News - Nintendo announces Famicom 30th Anniversary Trial Campaign for Wii U

The Famicom 30th Anniversary Trial Campaign ties in with the introduction of the Wii U Virtual Console on Nintendo eShop, making a number of Virtual Console games available for a very small price for a limited period of time.

In the run-up to the Famicom's 30th anniversary in July, seven NES and SNES games will be made available for just 30p (€.30, $.30) each, but only for 30 days at a time.

The first game - the NES classic Balloon Fight - is now available to download from Nintendo eShop and will be followed by six other titles in the coming months.

The North American and European lineup includes:

January 23 to February 21: Balloon Fight (NES)
February 20 to March 21: F-Zero (SNES)
March 20 to April 18: Punch-Out!! (NES)
April 17 to May 16: Kirby's Adventure (NES)
May 15 to June 13: Super Metroid (SNES)
June 12 to July 11: Mario & Yoshi (NES)
July 15 to August 13: Donkey Kong (NES)

The Japanese lineup is slightly different, including Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (SNES) in February and Mother 2 (SNES) in March as opposed to F-Zero and Punch-Out!!.

Though the Wii U Virtual Console does not officially launch until after the Wii U's spring system update, the games released before then will remain on Nintendo eShop, though will cost their full price after their 30 days in the Trial Campaign are up.

Anyone who has purchased a Trial Campaign title at the special reduced price will be able to keep the game once it returns to full price - and will not have to pay anything else to keep it.

Grab a classic NES game on Wii U Virtual Console for a very special price!
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the Famicom in Japan (known as the NES in Europe), Nintendo is making one NES or Super NES game available each month from now through to July at the anniversary price of just £0.30. After 30 days the game will revert to its standard price, but don’t worry – if you pick it up for 30p you’ll be able to keep playing it for as long as you like, even after the price changes.
The first game on offer is the NES title Balloon Fight, which may ring a bell for fans of the Balloon Trip Breeze attraction in Nintendo Land. Balloon Fight is available now in Nintendo eShop for Wii U. The other games featured in the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign are:
February: F-Zero (Super NES)
March: Punch-Out!! (NES)
April: Kirby’s Adventure (NES)
May: Super Metroid (Super NES)
June: Mario & Yoshi (NES)
July: Donkey Kong (NES)
Wii U Virtual Console games arrive with new features to further enhance players’ enjoyment. You’ll be able to save a backup of your game progress, play on the Wii U GamePad screen alone, and even access an official community in Miiverse where you can post screenshots of your high scores, ask for help or share strategies with other players around the world.
That’s not all the Wii U Virtual Console news, though. A system update in spring will add more Virtual Console software, including NES and Super NES games, while games for other formats including Game Boy Advance will also become available in the future.
Prices for these enhanced Wii U Virtual Console versions of NES and Super NES titles will be the same as they were on Wii Virtual Console. Players who have purchased the Wii version of a certain NES or Super NES Virtual Console game and transferred it to their Wii U console will be able to buy the enhanced Wii U version of the same game for the reduced price of £0.99 for NES games and £1.49 for Super NES games. Please visit our Support section for more information about Wii to Wii U system transfers.
Wii U Virtual Console was just one of the announcements made in the most recent Nintendo Direct, hosted by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. To watch the complete broadcast, please visit the Nintendo Direct page, and for more information about Wii U, our brand new, high-definition home console, visit the official Wii U website.