Wii U Virtual Console live in US, launches in UK this Saturday

The Wii U Virtual Console launches tomorrow in the UK, while Nintendo of America says the classic games library will be available imminently. While eight classic NES and SNES games will be available on day one in the States, a slightly different mix of seven will be downloadable in the UK: Super Mario World, Excitebike, Mario’s Super Picross, F-Zero, Ice Climber, Donkey Kong Jr. and Punch-Out!!.

NES games will be priced at £3.49 / $4.99 to $5.99 and SNES ones at £5.49 / $7.99 to $8.99. All Wii U Virtual Console titles will support off-TV play on the Wii U GamePad, customisable controls, Miiverse community support and instant saves. Players who have already bought any of the games for Wii can transfer them to Wii U and play them in Wii Mode free of charge. To upgrade them and take advantage of the new Wii U features, titles can be purchased at a discount price of €0.99 / £0.99 / $1 for NES games and €1.49 / £1.49 / $1.50 for SNES ones.

Nintendo says: “Many other gaming classics such as Pac Man, Super Metroid and games from the Mega Man, Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros. series will be available soon, while popular Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 64 games will also be added in the future.”

Wii U Panorama View will also launch in the UK tomorrow and in America shortly. The application lets users control 360-degree video tours of worldwide locations using the GamePad, including London as seen from a double-decker and the streets of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. A free demo will be available to download, with four full video tours priced at €1.99 / £1.79 / $2 each.

Earlier today, Nintendo released a major Wii U system update that reduces loading times and enables automatic downloads, among other features.

UK Virtual Console launch games::

• Super Mario World (Nintendo), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €7.99 (£5.49), this is the US version of the game.
• Ice Climber (Nintendo), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €4.99 (£3.49), this is the US version of the game.
• Mario’s Super Picross (Nintendo), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €7.99 (£5.49), this is the Japanese version of the game.
• Donkey Kong Jr. (Nintendo), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €4.99 (£3.49), this is the US version of the game.
• Excitebike (Nintendo), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €4.99 (£3.49), this is the US version of the game.
• Punch-Out!! (Nintendo), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €4.99 (£3.49), this is the US version of the game.
• F-Zero (Nintendo) Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo eShop from 27/4/13, €7.99 (£5.49), this is the US version of the game.