Wii U Does Not Play GameCube Games

 One of the worst imaginable things a company ever did this generation was Sony removing BC for PS3. It was mean, it was greedy, it was stupid, and it was unfair, especially since it launched with BC already.  Seeing another company do that is nothing to be happy about, and much less defend it.

For people who have a Wii, then they can already play their Gamecube games on that so they have no reason to bitch.

@Willy105 said: 

 One of the worst imaginable things a company ever did this generation was Sony removing BC for PS3. It was mean, it was greedy, it was stupid, and it was unfair, especially since it launched with BC already.  Seeing another company do that is nothing to be happy about, and much less defend it.

That wasn't greed, but simply a necessarily to get the price down. Lets not forget that the PS3 lauched at something like $500 or so and then quickly went down to $300 after they have thrown the BC, the memory card slots, USB slots, etc. They simply cut corners. Also PS3 is still fully PS1 compatible, even so you can actually buy PS1 titles in the shop. Unlike PS2 titles which you can't buy in the shop as they wouldn't run as plain ROM dumps, but have to be ported to the PS3 manually (and only very few titles ever got that treatment).

@Willy105 said: 

 One of the worst imaginable things a company ever did this generation was Sony removing BC for PS3. It was mean, it was greedy, it was stupid, and it was unfair, especially since it launched with BC already.  Seeing another company do that is nothing to be happy about, and much less defend it.

That wasn't greed, but simply a necessarily to get the price down. Lets not forget that the PS3 lauched at something like $500 or so and then quickly went down to $300 after they have thrown the BC, the memory card slots, USB slots, etc. They simply cut corners. Also PS3 is still fully PS1 compatible, even so you can actually buy PS1 titles in the shop. Unlike PS2 titles which you can't buy in the shop as they wouldn't run as plain ROM dumps, but have to be ported to the PS3 manually (and only very few titles ever got that treatment).

Nice thing about the Gamecube is that it's pretty small and easy to move around and hook up, and they seem to have no problem lasting forever, so this is not a huge deal IMO.

Plus, the Wii plays GC games, and I'm sure I'll hold onto that as well even after the Wii U is out.

Fortunately my Wii is sitting right next to my Gamecube... figure I'll just stack the Wii U on top the Wii and not worry too much about it. Though, shit, it sucks when the first two eventually conk out, oh well, by then Virtual Console will have Gamecube games.

Fair enough but it means I'll need to keep my Wii and my WiiU plugged in. Play wii games on my WiiU and Gamecube games on my Wii. 
Would've been cool to keep GC games compatible but would've been asking a bit much.

Well I am already happy that my Wii plays GC games, but it would have been really nice to play GC games on the Wiiu, but by that point I am feeling like my GC gameplay days are going to significantly drop off. Even today I can't believe I am still playing GC games such as Luigi's Mansion and Crazy taxi.

yo, this is bullshit. How the fuck am I gonna play super smash bro's melee (the best smash bros)

fail. 
 
then again, my gamecube still gets some use.

@Grumbel said:

@DeeGee said:

For people who have a Wii, then they can already play their Gamecube games on that so they have no reason to bitch.

That is a bullshit argument. The reason people want backward compatibility isn't because they Gamecube magically vanishes when WiiU archives, but because it is a hell of a lot more comfortable to have one console connected to your TV then three. The new controllers often are also better and with the PS3 for example you have virtual memory cards, so you no longer need to buy those overpriced outdated things. You of course also get better picture quality via HDMI, that you never got with the original hardware and old hardware doesn't last forever. I still have all my NES, SNES, N64, etc. around, but I don't expect to use them again anytime soon, thanks to "backward compatibility" that my PC provides (aka emulators).

Well congrats on illegally downloading roms I guess? But this whole idea of 'comfort' blows my mind. I don't think you know what that word means, since it doesn't make sense here. How can having two consoles next to your TV be uncomfortable? Does it make you itch or something?

My TV has my 360 and my Wii next to it. I have no problem with this. Hell, there's space for a PS3 if I ever decide to get one. You must be obsessive compulsive I guess.

