Three big releases are set to finally grace the Virtual Console. Nintendo have announced that Super Mario Kart will be available for download this Monday, allowing fans to re-experience the game that started off the series. Nintendo have also stated that Super Smash Bros. and Pilotwings will finally be released sometime this "holiday season." So make sure you've got some money saved up.

Since the day the Wii launched, Nintendo's Virtual Console library of games has offered some of the company's all-time classics in downloadable form. Several of the service's more notable omissions will be addressed this holiday season, as Nintendo told GameSpot a trio of fondly remembered titles will soon arrive on the Wii Shop Channel.

Starting this Monday, the original Super Nintendo version of Super Mario Kart will be available as a Virtual Console title. Originally released in 1992, Super Mario Kart was the first installment in the long-running series, which has recently seen hits in the form of Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. When it launches, Super Mario Kart will sell for 800 Wii points ($8).

Trailing behind Mario Kart sometime this holiday season will be two more series starters. The 1991 SNES launch title Pilotwings may have only spawned a single sequel, but it proved a capable showpiece for the system's "Mode-7" scaling and rotating graphics capabilities.

Also set for launch by year's end is Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. A rare four-player fighting game at the time of its 1999 release, Super Smash Bros. included characters from many of the hardware maker's biggest series, and spawned sequels for the GameCube and Wii.

McClubbin via au.gamespot.com »