Nintendo DS And Nintendo 64 Games Finally Coming To The Wii U Virtual Console

This alone made it the best direct in ages for me. I was hoping for it, but didn't expect Donkey Kong 64! Will be upgrading Mari 64 and purchasing DK as soon as they're up.

I won't be happy until Nintendo releases Excite Bike 64 and rereleases Wave Race.

Elite Beat Agents now, please.

Crap, I need $2...which means I have to add $10...

This is great, I can soon play DK64!

This article should mention DK64 coming soon to the VC.

Finally. Now I'm happy, specially since DK64 will be here soon. I'll buy that for sure. Hope they release Mario Party 3 soon.

JESUS CHRIST! What took so long?! Ughhhh...

Well, atleast they're here... Finally.

Not only N64 VC, but Donkey Kong 64 as well?!
On top of that DS VC?!
Thank you, Nintendo!!

There are so many great DS games they need to make available I don't even know where to start.

Dk64 alone made up for Zelda U delay

Mario 64 is my favorite Mario game of all time, and I never finished Donkey Kong 64, meaning I couldn't be happier about this. About time!

DS and GBA for 3DS OR GTFO.

Can't wait to get it on like Donkey Kong!

This is great, but why do they release one N64 game at a time? You'd think they would release a handful.

I told you this will be an E3 2014 level Direct!

Oh.......my..........God.

It's beyond me why they can't release DS games on the 3DS. There are no technical limitations! It's just stubbornness.

@A01 Not in America, it hasn't...they never bothered to release that for us for some stupid reason.

I wonder how well N64 works. (Wii wasn't good enough as far as I am concerned).

Did anyone get the whole list shown??

About time. Nintendo has blown such an opportunity with the virtual console though. It took some time to build up but during the middle years of the Wii the VC was actually great. Then it's like Nintendo just stopped caring. Haven't even really tried to make it a big part of Wii U. Maybe now that finally starts changing?

Lots of cool stuff announced. I like that CN members get MewTwo for smash for free and the 200CC mode in MK8 is going to be insane!

Never played dk64 so I'm happy

YES YES YES!

Don't care much for DS, unless one of the features is adding back Mario Kart DS's online multiplayer, but I'll certainly be picking up N64 games as they arrive! X3

DK64 was probably the biggest surprise. I was never a great DK64 fan, yet look forward to play it again. Especially since my Expansion-pack died. Now if only they would do the same with Banjo Tooie...

By the way: DK64 coming to Wii u e-shop makes it more likely that Retro is working on a 3D Donkey Kong!

DONKEY KONG 64!! SO EXCITED TO DOWNLOAD THAT!!

Finally.

What would be better? Retro Working on a 3D Metroid or on a 3D Donkey Kong?

Finally! N64 VC seems to be in place. All that's left is GC. DS should be on the 3DS, if you ask me, which should also get GBA VC.

OMG DONKEY KONG 64

They can release Zelda whenever they want now, I'll be happy for years to come with this!

3D Donkey Kong, and I'm optimistically hopeful that DK64 is a sign of things to come

This bit actually made me cheer. Looking forward to the N64 titles for sure!

@CanisWolfred "Crap, I need $2...which means I have to add $10..."

Why can't you just "pay the remainder"?

Looks like I'll finally get to play Yoshi's Island DS.

Wait a second. If they bring DK64 on the VC, then they could also bring Banjo back, right? Oh man, I hope this ends up being the case. Hopefully this leads to a Conker's Bad Fur Day return as well probably not, but still.

Will my saves carry over?

I have been doing one star a day on Mario 64 on the Wii Channel....

Finally, DK64! I hope it runs better than it did on the N64, if possible.

That makes 3 out of 4 (4 out of 5 if you count the Wii). All that's left is to add Gamecube games.

As for the DS games, I'll be very interested in Mario Kart DS if they allow online play, or at least local multiplayer. I'd definitely want Elite Beat and Fire Emblem, too, and I'd love to finally get those Dragon Quest remakes.

