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Wii Shop Channel

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Wii Shop Channel
DeveloperNintendo Special Planning & Development
TypeOnline shop
Launch dateNovember 19, 2006;17 years ago(2006-11-19)
DiscontinuedJanuary 30, 2019;5 years ago(2019-01-30)
Platform(s)Nintendo Wii
StatusDiscontinued[1]

TheWii Shop Channelis a discontinueddigital distributionservice for theWiivideo game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (brandedWiiWare), and games from prior generations of video games (marketed with theVirtual Consolebrand).[2]The Wii Shop Channel launched on November 19, 2006, and ceased operations on January 30, 2019.[3]

Succeeded by theNintendo eShop,the Wii Shop Channel was accessible on the original Wii and on theWii Uconsole via Wii Mode, supporting the download of WiiWare titles, as well as legacy Virtual Console titles that are not available via the Nintendo eShop.[4][5]

Itstheme musichas since become a popularinternet meme,[6][7][8]being widely-used in the internet both before and after the discontinuation of the channel’s service.

Wii Points

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Wii Points were the currency used in transactions on the Wii Shop Channel, with an equivalent worth ofUS$0.01per point. Wii Points were purchased by either redeeming Wii Points Cards purchased from retail outlets[9]or directly through the Wii Shop Channel using aMastercardorVisacredit card.[10]In 2008,Club Nintendoin Europe began offering Wii Points in exchange for "stars" received from registering games and consoles on the website. On September 29, 2018,Nintendoannounced that the Wii Points addition would be permanently disabled on March 26, 2018. On March 26, 2018, the functionality to purchase and add Wii Points was permanently removed following a temporary maintenance notice (preventing users from purchasing WiiWare or Virtual Console games). From this date, users were not able to purchase and play additional software, unless if they had enough Wii Points in their account balance already. From this date, already purchased software were still able to be downloaded. And afterwards, any Wii Points remaining in an account's balance were redeemable until January 30, 2019.[11]

Virtual Console

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Main article:Virtual Console
Mario Bros.as a Virtual Console game on the Wii

Virtual Console was a brand that included games from past video game consoles, which ran under emulation. There were over 300 games available in North America[12]and, as of December 31, 2007, over 10 million games have been downloaded worldwide.[13][needs update]All games are exact replicas of the originals with no updated features or graphics, with the exception ofPokémon Snap,which was updated to allow in-game pictures to be posted to the Wii Message Board. New games were added weekly at 9 A.M. Pacific Time every Thursday (previously every Monday) in North America, Tuesdays in Japan and South Korea, and Fridays in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

In Europe and North America, the Virtual Console featured several import titles which were not previously made available in those respective territories, such asMario's Super Picross.These games cost 100–300 more points than the normal price due to their import status and some translation work.[citation needed]

Consoles included both Nintendo systems, such as theNES,SNESandN64,and non-Nintendo systems, such as theSega Genesis,Master System,TurboGrafx-16,MSX,Neo GeoandCommodore 64(Europe and North America only). Each system had a base starting price for games on that system. All titles ranged from 500 to 1200 Wii Points.

If a person using the now defunct Connection Ambassador Programme reached Gold status (Helped 10 people to connect), they would be able to download any Nintendo-published NES game free of charge. Additionally, if they reached Platinum (helped 20 people to connect), they would be able to download any NES, SNES and N64 game in the Virtual console free of charge.[14]

System Starting Cost (Wii Points)
NES/Famicom 500 (600 for Famicom)
Master System 500
Commodore 64(Europe and North America only) 500
Virtual Console Arcade 500
PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 600
MSX(Japan only) 700
TurboGrafx-CD/PC-Engine CD-ROM 800
Genesis/Mega Drive 800 (600 inJapan)
SNES/Super Famicom 800
Neo-Geo AES 900
Nintendo 64 1,000

WiiWare

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Main article:WiiWare

The WiiWare section featured original games specifically designed for Wii. Games were priced between 500 and 1500 points. To decrease the size of the games, instruction manuals were hosted on each game's Wii Shop Channel page. Some titles featured additionaldownloadable content,priced from 100 to 800 points, that could be purchased using Wii Points in game or from the game's page.

The first WiiWare games were made available on March 25, 2008, in Japan,[15]on May 12, 2008, in North America,[16]and on May 20, 2008, in Europe.[17]

Wii Channels

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Main article:Wii Menu

The Wii Channels section featured additional non-game channels that can be downloaded and used on Wii.

