Wii U Game Boy Advance Virtual Console Titles Announced February 13, 2014

Nintendo’s Virtual Console service is a major component of their newest consoles.  With one of the biggest back catalogs of any game developer, Nintendo has been able to capitalize on rereleasing some of their greatest titles in the past twenty years by offering them for sale through digital download.  I have to admit, the fact that the Nintendo Wii gave me the chance to finally replay games like Super Mario Bros or Starfox 64 was a huge selling point, and that tradition continues with the Wii U and 3DS platforms.

When the Wii U Virtual Console was first announced early last year, Nintendo stated that the Wii U would be able to offer games from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) , Super Nintendo (SNES), and Game Boy Advance (GBA) libraries through the service.  However, up to this point, Nintendo has not offered any Game Boy Advance games through the Wii U’s Virtual Console, and instead have been focusing on rereleasing NES and SNES games.

Today, Nintendo officially announced that starting this April they will be offering GBA exclusive titles on the Wii U Virtual Console.  Two titles that were specifically mentioned were two major platform hits I’ve been wanting to play for quite a long time, Metroid Fusion and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

Nintendo also mentioned that more titles were in development.  Nintendo has not yet announced a specific release date or price point for these games, but we can expect it at a later time.  Currently, Virtual Console titles range between five and ten US dollars.

This is fantastic news, Nintendo, now please begin porting Pokémon Emerald.