The '''Wii Shop Channel''' is the place Nintendo created to buy/download official software from the internet directly to your Wii. You can download lots of different content for your Wii, this includes new channels, [[Virtual Console]] games and Wiiware. The latter two must be purchased by either buying a points card at a retail store, or by entering your credit card into the channel. Some channels are available for free download, such as the [[Check Mii Out Channel]], [[Everybody Votes Channel]], [[Nintendo Channel]], and the [[Internet Channel]].
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The '''Wii Shop Channel''' is the place Nintendo created to buy/download official software from the internet directly to your Wii. You can download lots of different content for your Wii, this includes new channels, [[Virtual Console]] games and Wiiware. The latter two must be purchased by either buying a points card at a retail store, or by entering your credit card into the channel.
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== Channels ==
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The Wii Channels section features additional non-game channels that can be downloaded and used on Wii.
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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.
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== Downloading ==
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During downloads, an 8-bit Mario runs across the screen collecting coins, representing the download's progress. Every 33%, Mario will hit one of the three blocks on the screen. The third and final block is a multi-coin block that Mario will stand under and continue to hit from 99% until the download is complete. Pressing the A button will make Mario shoot fire balls if he is Fire Mario. Sometimes, Luigi appears in place of Mario, or both Mario and Luigi will swim across the screen. There are six different animations, some appearing more often than others.
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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 as a channel. Software can be copied to SD cards or re-downloaded for free. Wii consoles with system software version 4.0 can download software directly to SD cards.