Before the WiiConnect24 service was discontinued, there were three free Channels offered worldwide: theEverybody Votes Channel,theCheck Mii Out Channel(Mii Contest Channel in Europe), and theNintendo Channel.An update to the Photo Channel (Photo Channel 1.1) is also available, if not preinstalled. A fourth Channel, theInternet Channel,a web browser based onOpera,was available worldwide originally for 500 Wii Points but was free as of September 1, 2009. Anyone who paid the 500 Wii Points for the Internet Channel has been refunded. There were also two exclusive free Japanese channels: theTelevision Friend Channel,which provides channel listing and recording reminder features, and theDigicam Print Channel,which allows users to order business cards and photo albums using photos stored on SD cards or the Photo Channel. Previously, a preview channel forMetroid Prime 3: Corruptionwas available for free in the fall of 2007 for North America and PAL regions before it was removed from the Wii Shop Channel several months after the game's launch. In North America and Europe, theNetflixchannel was available in the Wii Channels section, along withCrunchyroll.

The Wii Channels section in the Wii Shop Channel was originally under the name of WiiWare in North America and Wii Software in Europe, before moving to its own dedicated space when WiiWare launched. These Wii Channels were unavailable on the Wii U console.

Downloading

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Selecting the gift option forPokémon Snap

Software downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel is saved onto the Wii console's internal memory. After a download is complete, the new software appears on theWii Menuas a channel. Software can be copied to SD cards or re-downloaded for free. Wii consoles withsystem softwareversion 4.0 can download software directly to SD cards.[18]

On December 10, 2007, a gift feature was added to the Wii Shop Channel, allowing users to purchase and send games and channels to others as gifts. The receiving user was given the option to download or reject the gift upon opening the Wii Shop Channel, with a notification being sent out to the sender if it was accepted.[19]If a user already had the game or if the user did not choose to accept the gift within 45 days, then the gift expired and the Wii Points are returned to the sender.[19]The feature wasregion lockedand incompatible with theWii U'sNintendo eShop.

Game updates

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Downloaded games can receive updates from the Wii Shop Channel. This has been done four times so far to updateMilitary Madness,[20]Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars,Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards(in North America and Europe), andMario Kart 64(in Europe and Australia). Several NES and SNES games released before March 30, 2007 have also been given updates in Europe and Australia to fix previous problems with the Wii component cables. These updates are free of charge to those who have downloaded a previous version of the game. Some WiiWare games have also featured free updates for the purposes of fixing bugs. These games includeDr. Mario Online RxandAlien Crush Returns.[citation needed]

Connection Ambassador Promotion

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In 2009, Nintendo of Japan launched a scheme designed to reward users for helping other new users get connected online and to the Wii Shop Channel.[21]

Both the Ambassador and the user who was assisted to get their console online received a reward of 500 Wii Points. If the ambassador assisted 20 people, the ambassador would have accumulated 10,000 Wii Points from the programme while attaining Platinum status and be able to download all NES, SNES and N64 titles from the Virtual Console section of the Wii Shop Channel free of charge. The service was also launched in European counties,[22]New Zealand, and Australia. The scheme had proved hugely popular with many sites appearing online dedicated to helping connect users and share system codes.[23]

The programme ended on November 21, 2012.[14]

Discontinuation

[edit]

On September 29, 2017, Nintendo announced that the Wii Shop Channel would be discontinued on January 30, 2019.[24]

On September 29, 2017, to prepare for the closure, Nintendo announced that the ability to purchase and add Wii Points with a credit card or a Wii Points card would be removed on March 26, 2018. From this date --September 29, 2019-- Wii Shop Channel users were still able to purchase and add Wii Points (with a credit card or Wii Points card) to purchase and play VC games and/or WiiWare until March 26, 2018. (Wii Shop Channel users were still able to continue to purchase and play additional software until March 26, 2018.)

On March 26, 2018, the option to purchase and add Wii Points with a credit card or Wii Points card was permanently removed. As a result, Wii Shop Channel users were no longer able to purchase and play additional software unless they had enough Wii Points in their account balance. Afterwards, the Wii Shop Channel remained functional until January 29, 2019.