@Grumbel said:

@Willy105 said:

One of the worst imaginable things a company ever did this generation was Sony removing BC for PS3. It was mean, it was greedy, it was stupid, and it was unfair, especially since it launched with BC already. Seeing another company do that is nothing to be happy about, and much less defend it.

That wasn't greed, but simply a necessarily to get the price down. Lets not forget that the PS3 lauched at something like $500 or so and then quickly went down to $300 after they have thrown the BC, the memory card slots, USB slots, etc. They simply cut corners. Also PS3 is still fully PS1 compatible, even so you can actually buy PS1 titles in the shop. Unlike PS2 titles which you can't buy in the shop as they wouldn't run as plain ROM dumps, but have to be ported to the PS3 manually (and only very few titles ever got that treatment).

The weird thing to me is that the PS3 should be powerful enough to emulate PS2 games even without the PS2 hardware inside. PC's have been capable of running PS2 games through emulation for years. Most games don't work very well, and most get terrible framerates, but those emulators are reverse engineered, SCE with access to the exact design specifications of the PS2 should be able to emulate the PS2 much more effectively.

@TehFlan said:

I'm surprised anyone expected them to put GC controller ports or memory card slots on the thing. That wouldn't make sense.

Why would you need GC ports and memory card slots? My PS3 can play PS1 games just fine without any of that, thanks to virtual memory cards stored on the HDD and compatibility between the controllers.

That's the exact reason why we needed Nintendo to release one of these:
 

@fisk0: But then people might not buy the HD re releases!!!

It is business

@DG991 said:

@fisk0: But then people might not buy the HD re releases!!!

It is business

Yeah, there are lots of reasons for not to do it, I'm just wondering if the fact that they removed the PS2 hardware from the PS3 is the thing that really makes it impossible.

They could make it something of an subscription service that only PS+ users get access to, requiring PSN authentication and the latest firmware, giving people an incitement not to use custom firmware and to sign up for PlayStation Plus, in exchange for regular updates for the emulator to increase compatibility with more titles.

awww darn because there was just an avalanche of GC games I've been meaning to catch up on......

This isn't really a shocker, is it?

Fuck, man. :(

It's fine for me because all of my systems work and are hooked up.

Damn, I guess I'm keeping my Wii since I still actively play Gamecube games on my Wii.

Finally! A reason to still have my Gamecube.

Another negative thing :(

As there's a few cube games I want to play now that I have the Wii, this will definitely not make me want the Wii U on it's own. Considering how stupid easy the tech is in the Gamecube, it'd be easy to put in but figuring that they want to have the controller/memory (original stuff) plugged in instead of just doing it all digitally.

Is anyone really still playing GameCube games? C'mon.

My TV has my 360 and my Wii next to it. I have no problem with this.

I always wondered if it was actually cutting corners, or just a clever marketing strategy.  

 The PS1 games they release on the store now will also have a larger audience, rather than people buying $1/2 PS1 games off Ebay to play on a BC console (or play from your PS1 library) - Sony wants you to repurchase from them.

Is anyone really still playing GameCube games? C'mon.

Is anyone really still playing GameCube games? C'mon.

I always want to play some Super Mario Sunshine

Hopefully you'll still be able to use Gamecube controllers with the games that support them. I have a hell of a time playing Smash Brothers with anything else.

The weird thing to me is that the PS3 should be powerful enough to emulate PS2 games even without the PS2 hardware inside.

 PC's have been capable of running PS2 games through emulation for years. Most games don't work very well, and most get terrible framerates, but those emulators are reverse engineered, SCE with access to the exact design specifications of the PS2 should be able to emulate the PS2 much more effectively.

Hopefully you'll still be able to use Gamecube controllers with the games that support them. I have a hell of a time playing Smash Brothers with anything else.

this all but guarantees Resident Evil 4: Wii U

@Grumbel said:

@fisk0 said:

The weird thing to me is that the PS3 should be powerful enough to emulate PS2 games even without the PS2 hardware inside.