I can't see many other N64 games that aren't already on the Wii VC coming to the Wii U, but Donkey Kong 64 was a nice surprise.

Hopefully this will breathe new life into Elite Beat Agents whenever it comes up. If it ever comes up.

And maybe we'll get WWF War Zone... nah, that's just a pipe dream.

Is this out now!?!?

why couldnt they do snes/ds VC for 3ds as well,feel the 3ds got screwed here

"What would be better? Retro Working on a 3D Metroid or on a 3D Donkey Kong?"

Hard to tell. They have done Metroid before, and that was great. But a 3D Donkey Kong made by them....it could be soooo nice!

I am pretty sure they are NOT working on a Metroid. Nintendo is just not interested in Metroid anymore. Yeah guys, you can show all you want. As long as Nintendo doesn't officially announce a new Metroid, its not real!!

Yes yes yes. N64 games!!!! Just Gamecube to go.

As someone who had a PlayStation instead of the N64, I'm looking forward to making this my chance to try some classics. Though, I played Super Mario 64 on the DS - great version!
Wii U is pretty much my ultimate Nintendo hub now.

@ZenTurtle Different architectures mean they need to decide which platform to focus on. Right now, the Wii U needs more loving so naturally, that's where the focus went.

Just a heads up, DK64 is out now in the UK (and I assume EU) so get collecting those nanners folks!

THIS WAS MY MOST WANTED ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SO LONG!!!!! OH man, can't wait to play DK64, MKDS, SM64, Paper Mario, and hopefully even more like the DS Kirbies, Star Fox 64, and Diddy Kong Racing. Thank you Iwata!

@ZenTurtle curious why would anyone want DS VC on 3DS when you can just plug in the DS original game card??? I would think also a lot of those DS games would be real memory block killers no? Hmm...

This is awesome! Going to buy whatever is up right now.

I would love if they released The New Tetris from N64. The music and gameplay was epic and unlike any other Tetris. But they'll probably never do it, right? this news of more virtual console makes me happy, though!

Great that ds games have come to the wii u vc but N64 games £8.99 compared to £7.00 on wii vc hmm seems a bit steep to me, don't understand why they aren't the same price, yes you have the advantage of being able to play them on the game pad but snes and nes games were the same price as the wii vc so that's no excuse. So you might aswell turn your wii u into wii mode to download the games cheaper minus being able to play on the game pad. On the plus side Donkey Kong 64 got released and it will be great to see what ds games come out.

With SM64 available now, could someone tell us how it looks? I know Wii up-ressed to 480p, but will Wii U up-res to 720p or even 1080p?

Yes yes and more yes! Been waiting for what seems like forever!

@joey302 The same reason they're offering Wii downloadable retail games on Wii U, despite you being able to pop in a disk such as Super Mario Galaxy 2?

DS games aren't even that big either.

Back on topic a bit, I agree with others on the 3DS bit...it got no love here. >_>

@joey302
Well, it is difficult to find a number of games for reasonable prices and it would be an opportunity to release games that never had English translations. It's also a matter of convenience, I prefer not to carry around a number of games as it is easy to lose a loose game cartridge.

DK64 is already available

Are save states an option?

@CanisWolfred Not necessarily. You can use a debit or credit card to add only the needed funds before purchasing. I do it all the time.

Great news and about time! great games to start off aswell.

@Bass_X0 Yup.

Well, they are in DK64 anyway.

Can we get Killer Instinct Gold or what....

I'm hoping there's digital Memory Pak support on the N64 VC side.

@Goginho Nope. Banjo is not Nintendo's IP. Rare May have developed DK64, but Nintendo retained the rights due to their ownership of Donkey Kong. Nintendo never owned Banjo and so releasing it on Virtual Console would be problematic.

donkey kong 64!? yoshis island DS!? holy hell!

Take my money!

Cool. Just keep adding stuff like this...

