We've already seen the launch lineup for the Virtual Console, but with today's system update going live we now have confirmation of the titles, and prices, that'll hit the European eShop. We expect the North American details to be largely the same and to arrive soon. A key fact for those of you that have bought these titles before on the Wii Shop but want the improved Wii U versions, is that upgrading a NES title will cost you just €/£0.99, while a SNES upgrade is €/£1.49; the prices below are for first-time purchases, and all titles are available from 27th April.
Wii U Virtual Console
Super Mario World (Nintendo, €7.99 / £5.49) — Widely regarded, including in our own staff votes here on Nintendo Life, as the best Super NES title and the finest of Mario's 2D adventures. Whether you agree with that or not, most will happily admit that this is classic platforming from start to finish. This is the 60Hz US version of the game.
Ice Climber (Nintendo, €4.99 / £3.49) — Reminiscent of a time of more simplistic, arcade-style titles on the NES, this is a franchise that's been dormant for a long time, though the characters have become famous in Smash Bros. In truth this one can feel loose and awkward to play, so is perhaps for die-hards only. __This is the 60Hz US version of the game._
Mario's Super Picross (Nintendo, €7.99 / £5.49) — We've become largely accustomed to playing Picross on the go, so this is a relatively rare home console version from the Super NES. There's little to say apart from the fact that it's a well executed version of the game, as you fill out pictures on a grid by following the numbered cues; certainly one for fans of the genre to strongly consider. This is the Japanese version of the game.
Donkey Kong Jr. (Nintendo, €4.99 / £3.49) — Rather like Ice Climbers, this harks back to arcade-style origins, in this case with single screen action puzzle solving. A notable twist is that Mario is the villain in this game, and in short bursts can be fun, but up against some of its rivals it can feel like a clunky, flawed experience. This is the 60Hz US version of the game.
Excitebike (Nintendo, €4.99 / £3.49) — This bike racer has seen recent life as a free 3D Classic, but it arrives on Wii U in its original NES glory. It's simple but iconic racing fare with a modest number of tracks, but the track editor should give it some extra life. This is the 60Hz US version of the game.
Punch Out!! (Nintendo, €4.99 / £3.49) — This one has already been in the Famicom Anniversary celebrations at €0.30 / £0.30 for a limited period. If you did miss out this is your second chance, albeit at a much higher price, to pick up one of the true iconic classics of the NES library. You can see what we thought of the experience on Wii U in our Punch Out!! review. This is the 60Hz US version of the game.
F-Zero (Nintendo, €7.99 / £5.49) — Another title that's been available at a bargain price until recently, this is one of the finest futuristic racer you'll find, and still stands up today. High speed action with terrific visuals and music, you can read all about it in our F-Zero review. This is the 60Hz US version of the game.
Wii U eShop
Wii U Panorama View (Nintendo, €1.99 / £1.79 per virtual tour) — Originally shown off extensively at preview events before the system launched, this app takes you on fixed tours where you move the GamePad at any angle to see a "window" into a 360 degree view. A free preview will be available to download, or you can choose from four full tours to purchase.
So that's your first Virtual Console fix, and we'll be working on Wii U specific reviews for those not yet covered under the Famicon Anniversary promotion. Let us know which of these downloads is top of your weekend list in the poll and comments below.
Which of these games will you download first on Wii U? (218 votes)
- Super Mario World
- Ice Climber0.9%
- Mario's Super Picross
- Donkey Kong Jr0.9%
- Excitebike0.5%
- Punch Out!!0.5%
- F-Zero
- Wii U Panorama View
- Nothing for me
Please login to vote in this poll.
Comments 85
I'd love SNES games like Super Mario World to make an appearance on the 3DS Virtual Console. They do NES games, so it isn't all about being portable titles.
£5.49 seems very expensive for such old games, yes there classics but I think they should be £2.99 for SNES and £2.49 for NES. I would buy so many more if they were cheaper
An update on saturday ? Thats a first At first i was kinda shocked about the 8€ pricetag but then i remembered "these games always costed 800 points" Funny how a points system can screw with you...
How does the "baught already" discount work ? Do i have to have the game on the console itsels (in Wii Mode) or is it ok for me to have them stored on my SD card ?
@Einherjar I think if you've got the Wii U eShop hooked up to the same Club Nintendo account as Wii it should figure it out automatically. At least I hope that's the case.
