Hey all!

I'm new to these forums and I'm sorry if this has been asked before. I did have a quick search but couldn't find what I was looking for.

Anyway...

I've had a Wii for a while now, and I'm looking to get it online. I know how to do this but I was wondering if someone can give me the lowdown on this "Virtual Console" malarky. Basically, what is it? Does it cost? How do I access it? Is it worth it? I really don't have a clue.

Any help anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Hello.

To access the VC games, head to the Wii Shop (provided that you've already established your internet connection with your Wii already). You should be able to follow the instructions after that.

Virtual Console are comprised of old school games (N64 and back). Games for these consoles get released every Friday for Europe, and Monday for the US. There are some great games to check out (Zelda: Link to the Past from the SNES, Super Mario Bros 1-3 from the NES, Sonic 1-3 for the Genesis, etc...you get the idea).

For a complete list for all the current games for the VC, check out:

http://vc-reviews.com.

Also, the price for each game varies (Most NES games are 500 points, SNES/Genesis 800 points, N64 1000 points). To get points, you either can:

1). Buy a points card at most video game stores (gamestop, etc.) or,
2). Buy points online with a credit card.

Either way, you still pay the same amount for a game (you pay 5$ USD, you get 500 points, etc...)

It's not a complicated system, just wish they had more games that we all want. Hope this helps!

It's a service to download games from the internet for old systems. It does cost money.

Once you get your Wii online perform a system update and you will have a Shop Channel. The shop channel will connect to the internet and list systems, and soon WiiWare games which will be new games available for download.

You can purchase point cards at stores, or buy points over your Wii with a credit or debit card. The points run 100 points for $1, and sell in 1000 increments using CC/Debit, or 2000 point cards at stores. So $10 and $20.

The systems vary costs. NES and Sega Master System games generally cost 500 points ($5), but sometimes an extra 100 points is added if they are imported games previously only available in other countries. TurboGrafx games usually cost 600, SNES/Genesis games cost 800, 900 for Neo-Geo games and 1000 for Nintendo 64 games. Commodore 64 games are out in Europe and coming to the Americas eventually. I believe they will be 400 or 500 points. WiiWare games will vary from 500-1500, and some of them will use a Pay-for-Play feature that costs more points, which not much information has been released on costs that I have heard of.

The games are saved to the empty blocks on your main Wii menus and can be ran from there. Most of them, except 64 games save themselves so you start the game back where you left off which is a great feature.

Games are added for North America every Monday at Noon EST. Not sure about other regions. Hope this helps.

ah, everything is much clearer now!

Thank you both for your help!

And the #1 thing many people don't know: you can delete and redownload the games for free (to the same Wii you bought them on). So if you buy lots of VC games and run out of room on your Wii, you do not have to back the games up to SD cards. Just delete the games you aren't playing much and if you want to play them again in the future, download them again for free.

Also, you'll need the Wii "Classic Controller" peripheral to play many of the VC games. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Console#Control