I feel like with the Wii U struggling as it is, right now would be a good time for Nintendo to really focus on getting these VC titles out. No more droughts. No more announcing things like this and the Wii VC and then going weeks without releasing a new game. There needs to be a new game out every week from the Wii's N64 VC back catalog, or at the most every other week (gotta get those NES, SNES, and GBA titles out too of course). Basically the Wii U needs to rival or preferably surpass the Wii in terms of the VC, so at the very least when there is nothing else it has that to fall back on. I always saw the VC as a real selling point for the Wii but it's just not at that level for the Wii U.

I mean I'm BEYOND excited they finally announced this. I'm just worried they won't end up following through in the end. I don't want a handful of games. I want the whole shebang.

£8.99? I'll get DK64 but I don't know who in their right mind would get all 4.

@ZenTurtle ok gotcha! 😊

I don't know what is it with virtual console. I already played Mario 64 on Wii VC and DS yet i'm still tempted to buy it again. Great i can finally play Donkey Kong 64

Gettin' DK. I'm not too sure if my N64 still works, so I think I'm gonna have to.

$10 bucks? That kinda steep consider that Galaxy 2 has much more content for $10 extra, but I'll get SM64 anyway.

Very happy about this

While I'm very happy to see DS and N64 finally added to vc service, I still can't believe they didn't add turbographx 16 titles to vc as well especially being the wii u already has 30 games to choose from in japan!! Cmon guys! Also I hope they don't go back to 1 vc game a week again!! Please don't Nintendo!! It's soooo painful at that pace!! Lastly please make sure waverace is in the pipeline for N64 vc!

@TheLobster I agree with you 300% buddy!! BRING ON THE CLASSICS!!! I'm surprised they're still holding off on turbographx 16 games!! Wii u in japan has 30 of them!! America has zip!!

Fanstastic releases, I agree with above post @joey302. Nintendo are really slow at releasing VC titles, the Wii-U has been out over two years and we only just get N64 now. Well.... I downloaded SM64 for £1:79, I then bought Mario Kart the DS version and Donkey Kong 64 when I saw this on a N64 for the first time I couldn't believe the graphics, I missed out on the N64 and bought one on an auction site. I never got the chance to DK64 but I will make it my challenge to play and complete this, when? I dunno.

Finally, Donkey Kong 64. My favorite and first console game when I got the DK64 System Bundle for Christmas in 99.

So your telling me that right now I can play mario 64 on my gamepad, for $2? See ya.

My prediction was correct! I've already downloaded Mario 64!

Why are ds game on the Wii U? Why not on the 3DS?

@joey302 I would LOVE to have some TurboGraphx-16 love! The Wii had some of those games, it even had ARCADE games for crying out loud. There were Neo Geo and Master System and Genesis games... Even Commodore 64 games! I'd love to see all that and more on the Wii U.

I would love to see Paper Mario 64!

DK64... Wow, unexpected but awesome.

Whoa, and here I thought Nintendo was just gonna release the N64 games that were already on Wii, and I was like you know, whatever. But DK64? Did not see that coming. I will be getting that.

@Nintenjoe64 no, the save data are seperate from Wii Mode and playing straight off the Wii U Menu.

Pleased with the N64 & DS Vc news but £8.99 is really to expensive in all fairness.

@Discostew According to the Wii U eShop, the supported resolutions for Super Mario 64 are 480i, 480p, 1080i, 720p, and 1080p.

The rate at which these Virtual Console games trickle out is ridiculous.

The rate at which these Virtual Console games trickle out is ridiculous.

In Europe, Mario 64 is 60Hz and DK64 is 50Hz. I was hoping these 50Hz games would actually end...

@wizzgamer The £:€ exchange rate changed quite a lot since 2006 including that time in 2008 when 0.90p=€1...which NOE still use today. Currently €10 is about £7.20. Since paying in € is a lot better might as well make an Irish NNID and just pay €10. 20p extra to play Mario 64 at the correct speed is worthwhile.

Still what is strange is the SNES and NES games are priced like their Wii Shop versions were.

Paper Mario 64 is coming too? Awesome!

Cant touch 50hz junk its a BIG downgrade to the gameplay let alone graphics, DK64 50hz utter garbage, you'd be stupid to buy that.