@Harrison_Peter hopefully Nintendo will implement a cross over service like PlayStation and PSP there is no reason why they can't. Its wrong that they charge for the same game on different systems really.
@ThomasBW84 yeah I'm curious as to how it works also if u find out wiuld u post it. Cheers
@Harrison_Peter same ...
@ThomasBW84 didnt they say that they are having trouble, connectin the WiiU eShop with the Club Nintendo accounts, or are my news hopelesly out of date ? Nevertheless, i also hope that it will be this convinient.
@einherjar my club Nintendo account is linked so no problems there
@ThomasBW84: No, I think I remember Nintendo already said that you have to move your Wii-VC library to you Wii U, which is stupid, because then you have the same two games on the same console. It would be better to keep the games on the Wii and get a discount on the Wii U, too. But sadly this isn't the case =(.
So when u upgrade a VC game u don't lose the game off the normal Wii mode?
@NintendoLife Staff
Looks like we could use a new entry in the Features / Guides & FAQs section when the VC arrives
This lineup is pretty poor considering that a third of them were already available for 30 cents...and the other half was already on 3DS... I'm still getting Super Mario World. I hope they'll fill it up fast though, I want to play some good old RPG's on my Wii U!
@PinkSpider: No, that shouldn't be the case.
@Fudgewhizzle: This lineup is more than poor. After the same time, the Wii had 84 (!) Virtual Console games, and now the Wii U has 8...
I just wanna play chrono trigger in HD lol (OK so its not HD but VC games look so much nicer than they do on normal Wii
smamnsy dibio games
I may buy Super Mario World just to be able to play it on the gamepad, plus its a really great game
I already downloaded Kirby's Adventure and F-zero for 30 cents,so nothing for me this week. I'll wait for N64 and Gamecube games
@Randomname19
That´s gonna be a long wait if we´ve learned anything from Nintendo. Honestly, unless there´s Majora´s Mask 3D coming in a next few years I´d like to play Majora´s Mask on the WiiU gamepad.
Ooh, Picross. I originally got it for the other half to play as she loves Picross. but she complained that it was to hard to see on the TV. Should be perfect on the gamepad.
My first ever VC game will be Super Mario World!
Will they be up at midnight?
Nice to see that 60hz is being maintained.
Why not update ballon fight to 60hz? (Maybe they do when it will be available in the regular VC shop?) And why the not offer WiiWare games through the Eshop like DSiWare through 3DS Eshop.
@PinkSpider you really think so, check out how much some of these games are from a shop or ebay. i actually think they very reasonable.
@bigl91 I know what your saying mate
I'd gladly take Mario's Super Picross for 3DS instead but I guess I'll download it for Wii U since it's unlikely we'll see it on 3DS eShop. I really enjoyed Mario's Picross (GB).
Suprised VC is coming out on a Saturday, usually content delivery is not done at weekends, its unusual. But maybe there was a problem which pushed things back.
Only saying that as EU had eStore maintenance at beginning of the the week and last night.
Absolutely uninterested in the whole VC thing - I already have most of the games I wanted from Wii VC, and it's not going anywhere, so I can still buy those few remaining I don't have. Point being - off-TV play is not a selling point to me, so... Yeah, whatever.
Panorama View might be interesting, though I'll need to see the trial first.
@PinkSpider But have you paid 800 points on Wii, for VC games?
Check how many points you can buy for £10 on wii store, and check how many points VC titles cost.
VC titles work out a bit cheaper on the WiiU, but have extra features.
The prices are steep indeed.
Also, the lack of a proper account system where I can link my purchases makes me way more reluctant against buying anything at all.
(All right, I'll admit it! The lineup is at fault here. I've played all these games thousands of times, making them less attractive.)
This panorama thing seems almost completely useless imo.
Also, at this point I really do think the games should be priced around £1.50 for NES and say £2.99 for SNES.
Ideally I'd actually like even lower but any more just seems like a bit of a rip-off for digital copies of 20-30 year old games (regardless of a couple of minor code tweaks to get them running on Wii U and the GamePad).
