The Wii Shop Channel is a former digital distribution service for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

), and games from prior generations of video games (marketed with the

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...

brand). The Wii Shop Channel launched on November 19, 2006, and ceased service operations worldwide on January 30, 2019. As of February 1, 2019, all previously purchased content can still be re-downloaded indefinitely or Wii data can be transferred from a Wii to a

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. ...

(via the Wii U Transfer Tool). Succeeded by the

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was e ...

, the Wii Shop Channel was accessible on the original Wii and on the

console via Wii Mode, supporting the download of WiiWare titles, as well as legacy Virtual Console titles that are yet to be available via the Nintendo eShop.

Wii Points

Wii Points were the currency used in transactions on the Wii Shop Channel. Wii Points were obtained by either redeeming Wii Points Cards purchased from retail outlets (100-2,000 in the USA; 1,000-3,000 in Japan) or directly through the Wii Shop Channel using a Mastercard or Visa credit card (1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, or 5,000 Wii Points depending with the number of dollars). In 2008,

Club Nintendo Club Nintendo was a customer loyalty program provided by Nintendo. The loyalty program was free to join and provided rewards in exchange for consumer feedback and loyalty to purchasing official Nintendo products. Members of Club Nintendo earned ...

in Europe began offering Wii Points in exchange for "stars" received from registering games and consoles on the website. To purchase and play Virtual Console games, Wii Shop Channel users would have to fund their account with Wii Points. On March 26, 2018, the ability to add Wii Points (with either a credit card or Wii Points card) worldwide was permanently removed following a temporary maintenance notice. This prevented users to purchase and play WiiWare and/or Virtual Console games unless if they had enough Wii Points in their account balance already. Already purchased software could still be downloaded (purchased and played), and any existing Wii Point credit were redeemable until January 30, 2019.

Virtual Console

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 and, as of December 31, 2007, over 10 million games have been downloaded worldwide. All games are exact replicas of the originals with no updated features or graphics, with the exception of ''

Pokémon Snap is a 1999 first-person photography game with rail shooter style gameplay mechanics developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was first released in Japan in March 1999 and was later released in July 1999 i ...

'', 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 as '' Mario's Super Picross''. These games cost 100-300 more points than the normal price due to their import status and some translation work. Consoles included both Nintendo systems, such as the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

and

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

, and non-Nintendo systems, such as the

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thou ...

, MSX,

Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness W ...

(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.

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 additional

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...

, 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, on May 12, 2008 in North America, and on May 20, 2008 in Europe.

Wii Channels

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: the

Everybody Votes Channel The Everybody Votes Channel was a Wii Menu channel that allowed users to vote in simple opinion polls and compare and contrast opinions with those of friends, family and voters around the globe. The Everybody Votes Channel was available on Februa ...

, the

Check Mii Out Channel The Check Mii Out Channel, known as the in Europe, Oceania and Japan and Canal Miirame in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, was a channel for the Nintendo Wii that allowed players to share their digital avatars, called Miis, and ent ...

(Mii Contest Channel in Europe), and the

Nintendo Channel The Wii Menu is the graphical shell of the Wii and Wii U game console, as part of the Wii system software. It has four pages, each with a 4:3 grid, and each displaying the current time and date. Available applications, known as "channels", a ...

. An update to the Photo Channel (Photo Channel 1.1) is also available, if not preinstalled. A fourth Channel, the

Internet Channel The Wii Menu is the graphical shell of the Wii and Wii U game console, as part of the Wii system software. It has four pages, each with a 4:3 grid, and each displaying the current time and date. Available applications, known as "channels", are ...

, a web browser based on

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, 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: the Television Friend Channel, which provides channel listing and recording reminder features, and the

Digicam Print Channel The Wii Menu is the graphical shell of the Wii and Wii U game console, as part of the Wii system software. It has four pages, each with a 4:3 grid, and each displaying the current time and date. Available applications, known as "channels", are ...

, which allows users to order business cards and photo albums using photos stored on SD cards or the Photo Channel. Previously, a preview channel for '' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'' was 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, the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

channel was available in the Wii Channels section, along with

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and t ...

. 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

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 the

Wii Menu The Wii Menu is the graphical shell of the Wii and Wii U game console, as part of the Wii system software. It has four pages, each with a 4:3 grid, and each displaying the current time and date. Available applications, known as "channels", are ...

as a channel. Software can be copied to SD cards or re-downloaded for free. Wii consoles with

system software System software is software designed to provide a platform for other software. Examples of system software include operating systems (OS) like macOS, Linux, Android and Microsoft Windows, computational science software, game engines, search engin ...

version 4.0 can download software directly to SD cards. 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 send if it was accepted.Wii Official Site - Built-in Entertainment
Nintendo.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-23. 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. The feature was region locked and incompatible with the

Game updates

Downloaded games can receive updates from the Wii Shop Channel. This has been done four times so far to update ''

Military Madness ''Military Madness'' is a 1989 turn-based strategy video game originally developed and published by Hudson Soft in Japan and NEC in North America for the TurboGrafx-16. It is the first entry in the '' Nectaris'' series. Set in the year 2089, pla ...