DK64! Had to check it wasn't April 1st.

Looking forward to Mario Kart 64 coming out & Goldeneye hopefully they release those games.

@CanisWolfred Not in America. Can't you just add the needed funds in the UK as well?

At long last I will finally be able to buy Donkey Kong 64 on the virtual console! I still have a playable cartridge but I would like a copy of the game that will stand the test of time and this is the best choice there is. I will definitely get Yoshi's Island DS too since I have always wanted to play that one!

@CrabGats Oh, I wasn't expecting wide-screen, since it never supported it in the first place. Good to hear about the actual rendering resolution though.

@turnmebackwards Eh, chances of Goldeneye.....probably slim due to licensing

@CanisWolfred April Fools?

@Pj1 see what I mean?? Dude you guys can grab DK64 and Mario kart DS right away after the direct and we Americans have to wait!! Why?? This is what I mean about Nintendo of America!! Pisses me off!! 😞😡

How the flying chestnut did they get the rights to DK 64 back? Microsoft's flat-out been holding that one for ransom since the Wii's early days!

@TheLobster yup yup!! First of all dude I gave up on Sega long time ago! I dunno what the hell their problem is but we coulda had master system, Genesis, game gear, Saturn, Dreamcast, true SEGA ARCADE PORTS!! Ugh!! Their too busy screwing around with Total War and ftiggin football manager!! Soooo many classics in their vault going to waste and with the Wii u library being so small they'd be mopping up about now!! L$ST OPPORTUNITY IMO!!
Anyways, yea the wii vc was so cool with a wide selection of classics and when wii u first came out I figured the NEW vc service would blow the doors off the wii!! Boy was I wrong!! I would love to see all those systems again and I think you left out Neo geo and VIRTUAL CONSOLE ARCADE which were direct ports of arcade classics!! Wii only had 21 titles but Japan's wii had 78!!!! But still there are hundreds and hundreds of classics out there!!! Nintendo not aggressive enough!!

@Franklin It is April 1st.

DK64?!!?!? HOLY SH*********TT!!!

@BaffleBlend no dude they pulled a Disney!! They kept DK64 in the vault just like they did with the DKC trilogy and saved them for I guess when the timing they felt was right to post them. I heard that dk64 would of ended up on wii but when wii fizzled out they didn't bother...at least it's out now...well in Europe anyway lol

So they are giving us DS games? I feel like we may get Chrono Trigger soon! As for me, I never owned DK64 or SM64 so I'll be buying these two ASAP.

(Yeah, I know. I only played Zelda on my N64).

YEEES finally! Mario Party 3 soon please Nintendo?

@Starwolf_UK fair enough you can take inflation into account but you also have to consider that the n64 games are now several years older than they were in 2006. The only other excuse for the increase in price they could have is the fact they have rumble support but 9 quid for a 15 year old game is still too steep. Once the excitement of n64 games being announced kicks in people will realise that they are a bit over priced. I think £5.99 - £6.99 would have been more reasonable.

@CanisWolfred Pretty sure you can just choose the option to pay the balance with a credit card.

@dok5555555

This is what it says on the article I'm reading:

"Posted Thu 2nd Apr 2015 07:45 by Damien McFerran"

I was actually planning on buying an N64 mainly to play DK64 at the end of the month. Glad I can hold off on it until I feel like playing whatever Reggie won't release! Yeah, I'm happy to get N64 games, but I'm not too optimistic about how NoA will do in providing us with more VC games on a regular basis, even across the two added platforms.

Also, I hope Rare can cut Nintendo some slack and let them release Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and Goldeneye, or at the very least, Diddy Kong Racing. Microsoft doesn't deserve ownership of such games, not after what they did with Rare.

Do we really need DS games ported to the Wii U instead of the 3DS? 3DS would make more sense, and would look less awkward, considering, I don't know, it's a DS?

Out of all these games though, I'll probably get DK64, but that's about it.

