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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Wii U won't play GC games

Cheebee on 14 June 2011

1: Why would it?
2: Who cares.

People who find a lack of b/c with a console from 2 gens ago a problem are just trolling, trying to find ways to make the console look bad. Seriously, get a life.



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theRepublic on 14 June 2011
gumby_trucker said:
theRepublic said:
darkknightkryta said:
theRepublic said:
darkknightkryta said:
The Game Cube disc argument doesn't hold out too much. They're the same discs as the Wii just in mini DVD size. I don't see how they can't be read by the drive unless they made it impossible to hold those discs in, which is just stupid if that's the case.

Did you not read Mr Kahn's comment above?  The Wii U has a slot loading drive like the Wii.  To be able to accept discs of both sizes requires a special drive that is more expensive than a standard slot loading drive.  On top of that, you would need to add all the controller ports and memory card slots to the hardware.  That would just drive up the cost of the console.

What would be the point?  Nintendo is just looking at diminishing returns here.  I'm sure a lot of people used their Wii to play GC games, but I bet that the frequency has diminished as the generation has gone on.  The Wii U will be able to play Wii games, and that is going to be good enough for the vast majority of people.  Fewer and fewer people are going to want to be able to play games that are two generations old.  Those people can hold on to their Wii or GC, or eventually buy virtual copies.

I don't see why the Wii U controller couldn't be mapped (Unless you can't have more than one Wii U controller as the rumours suggest).  And yes the Wii uses a slot loading drive, the same drive that reads GC games.  I don't see how it would cost much more to modify the slot loader to load mini divds, the lense reads it without a hitch.

Good point with the new controller, although the button configuration is a bit different.  We will have to wait and see on the rumors.  That still leaves out the memory card ports though.

Standard slot loaders are more common.  It is just going to be naturally cheaper.  (Economies of scale)

Why not do what I suggested in my last post?

Having an adapter for the discs, as well as one for the memory card in order to move over your saves to an sd card like this one Nintendo manufactured:

http://cube.ign.com/articles/400/400229p1.html

or better yet just emulate a GC memory card on Wii's internal memory/SD card like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRHJdM8AlhE&feature=related

Why not just go full bore and emulate everything through software like they do with the VC?  This seems like an awful lot of trouble to support what will be an 11 year old console by the time the Wii U comes out.  People that really want to play Gamecube games likely have a Gamecube or a Wii that perform that function already.  Does it suck from a consumers perspective?  Yeah, kind of.  But who really expected a big company like Nintendo to cater to a very small minority of customers for a feature that adds cost but doesn't really add any value for the general consumer.



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MrT-Tar on 15 June 2011
NJ5 said:
MrT-Tar said:
That's got me thinking, why exactly did Nintendo not allow GC game files to be saved to the Wii's internal memory or an SD card? It seems like an obvious thing to do IMO.


Because the Wii implemented GC compatibility by operating in GC mode (underclocked hardware), where the hardware does not know about any of the new features such as internal memory or SD cards.

That would not be the case with the Wii U playing GC or Wii games, if it's true that the Wii U is using a recent GPU design (it wouldn't be able to operate in GC mode by simple underclocking, it would probably have to be emulated).

Thanks, that explains it.

 

Also, what are the other advantages/disadvantages of using BC via emulation rather than underclocked hardware?  




NJ5 on 15 June 2011
MrT-Tar said:
NJ5 said:
MrT-Tar said:
That's got me thinking, why exactly did Nintendo not allow GC game files to be saved to the Wii's internal memory or an SD card? It seems like an obvious thing to do IMO.


Because the Wii implemented GC compatibility by operating in GC mode (underclocked hardware), where the hardware does not know about any of the new features such as internal memory or SD cards.

That would not be the case with the Wii U playing GC or Wii games, if it's true that the Wii U is using a recent GPU design (it wouldn't be able to operate in GC mode by simple underclocking, it would probably have to be emulated).

Thanks, that explains it.

 

Also, what are the other advantages/disadvantages of using BC via emulation rather than underclocked hardware?  


As seen on the Xbox 360 to implement Xbox compatibility or on the Dolphin emulator with Wii/GC games, it allows the games to be rendered at higher resolutions (which is much better than upscaling). On the Wii U it would also allow use of the streaming controller and other things native to the new console.



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gumby_trucker on 15 June 2011
theRepublic said:
gumby_trucker said:

Why not do what I suggested in my last post?

Having an adapter for the discs, as well as one for the memory card in order to move over your saves to an sd card like this one Nintendo manufactured:

http://cube.ign.com/articles/400/400229p1.html

or better yet just emulate a GC memory card on Wii's internal memory/SD card like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRHJdM8AlhE&feature=related

Why not just go full bore and emulate everything through software like they do with the VC?  This seems like an awful lot of trouble to support what will be an 11 year old console by the time the Wii U comes out.  People that really want to play Gamecube games likely have a Gamecube or a Wii that perform that function already.  Does it suck from a consumers perspective?  Yeah, kind of.  But who really expected a big company like Nintendo to cater to a very small minority of customers for a feature that adds cost but doesn't really add any value for the general consumer.

I agree with you completely that it is an over complicated solution. I was thinking about it more in terms of an independent third party solution, or even a 'hack' by the homebrew community, not as something Nintendo would go and do. If they wanted to have GC emulation it would be quite easy for them to just go the software route, since they are already emulating Wii. If they plan to support large downloads and installs on the new system anyway (which I hope they do), then they probably will offer GC games on VC. That would take care of the controller problem as well as the issue of handling game saves since you wouldn't be using your old saves anyway. In that case I sincerely hope that DC games are also offered on Wii U's VC

That being said, I'm not sure I'd be willing to replay all my old games just for the sake of unlocking what I already have so I can continue to enjoy them from that point. This issue can be easily addressed by offering a save with the game completed as part of the game's ROM. For some reason I got the initial impression "won't play GC games" meant not even through emulation, though hopefully this isn't the case. If it is then I stand by my original suggestion for a hack.



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theARTIST0017 on 15 June 2011

Its disappointing indeed



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MrT-Tar on 17 June 2011

actually, I've just been thinking and I might get another GC when the WiiU launches. I've always wanted to play the Baten Kaitos games, but the 2nd one was never localised for Europe. GC Freeloader doesn't work on the Wii, but it does on a GC. If I buy a GC, I can sell my Wii and get to play the 2nd BK game. I'll be hitting two birds with one stone.