There are two problems, first one is that the PS3 isn't very powerful, it is actually quite weak as far as general purpose computing power goes. What makes the PS3 powerful are the SPUs, but those aren't general purpose processors and thus likely not of very much use for emulators. The second problem is that the PS2 has an equally weird architecture and emulating its vector processor with a general purpose one isn't very fast either.

Could you in theory maybe somehow get it emulator to native PS2 speeds (via dynamic recompilation or whatever)? No idea, but it is certainly not an easy task.

PC's have been capable of running PS2 games through emulation for years. Most games don't work very well, and most get terrible framerates, but those emulators are reverse engineered, SCE with access to the exact design specifications of the PS2 should be able to emulate the PS2 much more effectively.

When the emulator is good enough to actually run a game at all, you should no longer need official specs to optimize it. They wouldn't hurt either, but it goes to show that doing an PS2 emulator that actually performs as good as a real PS2 isn't that easy. Also keep in mind that a emulator that runs some things barely wouldn't be good enough for PS3 backward compatibility, you would need one that runs almost anything as good or better then a real PS2.

That was a great, somewhat in depth reply, I guess you could be right. Thanks.

Kind of wondering what the early EU PS3:s that were using software emulation due to the exclusion of the Emotion Engine played like though.

For hardware profit conscious company like Nintendo, it probably was borne out of cost profit analysis, where adoption of the new console due to a specific feature is weighed against the potential revenue generated by making older games available through other means, such as their eShop. 

Well I don't expect a new Nintendo console to be backwards compatible with all past Nintendo consoles.

I still enjoy the 'cube, occasionally, with Zelda, Melee, and Soul Calibur II. Was Hoping that Wii U could play Gamecube so I could upgrade and have some stuff to play on it but I guess i'll keep it right where it is.

Well I don't expect a new Nintendo console to be backwards compatible with all past Nintendo consoles.

@Grumbel said:

@Forum_User said:

Where did this expectation of being backwards compatible two generations come from? 

Playstation3 can play Playstation1 games just fine. Also Wii and Gamecube are essentially the same hardware, just one is faster clocked then the other, so whatever can run Wii games should be able to run Gamecube games with very little extra effort. Essentially, since PC emulators can do it, there really isn't a good excuse for WiiU not being able to do it, as it either means Nintendo is just lazy or the hardware is quite a bit less powerful then hoped.

 its a greed thing, no question. No one sells you what you already paid for like Nintendo. I played halfway through Pokemon White before i realized it was for the most part no different from Pearl.    the plan it to slightly improve (graphically) dozens of GC games, then sell them to you as digital downloads. Nintendo probably calls it free money.

Looks like I might be ditching the Wii and keeping the Gamecube.

So where's the part where Nintendo makes people sell their old systems even though it's established that the new ones will not play those games?

Considering that I solely use my Wii as a Gamecube, that means I won't be picking this up ("upgrading to WiiU").

I'm pretty sure that this shouldn't sway anyone away from the system. The Gamecube is a 10 year old system. If you really wanted to play GC games on it then find a used one for very, very cheap.

Well, adding GameCube would just make people buy less games for the system if they buy and have tons of old games for the hooked up new system. I know I would.l at least.

So where's the part where Nintendo makes people sell their old systems even though it's established that the new ones will not play those games?   Or are we talking about people who never had the old system, in which case this argument makes no sense?  If people are going to buy games they already have just because they're too lazy to connect another piece of hardware or something, it's pretty funny to put all of the blame on Nintendo for cutting costs.

@Sevan said:

its a greed thing, no question. No one sells you what you already paid for like Nintendo. I played halfway through Pokemon White before i realized it was for the most part no different from Pearl. the plan it to slightly improve (graphically) dozens of GC games, then sell them to you as digital downloads. Nintendo probably calls it free money.

Great little conspiracy theory there. What you call greed is what I call common sense. For people who don't have a Wii, they get the option to buy loads of new updated Gamecube games that they've never played. For people who have a Wii, then they can already play their Gamecube games on that so they have no reason to bitch.

I mean, I doubt they'll even sell Gamecube games at all digitally, but even in the off chance they did, it's nothing but a good thing. Who are these idiots who will buy a new copy of a game they already own?

..meh. they will be added to eShop eventually for digital download.