People shouldn't even have to think twice about buying these imo and price is a very important factor.
dear lord the VC games are too expensive & totally not worth the money they are priced! i would buy them if nes games were priced 2€, snes 3€, n64 5€ & gcn 7€... & i dont give a damn for off tv play because i play on the actual TV & not on the gamepad! i will buy earthbound & no other game that is final! ( except if killer instinct & shenmue come at some point i will buy those too but for others no thanks )
@seronja
Yep , way too expensive currently. that 8€ is MAX for few GCN titles.
I don't know how those numbers convert to US Dollars, but the US pricing scheme is ridiculous too. $8 for a SNES game is too much. I would probably drop $100 on SNES games if they were $5 a pop, but I'm not buying any for $8.
Complaining about the price? Why so? Its more expensive if you buy the actual cartridge so be happy for what it is on here.
Awesome they are all the 60hz versions. Thank you Nintendo.
I remember Super Mario World, costing me £60 when it was released.
Yeh 20 odd years later it still costs £5.49... A local independant game store sells snes carts for upto £12.
WiiU VC is good value imo, cheaper than on Wii store, mostly 60hz, plus extra features.
But Maybe its coz I havn't brought into the £1 iOS app, cheaper is better mindset that younger people have brought into.
Damn when does these games come to US and Canada? Lawl.
What boggles me is why is so difficult to program, I would think that the game would be on the inside the rom, the info file, screenshots and the VC handling stuff, so it would be just packing the roms and the specifics on a breeze (that's me talking with an ignorant yet practical point of view )
As I own all of the above games i'm not payin that much just to get it on the Wii-U i got a couple of sneses, EU snes, Super Famicom, US Supernintendo.. so.. meh..
I was looking at pics of Super Mario World on the eShop and it looks very crisp the colors, more so. The details page said it can be in 1080p the graphics.
any idea when the NA VC launches?
What I mean is why does it take so long to program a VC title, a pretty wise movement right now would be to fill the eShop with NES/SNES/N64 games at least (maybe it would be time already that they had a Gamecube game laying around there
@Sonicfan11589 Probably tonight or tomorrow I'm guessing. They already have them listed on Club Nintendo in the earn coins section as though they came out with the rest of the games yesterday.
@nomeacuerdo: You are kind of right its not very difficult to pack the games it´s basically a emulator with the rom in it. Anyway it wouldn´t make sense to put out 80 VC games (for example) and it the end only 8 or whatever will only bought thought a bit more wouldn´t have hurt .
So are we doing this 'One or two new VC game at the most every week' thing again like we did with the Wii for years? Once I found out this is the way things were working, I gave up on trying to get a playthough of A Link to the Past with the gamepad, so I just started it up on my Wii Menu again.
Maybe Kirby Super Star will come out next week?
I know, wishful thinking.
I'm hoping Earthbound is at least next month.
@PinkSpider Hows that any different to monster hunter 3 ultimate being on both platforms but you're paying twice and that's fine???
@Tertis and @DeathCode I really hate to be the complainer here this morning, but I very highly doubt that. Earthbound will probably be mid December, and who knows with Kirby.
I'm glad Nintendo haven't updated their valuations of £ and €. It's almost 25% more expensive in the eurozone. Time for Germany to join the pound if you ask me!
I'd seriously consider paying the upgrade price just to replace my 50hz wii vc games with glorious 60hz versions. The off-screen play, restore points, button mapping, miiverse intergration is just gravy to me, very tasty gravy. Mmmmmm gravy.
Wish they'd bring Super Picross over here. D:
Nintendo, Nintendo... $1.50 does not work out to £1.50, its actually more like £1.00.
@DESS-M-8 huh what?? I didn't buy monster hunter im confused
I will wait for Earth Bound, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana.
"Mario's Super Picross (Nintendo, €7.99 / £5.49) — We've become largely accustomed to playing Picross on the go, so this is a relatively rare home console version from the Super NES. There's little to say apart from the fact that it's a well executed version of the game, as you fill out pictures on a grid by following the numbered cues; certainly one for fans of the genre to strongly consider. This is the Japanese version of the game"
Okay Nintendo what the actual hell?
Don't start off virtual console with a crappy lineup and making us wait on games other regions are getting.
/rant
@PinkSpider what @DESS-M-8 is getting at, you and others are moaning about the price of WiiU VC games, yet a lot of the same people would of brought MH3U on Wiiu, costing twice as much as the Wii Version.
