Nintendo Unveils Wii U Virtual Console, Major Updates and More

Nintendo announced the long-awaited Wii U Virtual Console along with improved performance and new features for the Wii U during a conference on Nintendo Direct.

The gaming marketplace fans grew to love for the Wii console was surprisingly absent from the Wii U but will be making its reappearance this Spring with a host of titles available to purchase from both the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) at launch. Nintendo has confirmed that Game Boy Advanced (GBA) titles will also become available at some point after.

Players worried about not being able to play the Virtual Console titles they have already purchased via Wii’s marketplace are in for some good news as special pricing will be available on titles already purchased in the past. Unfortunately, this also means the titles will not simply be transferable, as some might assume. Nintendo announced previously owned NES titles will be available for $1.00, while SNES titles will be available for $1.50.

Surprisingly, these retro titles have also been confirmed to be compatible with the Wii U’s Gamepad controller, which means players will not be requiring any sort of special controller to enjoy their favorite titles of the past. Certain elements of Nintendo’s Miiverse will also be compatible.

Speaking of Miiverse, the company unveiled their plans to bring it to the mobile gaming market. Initially starting as a browser-based feature, all smartphones will be seeing compatibility with Miiverse. An official application will be released for easier access.

Last, but not least, is two large Wii U console updates that have been confirmed by Nintendo to be arriving in Spring and Summer. These software updates will focus on improving the speed and overall performance of the Wii U dashboard. Nintendo is doing this to help address one of the biggest reported issues with the console, which are long wait times for launching apps and games.

The recent release of their Wii U console has put Nintendo in the spotlight but word of more powerful consoles coming from both Microsoft and Sony later this year means that Nintendo will have to make sure to make a big impression on the gaming community throughout the rest of 2013 and stay on top of the competition or risk being left behind and forgotten.