DK64! c:

Downloaded all four. Already downloaded Super Mario 64 on Wii, Had to get DK64 so the two DS games for half price each seemed fine to me.

DK64... oh man, this is so good.

@allav866
Hahaha, yeah. I've played trhough most Rare games I've wanted, but not having to own another console to replay them is a bonus. Bring them to Wii U.

Mario 64 downloaded, but no widescreen support? I'm disappointed... Need HD remake now more than ever.

@PaperMario64
Super Mario 64 and Yoshi’s Island DS will launch today at $9.99 USD. Nintendo revealed its N64 and DS Virtual Console release schedule for the next few weeks. Check it out below.
April 1
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Yoshi’s Island DS (DS)
April 9
Yoshi’s Touch & Go (DS)
WarioWare Touched (DS)
April 16
Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
April 23
Mario Kart DS (DS)
April 30
Paper Mario (N64)

source: IGN.com
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/01/nintendo-64-and-ds-games-coming-to-wii-u-virtual-console?utm_campaign=fbposts&utm_source=facebook

Who knows, but I feel by the time the Wii U's life ends there will only be about 20 games released. I hope I'm wrong. Think about it, Wii had n64 games since the start and it only reached 21 games.

@liljmoore fully agree.
sigh...if only banjo kazooie had a chance

o well, so happy that every console dk game is playable on wii-u

GASP! anyone think diddy kong racing might come!? the DS version that is
speakin of, I'm really surprised they didn't release mario 64x4, and will we be able to use any sort of DS wifi?

Great news! Went up and downloaded DK64 before I went to work. Bit of a downer I won't be home for easter... Oh well

Oh my god.. And I just I bought last week a used N64 and a DK64 cartridge..

If only I hadn't beaten DK64 recently

I'm happy with N64 titles, really I am!! But....why the oh so sloooooooow pace of NES and SNES title releases. We all want more and they would sell great, so why doesn't Nintendo do it? And where are the Mega Drive / Genesis titles? The VC platform can do so much better if only there would be more titles. 4-5 Titles on a weekly basis, just like in the beginning when the Wii launched in 2006 and throughout 2007.

N64 finally! Woohoo! And Donkey Long 64? Holy cr@p I'm happy 😄

Getting a free VC game was an unexpected surprise. Happy days

@A01 well it may be the case for Europe. But the US has never gotten a DS game for the virtual console! So I'm so happy to finally see it! now I'm just wishing they would update the Wii service. You guys are lucky to have kirbys dream land Wii. I was praying that made it to US

Never got to play Donkey Kong 64, so that just might be my pick!

There seems to be quite a little confusion about the Nintendo/Rare split in here. When they split, Rare kept the rights to Killer Instict, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Blast Corps and Conker. I'm pretty sure Goldeneye belongs to MGM studios so it might be possible for Nintendo to get that but I'm not sure it's worth it to them. That would actually be the most interesting part to the split. Could both Microsoft and Nintendo get that game since Rare made it yet it was released on N64 but the license actually belongs to a movie studio? I don't think Goldeneye would belong to Rare but I could be wrong. Anyways, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have always belong to Nintendo, it doesn't matter if Rare helped develope those games or not, Nintendo can release them if they want.

gasp DK64? I've never played it, and I finally have a chance! Hopefully Pilotwings 64 will come along at some point too.

Japan got New SMB and Big Brain Acadamy for NDS, & DK64.

Also hope Pilotwings 64 makes it, along with Diddy Kong Racing

Springtime in Italy = just moved the WiiU next to my little garden so I can play N64 games on the gamepad while laying on a deckchair under a blooming magnolia.

Mario Kart DS with wifi connection?? will they restore the servers? can we play with DS owners?

@DarkEdi
Just downloaded and played it. No online support. Too bad, though I'd rather play MK8 online anyway...

I'm going to be the 3rd person to say this now but please please release Mario Party 3 on VC soon.
Although one thing did come to mind when I said that, what controllers would be compatible with MP3 VC if it happens. On Wii for Mario Party 2, you could use Gamecube controllers (out of the question) and Classic controllers connected to Wii Motes, if I can use Classic controllers then I'm ok for 4 player but otherwise I'm hoping they don't opt for Wii U Pro Controllers.