Finally on January 30, 2019, Nintendo shut down the Wii Shop Channel and removed all WiiWare, Virtual Console games, and other Wii Channels from sale or initial download. The only exceptions are the save data update channel forThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword,the Wii U Transfer Tool channel (on Wii consoles), and the Wii System Transfer channel (on Wii U consoles).[25]Users can continue re-downloading any games and apps they acquired before the shutdown, and the ability to re-download previously purchased content and/or transfer data from a Wii to a Wii U will continue for the foreseeable future.[24]On the day of the closure, the shop's main UI was updated to show its original layout as it appeared when it was first launched back on November 19, 2006, removing the WiiWare option entirely.

Japanese users were able to transfer or refund any remaining Wii Points after the shutdown date from February 21, 2019 until August 31, 2019. The refunded points could be transferred to a local bank account or received as a refund from a convenience store.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^As of February 1, 2019, users can still continue to re-download previously purchased content and/or transfer Wii data from a Wii to a Wii U via the Wii U Transfer Tool.
  2. ^"Wii Shop Channel".Nintendo of Europe GmbH.RetrievedAugust 21,2021.
  3. ^"Important information about the closure of the Wii Shop Channel".Nintendo of Europe GmbH.RetrievedAugust 21,2021.
  4. ^"Important information about the closure of the Wii Shop Channel".Nintendo.September 29, 2017.
  5. ^Hussain, Tamoor (September 29, 2017)."Wii Shop Channel Is Closing Down".GameSpot.RetrievedJanuary 30,2019.
  6. ^January 2019, Vic Hood 30 (January 30, 2019)."Wii Shop Channel shuts down after 12 years".TechRadar.RetrievedMay 4,2020.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^Pearson, Jordan (September 29, 2017)."Nintendo's Iconic Wii Shop Music Is Going Offline".Vice.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  8. ^Frank, Allegra (April 26, 2017)."Games make for some of hip-hop's freshest samples".Polygon.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  9. ^"Wii Shop Channel: Reedeming Wii Points Cards".Nintendo of Europe GmbH.RetrievedMarch 27,2018.
  10. ^"Wii Shop Channel: Purchasing Wii Points".Nintendo of Europe GmbH.RetrievedMarch 27,2018.
  11. ^"Wii Shop Channel Service Change - Nintendo Official Site".Nintendo.com.RetrievedMarch 27,2018.
  12. ^"Wii-kly Update (September 1, 2008)".September 1, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon September 3, 2008.
  13. ^Yohei Ogawa; Randolph Ramsay; Tor Thorsen (February 5, 2008)."Q&A: Nintendo's Satoru Iwata".GameSpot.RetrievedFebruary 6,2008.
  14. ^ab"Connection Ambassador Promotion".Nintendo of Europe GmbH.RetrievedMarch 27,2018.
  15. ^Emma Boyes (March 11, 2008)."WiiWare launching in Japan March 25".GameSpot.
  16. ^Adegoke, Yinka (February 20, 2008)."UPDATE 1-Nintendo rolls out Wii fitness game product".Reuters.RetrievedFebruary 21,2008.
  17. ^Nintendo of Europe (April 24, 2008)."Nintendo announces Q2 release schedule".RetrievedApril 24,2008.
  18. ^David Hinkle (October 2, 2009)."Nintendo's storage solution: Load items direct from the SD slot".Nintendo Wii Fanboy.Archivedfrom the original on October 3, 2008.RetrievedOctober 11,2008.
  19. ^abWii Official Site - Built-in Entertainment.Nintendo.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.
  20. ^"Virtual Consolation Prize: Military Madness Fixed".wired.com. February 11, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 12,2007.
  21. ^Fletcher, JC (September 1, 2009)."Wii Internet Channel now free, with updated Flash [update]".Joystiq.Archived fromthe originalon September 2, 2009.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
  22. ^"Nintendo unveils exclusive announcements at WiiWare and Nintendo DSiWare media summit".September 16, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon December 21, 2023.RetrievedDecember 21,2023.
  23. ^"Wii.cooltre.com - Connection Ambassador link Exchange".Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2010.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
  24. ^ab"Important information about the closure of the Wii Shop Channel".Nintendo UK & Ireland.September 29, 2017.RetrievedNovember 26,2021.
  25. ^"Reminder: Wii Shop closes January 30, 2019 - Nintendo Official Site".www.nintendo.com.RetrievedMay 4,2020.
  26. ^Iggy (August 9, 2018)."Japan: Wii Shop Balance Refunds Start In Late February 2019".NintendoSoup.RetrievedJanuary 31,2019.
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