Wii U Mod Allows Gamecube Games to Be Played

[RicoADF]

with Nintendo traditionally offering only a single generation of it, and Microsoft and Sony not offering it at all.

Correction, Sony has until PS4 offered backwards capability for all their consoles (except the later PS3's), PS2/3 both had it where as the 4 doesn't. The 360 also had backwards comparability for the original xbox, so I don't get where their traditionally not offering it at all.

 

[Infernal Lawyer]

I think the smart thing for Nintendo to do would be to reach out and work on creating a version that only works with retail disks. The creators get a legal product they could sell for cash, Nintendo gets a gold star for furthering their reputation as the only current-gen system that's backwards compatible. Win-win.

I don't think that's going to happen; it's far more likely we'll see another round of "updates" that brick the systems of people who tread outside of Nintendo's comfort zones, but I can dream.

Absolutely agreed. Chances are they'll stomp down on it rather than offering to buy it off the modders, which would be a far better idea.

Companies like Nintendo really need to understand a lot of people are perfectly happy to pay then for their older gems rather than hunt for a pre-owned console or get an emulator for their phone. JUST LET US GIVE YOU OUR MONEY FFS AND WE'LL ALL BE HAPPY.

 

[Foolery]

Hey, it's not like they're the only ones. If you homebrew a PS3, you can remote play any game with a Vita, and even play PS2 games without being an older model using a conversion method to make them like a PS2 classic.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Piracy is usually done out of convenience and the willingness to do what companies won't. If Nintendo put Gamecube titles on the Virtual Console, people would be glad to pay for them.

 

[truckspond]

I am surprised that nintendo said that gamecube games working on the WiiU would not happen because sooner or later something like this would come along

CAPTCHA: evil genius

 

[Signa]

Man, if that compatibility list gets any better, I think I'll buy a Wii U for sure. The only reason I have my Wii these days is for Gamecube games in 480p. With a Wii U running my GC library, I could just have that one system for all 3 consoles.

 

[Dragonbums]

Oh sure they could always allow emulation of GC games on the Wii U, but what honest guarantee money return would they get?

I'm fairly certain that a decent amount will actually buy Nintendo's emulation program, but a lot more would rather just get the emulation free online from third party sources and homebrew it on their Wii U.

The potential loss far outweighs the benefit.

 

[Roxas1359]

Oh sure they could always allow emulation of GC games on the Wii U, but what honest guarantee money return would they get?

I'm fairly certain that a decent amount will actually buy Nintendo's emulation program, but a lot more would rather just get the emulation free online from third party sources and homebrew it on their Wii U.

The potential loss far outweighs the benefit.

At this point Nintendo needs to move Wii U units, and the fact that if it were backwards compatible with GameCube games would bolster sales since the GameCube is long since discontinued, and getting the equipment to run it on an HDTV is almost as much as a Wii U itself (GameCube Component cables go from $150-$200 and very little 3rd party ones exist). Nintendo could easily make the emulation possible for them and use it as a selling point. Hell I know at least 7 people who were gonna get a Wii U, but decided against it because of the fact that the Wii U doesn't support GameCube games. Not everyone has the no-how or want to run an emulator, because even if it's free it's illegal to own the ROMs (well ROMs are in a gray area at the moment) and then you have the compatibility issues along with the fact that not all games work on something like the Dolphin Emulator.

Really, just because it exists, doesn't mean Nintendo shouldn't look into GameCube possibilities for the Wii U at all.

 

[Dragonbums]

Oh sure they could always allow emulation of GC games on the Wii U, but what honest guarantee money return would they get?

I'm fairly certain that a decent amount will actually buy Nintendo's emulation program, but a lot more would rather just get the emulation free online from third party sources and homebrew it on their Wii U.

The potential loss far outweighs the benefit.

At this point Nintendo needs to move Wii U units, and the fact that if it were backwards compatible with GameCube games would bolster sales since the GameCube is long since discontinued, and getting the equipment to run it on an HDTV is almost as much as a Wii U itself (GameCube Component cables go from $150-$200 and very little 3rd party ones exist). Nintendo could easily make the emulation possible for them and use it as a selling point. Hell I know at least 7 people who were gonna get a Wii U, but decided against it because of the fact that the Wii U doesn't support GameCube games. Not everyone has the no-how or want to run an emulator, because even if it's free it's illegal to own the ROMs (well ROMs are in a gray area at the moment) and then you have the compatibility issues along with the fact that not all games work on something like the Dolphin Emulator.

Really, just because it exists, doesn't mean Nintendo shouldn't look into GameCube possibilities for the Wii U at all.

I didn't say there shouldn't look into it.

But I can see why Nintendo (and I extend this to Sony and Microsoft as well) wouldn't bother. Maybe I'm just pessimistic. You know 7 people who own a Wii U if they emulate GC games, but I myself know several others that would basically ask themselves why the fuck would they spend $230.00 for a console just to play old games when they could easily do that on their Wii or on their computer where I know there's at least a viable GC emulation software on there. This also won't help the image one bit of the Wii U as basically being a Gamecube #2. And what use are all those extra Wii U's sold if most of them have no care in the world for the actual Wii U games for the most part and literally just use it to play GC games?

 

[Roxas1359]

I didn't say there shouldn't look into it.

But I can see why Nintendo (and I extend this to Sony and Microsoft as well) wouldn't bother. Maybe I'm just pessimistic. You know 7 people who own a Wii U if they emulate GC games, but I myself know several others that would basically ask themselves why the fuck would they spend $230.00 for a console just to play old games when they could easily do that on their Wii or on their computer where I know there's at least a viable GC emulation software on there. This also won't help the image one bit of the Wii U as basically being a Gamecube #2. And what use are all those extra Wii U's sold if most of them have no care in the world for the actual Wii U games for the most part and literally just use it to play GC games?

Like I said, Nintendo at this point just really needs to move more units, and every little bit can help. Just because people in your example would buy the Wii U for GameCube support doesn't mean they won't buy Wii U games as well. Console sales are good sales for Nintendo, especially since they more units push. You're worried about the Wii U being considered a second GameCube, but I hate to tell you this but since DFC Intelligence lowered it's forecast of Wii U lifetime sales to 25 million, and how Wii U sales are slowing again, the Wii U at this point is a second GameCube. When it would come to it though, if that's how you feel about GameCube games, then why should Nintendo release games from the NES, SNES, N64, and GBA (this one is still weird) on the Virtual Console, because if you buy those VC games then aren't you spending $300 to play old games again? Nintendo has the perfect opportunity here, as the Wii U already has Wii backwards compatibility, and if it gets GameCube ones then they could market it as the ultimate Nintendo system, capable of having games from every home console in Nintendo's history. Not to mention the cost would be much less to implement it than Microsoft or Sony because of the fact that Nintendo only slightly modifies the Nintendo Optical Disc and Drive each generation, which is why GameCube games played so well on the Wii, and is why Wii games play so well on the Wii U.

My main point is, if a single hacker can implement full GameCube support on the Wii U, then why couldn't a whole team from the people who made the system not only do that, but also improve on it better than anyone else. I mean, yeah the Dolphin is apparently the most stable of 6th and 7th generation emulation, but it still has games that it can't emulate properly. For example, from what I hear Skies of Arcadia Legends actually screws up in the Dolphin, but I can't fully confirm it since I don't like using emulators.