006; Australia on December 7, 2006; and Europe on December, 8, 2006.

A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was the next Zelda game available on the Virtual Console following The Legend of Zelda. It was available in Japan on December 2, 2006; North America on January 22, 2007; and Australia and Europe on March 23, 2007.

Zelda II
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was the next Zelda game available on the Virtual Console following A Link to the Past. It was available in Japan on January 23, 2007; Australia and Europe on February 9, 2007; and North America on June 4, 2007.

Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the next Zelda game available on the Virtual Console following Zelda II and is one of the most-downloaded Virtual Console titles. It was available in Australia and Europe on February 23, 2007; North America on February 26, 2007; and Japan on February 27, 2007.

Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was the next Zelda game available on the Virtual Console following Ocarina of Time. It was available in the PAL region on April 3, 2009. Its release in other territories is currently unknown.

Criticism
Chris Kohler of the magazine Wired has criticized the overall release strategy of games on the Virtual Console as a handful of games were relased at the launch of the Wii, though now only two or three games are released each week. Kohler also took issue with the Virtual Console's aspect ratio which stretches the 4:3 games when the Wii's system settings are set for a 16:9 television. The prices for the games have been criticized as too high, especially for the NES games, given the prices of many of the games on eBay and the near-zero costs of manufacture and distribution.