Nintendo's digital initiative on the original Wii was lackluster at best when compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3. Unfortunately, things aren't better by a wide margin when it comes to the Wii U.
Presently, you can access the Virtual Console on your Wii U Gamepad, but that's if you transfer over all your files and you're willing to sift through countless menus, However, accessing the Virtual Console means squat now since you can't actually play Virtual Console games on the Wii U Gamepad just yet. But according to a Nintendo of America representative, that's all about to change and the Wii U will even get its own version of the Virtual Console, too. — at least, eventually.
Here's the rep's statement released to Kotaku:
We do not have any specifics to share at this time…However, we are moving ahead with development of Virtual Console for Wii U, and we plan to make it so you can play it on the Wii U GamePad alone.
Now, before you get too excited with this news, bear in mind that there are still a ton of details we don't know about it. For one thing we don't even know when this will actually be implemented, and we do not have a clue what games will be available on it or what platforms it will support.
All we have now is Nintendo's statement that they are moving ahead with development of the VC for the Wii U. And given Nintendo's track record in the digital space, that's not really an assurance but much less than a plan. Who knows, though? Maybe this implementation will happen in the next few months and the Wii U's VC will match that of the 3DS and original Wii, which sees a release almost every week.
One of the Wii U's strengths is letting users play games on the Gamepad instead of on the TV. Hopefully, their plan of bringing the VC to the Wii U will happen sooner rather than later, as I think it's safe to assume Wii U owners are looking forward to it, and a nice back catalog of games should help with the console's dearth of titles at the moment.
For Wii U owners, are you excited that you'll eventually be able to play VC games on the Gamepad alone or are you more concerned with the Wii U's games release schedule?