'', ''Star Fox 64''/''Lylat Wars'', '' Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'' (in North America and Europe), and ''

Mario Kart 64 is a kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was also released for the iQue Player in China in 2003. The game is the second main entry in the ''Mario Kart'' series and is the successor to ''Super Mari ...

'' (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 include ''

Dr. Mario Online Rx ''Dr. Mario Online Rx'', stylized as ' and released in PAL regions as ''Dr. Mario & Germ Buster'', is a puzzle video game starring Dr. Mario. It was one of the WiiWare launch games in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and was released on March 25, ...

'' and ''

Alien Crush Returns ''Alien Crush Returns'' is a WiiWare pinball video game developed by Tamsoft and published by Hudson Soft. It is a sequel/remake to 1988's ''Alien Crush'', and is the fourth installment in the ''Crush Pinball'' series. It was released in Japan on ...

''.

Connection Ambassador Promotion

In 2009, Nintendo of Europe announced the "Connection Ambassador Promotion",
NoE Connection Ambassador Announcement.
NoE Connection Ambassador Guide. a scheme designed to reward users for helping other new users get connected online and to the Wii Shop Channel. Both users (The Ambassador and the person who was helped) received a reward of 500 Wii Points each time the ambassador helped someone get online. 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 also launched in New Zealand and Australia. Since the service launched in 2009 the scheme had proved hugely popular with many sites appearing online dedicated to helping connect users and share system codes.
wii.cooltre.com, Connection Ambassador link Exchange This service remained exclusive for PAL version Wii consoles. The programme ended on November 21, 2012.

Discontinuation

On September 29, 2017, Nintendo announced that the Wii Shop Channel would be closed on January 30, 2019 (limiting usage of the service to redownload previously purchased content only and that the service would become entirely inaccessible at an unspecified date that year). To prepare for the closure, it was announced that the ability to add Wii Points with a credit card or a Wii Points card (to purchase and play VC games and/or WiiWare) on Wii Shop Channel would be removed on March 26, 2018. Then from that date, Wii Shop Channel users could still continue adding Wii Points --to purchase and play VC games-- until March 26, 2018 (until 1 P.M Pacific Time Zone, PST on March 26, 2018). On March 26, 2018, the Wii Shop Channel was updated to remove the ability to add Wii Points (with a credit card or a Wii Points card) to purchase and play VC games and/or WiiWare in preparation for its shutdown in the following year. This was at 1 PM for Pacific Time Zone, PST. Beginning on that date, Wii Shop Channel users were no longer able to purchase Wii Points and add them to accounts so they could purchase and play VC games and/or WiiWare. This prevented them to add Wii Points (and purchase and play VC games and/or WiiWare) unless they had enough Wii Points in their account balance. Afterwards, the Wii Shop Channel remained online until January 29, 2019. Finally on January 30, 2019, Nintendo --at 6 am Pacific Time Zone, PST-- shut down the Wii Shop Channel (after 12 years of being around on

systems --since its launch along with the release of

). They removed all WiiWare, Virtual Console games, and other Wii Channels from sale and/or initial download. The only exceptions are the save data update channel for '' The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword'', the Wii U Transfer Tool channel (on Wii consoles), and the Wii System Transfer channel (from the Wii U's Wii Mode on Wii U consoles). It is now impossible to purchase and play new content as of Feb. 1, 2019. However, users can still continue re-downloading previously purchased content they have acquired --prior to the shutdown date-- and/or transfer Wii data from a Wii to a Wii U via the Wii U Transfer Tool (if purchased from the Wii Shop Channel). The ability to re-download previously purchased content and/or transfer Wii data from a Wii to a Wii U is going to continue until an unknown date. On the day of the closure, the shop's main UI has been updated to show its original 2006 layout as it appeared when the channel 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.

In popular culture

Throughout the channel’s lifetime, its

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

has become popular and well-received on the internet and has also been used in

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

s, even well after the channel shut down its service in 2019.

References

{{Software digital distribution platforms Delisted digital-only games Online-only retailers of video games Wii Retail companies established in 2006 Internet properties established in 2006 Products and services discontinued in 2019 Retail companies disestablished in 2019 Internet properties disestablished in 2019 Video games scored by Kazumi Totaka es:Wii Channels#Wii Shop Channel sv:Wii Channels#Wii Shop Channel ts:Wii Channels#Wii Shop Channel