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In addition to laying out plans to license its properties to other developers, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also announced during today’s corporate management policy briefing that the company plans to add Nintendo DS games to Wii U’s Virtual Console catalog.
While discussing the company’s strategy to better utilize the Wii U GamePad, Mr. Iwata mentioned that Nintendo had solved the technical challenge of displaying DS titles on the controller, and as a result would be digitally re-releasing the handheld’s games to bolster Wii U’s software lineup:
“The dual-screen Nintendo DS, one of which is a touch screen, has a very strong software lineup, and so we plan to add the Virtual Console titles from Nintendo DS software to the future Virtual Console lineup for Wii U.”
Mr. Iwata did not give a time frame for when DS titles would begin appearing in the Wii U eShop, but considering how characteristically slow Nintendo has been to release Virtual Console games, it’s safe to say it likely won’t be any time soon. After all, it has been over a year since Nintendo announced it would be bringing Game Boy Advance titles to the service as well, but we’ve yet to hear anything on them since.
What do you think of DS titles being added to Wii U’s Virtual Console catalog? Which games are you most excited to see added to the service? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Nintendo
Unfortunately, this announcement made me laugh. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me multiple times, shame on me.
Maybe Nintendo should start following through on their plans rather than continuing to pay lip service every half year or so.
It was way back in 2011 when NOA’s own Amber McCollom stirred up the fanbase with language indicating Gamecube games would be available on WiiU’s virtual console. Here we are in 2014 and we don’t even have any N64 games.
Nintendo themselves mentioned Super Mario Bros. 3 “by the end of the year” back in summer of 2013. This was in a Nintendo Direct aimed at consumers so they didn’t mean the “fiscal year.” Nintendo dropped the ball on this one.
If I really want to play DS games, I’ll play them on either my DS or 3DS. What I would really love is a one-stop shop where I can find an eclectic selection of titles from Nintendo’s awesome back catalog. A virtual library!
Instead, we get bits of news like today’s DS virtual console announcement which will probably never amount to anything, but will instead be looked back on in two years as “what ever happened to that?”
I love what is on the Virtual Console in theory, but it is terribly underutilized. It is currently defined by what it “isn’t” rather than what is “is.”
C’mon Nintendo, step it up. Amaze us with an overwhelming “re-launch” of virtual consoles and bring on the libraries of GBA, Virtual Boy (yes virtual boy!), NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, and DS. Please take my money!