Virtual Console

From Sega Retro

Virtual Console is the name for the emulation service provided to Wii users. It allows players to purchase and download games by browsing a specialized section of the Wii Shop Channel. This requires the user to connect to the internet, and to also purchase Wii points beforehand to make the purchase. Games downloaded are stored on the 512MB flash memory built into the system. From there games can be transferred to a memory card, but can not be played directly from the memory card. Games on the memory card can be transferred back to the Wii it came from, but not to another system.

While most Virtual Console games are unchanged from their original release, some games, such as The Revenge of Shinobi, have had minor changes to them, while other games, like Dyna Brothers 2, are quite different (in this case, Dyna Brothers 2 Special, which was the Sega Channel version).

Games available come from a variety of systems including: Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES and Nintendo 64, Sega's Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis, NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and TurboGrafx-CD, SNK's Neo Geo AES. It also supports region specific consoles such as Commodore 64 (Europe only) and MSX (Japan only). Some publishers may choose to release region-specific games internationally in the special Import category (for example, the standalone Puyo Puyo Tsu was released overseas this way).

NES and Sega Master System games can play properly with the Wii Remote, but games for other consoles will likely require either a GameCube controller, or the Classic Controller, which is sold separately.

Despite continuous strong sales of the Wii, additions to the Virtual Console service have slowed down considerably since the service was introduced in 2006, partly due to the launch of WiiWare. In South Korea, no Sega games have been released for the service.

Sega Games on the Virtual Console

Arcade

Japan

(As of 21 June 2011)

North America

(As of 24 January 2011)

Europe/Australia

(As of 21 January 2011)

Mega Drive

Japan

(As of 27 October, 2009)

North America

(As of 15 February 2010)

Europe/Australia

(As of 12 February 2010)

Master System

Japan

(As of 19 May 2009)

North America

(As of 1 February 2010)

Europe/Australia

(As of 11 December 2009)

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