Virtual Console

The Virtual Console (, Virtual Console), sometimes abbreviated as VC, is a feature of the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U that allows players to officially emulate games from older video game consoles. Supported by the on the Wii and the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, the different consoles offered differing coverage as to what games they featured. The Virtual Console has since been retired, with the currently available Nintendo Switch offering classic games with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The currently supported consoles on this service are NES, SNES and Game Boy/Game Boy Color with the base package, with N64, GBA, and Sega Genesis costing extra as part of the Expansion Pack. After the shutdown of the Wii Virtual Console on January 30, 2019, and the shutdown of the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console on March 27, 2023, it is no longer possible to purchase software provided by any Virtual Console service.
==List of consoles on Virtual Console==
Platform 	WiiWii U can play them in Wii Mode	Wii U	Nintendo 3DS
Arcade 	 	 	
NES / Famicom 	 	 	
SNES / Super Famicom 	 	 	Only available on New Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 64 	 	 	
Sega Master System 	 	 	
Sega Genesis 	 	 	
Turbografx-16 	 	 	Only available on Japanese 3DS systems
Neo Geo 	 	 	
Game Boy 	 	 	
Game Boy Color 	 	 	
Game Boy Advance 	 	 	10 Game Boy Advance games were released for members of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. They were not released otherwise.
Nintendo DS 	 	 	
Sega Game Gear 	 	 	
MSXOnly available in Japan. 	 	 	
Commodore 64Only available in North America and PAL regions. All games were removed from the Wii Shop Channel in August 2013.	 	 	
===Notes===
==In the series==
===Masterpieces===
A majority of the Masterpieces featured in Brawl and work via the Virtual Console engine. In addition, all Masterpieces are timed.
Unusually, Smash 4 features Masterpieces of Game Boy titles, which were not supported by the Wii U's Virtual Console. As a result, players are told about how they could download the two Game Boy titles, Kirby's Dream Land and Dr. Mario, on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console. When the timer runs out, the player is told about how the full version could be purchased for the Virtual Console. The prompt to take players directly to the Wii U eShop for NES and SNES titles is still functional, but the eShop pages do not have a “purchase” option.
===Re-release of Super Smash Bros.===
Super Smash Bros. was released onto the Wii Virtual Console for Japan on January 20, 2009, as to celebrate the ten years since the game's first release in Japan on January 21, 1999. It was later released to Europe and Australia on June 12, 2009, and to North America on December 21, 2009. While not officially available for the Wii U's Virtual Console, the Virtual Console re-release of Smash 64 could still be purchased and played when the Wii U was running in Wii Mode. However, the discontinuation of the Wii Shop Channel on January 30, 2019 made the game no longer purchasable.
Due to lack of N64 controller support and significant performance issues like frame-skipping, the Virtual Console version of Smash 64 is not used for tournament play. Players use the original Nintendo 64 hardware for in person tournaments or Project 64k for online events.
==External links==
*Virtual Console - Official Virtual Console site
Category:Wii
Category:Nintendo 3DS
Category:Wii U
Category:Consoles
Category:Technology
Category:Emulators