@Reverandjames I'm not having that problem, it's offering me £1.79 for the upgrade but I only bought it on Wii Shop 3 days ago (What are the odds!?)

I've got a question about the free game offer, I'm interested in buying all 4 games on Europe's eshop which are SM64, DK64, Warioware and Mario Kart DS but one of them will be an upgrade. Will I still get a free download in that case.
I only ask because there is one scenario where I will have to pay more than the other 3 scenarios, ie. being forced to have SM64 as my free game.

@Flopsy86 Why are GC controllers out of the question? We now have the adapter after all, so I think we might still see support for that.

Yes you can get the free game even after an update of SM64. Just make sure you purchase the update for SM64 first, and then choose one of the 10 EUR games as your free download. Would be too bad if you would buy all three 10 EUR games and then choose the 2 EUR game as your free dl, lol.

I thought dk64 wasn't possible because of jetpac and the rareware coin? Very happy with this news hopefully we get mischief makers before the end of the year.

DK - Donkey Kong. DK - Donkey Kong is here. I mean literally.

@Reverandjames I got it for the discounted price £1.79, I got it from Wiishop back when it released 2006. Sorry for the stupid question, did you do a Wii to Wii U transfer?

@Flopsy86 I got SM64 at discount and got a free game, no issue

dk64 is gonna be fun

It's about time, can't wait to play DK64 and SM64.

Really wish these were out on 3DS too. Virtual Console should always be cross-buy. When the next Nintendo console comes out, I will be a bit ticked off if I'm expected to buy these games AGAIN.
But Mario 64 and DK64 are both very welcome additions.

Now to sit back and wait for my N64 games to arrive and update them from Wii to Wii U! Can't wait for the skow trickle of games!

Can somebody who has already downloaded Mario Kart DS please confirm whether Nintendo has added analogue steering as an option?

Failing that, can NintendoLife please specify this in any review?

If analogue steering is not a new option, then I have no need to download a single player version of a game that I can still play solo and in local multiplayer on my 3DS.

Thanks

Saves won't carry over from Wii. For those hoping for Banjo and Conker can stop as those are Microsoft IPs now.
Only if Nintendo could have Mario Kart DS local multiplayer working that would be nice.

Never mind the Mario 64 widescreen, but DK64 specifically has a widescreen option, but it doesn't seem to do anything. Any help guys?

Donkey Kong 64... ahhh childhood memories!

@CanisWolfred We all know the feel...

Of all the DS and N64 Virtual Console games coming to Wii U, the only 2 I haven't played are Yoshi: Touch & Go and WarioWare: Touched!

@Dauntless wow! I never played that...how was that, in comparison to world rally?

I want Waverace and F-Zero X, too!

Hmm... Where's Sin and Punishment so that I can correct the controls in it!?

Great to see DK 64 but I'm waiting to see if the emulation supports 16:9.

All Rare titles starting with GoldenEye 1997 offered native widescreen support. It shamefully took Nintendo until 2006 before they made the jump. Disgusting isn't it?

I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo cut widescreen from their emulation on purpose. There is no excuse for not even providing custom cropping. I do this on my Android and it works well.

@Moshugan this is why I install forwarders on my vWii. Nintendo force me to because they are fecking useless.

Very good news. Please....please add Excite Bike 64!

Once again Nintendo does it again and not in a good way yes N64 downloads but why for the Wii U and not for the 3ds I want to play these games on my 3ds they have done Mario 64 on the DS and the Zelda games on the 3DS so why not other N64 games come on Nintendo get it right

@ANGRYBALDMAN666 maybe because they'd have to remake them for 3DS? Their not made with HH in mind like DS was...

@AlienX yeah, but it might have been due to lack of power of the Wii, technical difficulties to emulate some games and (most likely) 3rd parties desinterest.

Thank you half the comment section, I forgot...