These ppl would argue MH3U, has some extras & upgrades over the Wii version, but thats the same as WiiU VC titles compared to those on the Wii and the original cart versions,
Except WiiU VC titles are cheaper than they are on Wii, and for the most part are cheaper than the cart versions.
Panorama view...... seems so stupid. You have to buy tours where you just look around?
We already have google maps where you can do that free and be anywhere in the world.
Nintendo really needs to unify the 3DS/WiiU VC, i know its not easy, and commercially they could make A WHOLE LOT MORE MONEY withouth doing it, but man that would push to get the WiiU so much earlier
Now if Mario Super Picross was released here in NA, I would actually have a new Wii U VC game to buy. But knowing Nintendo, it will remain in Europe for some d*mn reason.
I thought that you would be able to play Virtual Console games cross-platform! I'm keeping my games on my Wii, thank you very much.
@MeddlingIdiot Meddlingidiot Meddlingidiot, No company has ever used the currency conversion system to price products overseas
WiiU VC expensive?
Want to reconsider that opinion?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUPER-MARIO-WORLD-Super-Nintendo-SNES-UK-PAL-Cart-/140962787429?pt=UK_PC_Video_Games_Video_Games_JS&hash=item20d2097065
edit - Original link to full listings wouldn't work, but this seems to be the average price.
@LzQuacker I'm aware that the UK usually pay more than the US for products, especially physical items. But some companies do actually offset it slightly, for example the recent Xbox sale had a very fair conversion system in place. It certainly wasn't the straight dollars into pounds conversion that Nintendo usually do.
Why the prices so expensive?
Can't wait to play a Mega Man game on the Wii U VC!
While students and the unemployed moan I shall be buying super Mario world and super Mario picross
my snes is broke and i want to play smw again so badly so that and mario's super picross for me will be getting runner 2 as well soon
Nintendo, Y U no launch US Virtual Console?
@GamerJunkie
Panorama View: 360° Videos
Google Street View U: Pictures
Ergo- not the same.
@dragon_rider: Actually the US already got VC in eShop .
@Hodn Then why did I see numerous people on facebook telling me "it's not there"? I guess it wouldn't hurt to check. Here's to hoping a better selection next week...just saying. But I will upgrade Super Mario World. Looks better on the game pad than on newer TVs.
Hah! It's just like when Wii VC was releasing games weekly! I missed those days and now they're back again
One of the first games EU gets is Mario's Super Picross, a game that got passed over on the Wii in NA for some reason?
Strange choice. (I'd complain more if I didn't get a boxed physical copy at the same price.)
@dragon_rider: I did just read it myself unfortunatly im from germany so i still need to wait
Nope, can't resist the urge to play Super Mario World on the gamepad so i've changed my mind and will be downloading after all.
Mario's Picross is awesome and has nearly 300 puzzles, up to 25*20, but i recently finished it on Wii's vc, (including all the bonus and extra levels) so won't be doubling up on this as well.
I wasn't very excited for panorama view, but maybe the demo will change my mind...
Upgrading SMW for £1.50. Apart from that everything on offer is really meh.
Ridiculously expensive. And very funny how upgrades are more expensive for SNES games. The games chosen are old NES games and the only one I will be getting once again because it is the best game ever is Super Mario World.
It's been a very, very long time since I played through SMW. So a fiver will be a bargain for the instant nostalgia I'll no doubt encounter!
Will definitely be picking up Mario World and Picross. By far the 2 best games getting released tomorrow. Quite surprised Europe is getting a game before the US though, not that I'm complaining of course!
Hmm mayde mario wold go yoshi ; D
SMW for me! Unfortunately the content is not available to download yet I woke up early (couldn't get back to sleep) and checked at 6:30am. No additional VC yet. Any idea what time this goes live?
It's there now, under 'More new software'. Strange there is no new section on the main page of the eshop to shout about it. Maybe that will follow shortly.
hi everyone. well i downloaded smw this morning for £1.49 as i own it on wii vc but unfortunately since after powering down (as i was gonna play it later today) my wii u is now stuck with a red/amber flashing light and wont turn on?
Has this happened to anyone else and could it be related to me doing the system update last night? Does anyone know of a fix? Ive tried doing the usual mains reset (unplug, wait 15 secs and plug back in) but its no good. Mario U disc locked inside too and it doesnt even attempt to play it. I've emailled Nintendo so waiting for response... thanks
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...