Wii U doesn't play GameCube games [Joystiq]

[DP ServBot]

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Terrible news for fans of Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis who thought the Xbox version was missing a certain something. A Nintendo spokesperson recently told Giant Bomb that the company's upcoming Wii U console won't be able to play GameCube discs like its predecessor.

It's kind of a disappointment. GameCube support on the Wii was like a charming, nursing-home-bound grandma. No, we never really visited her, but we liked knowing she was alive.

Basically what we're saying is that Nintendo killed your grandma.http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.joystiq.com)Wii U doesn't play GameCube games (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/wii-u-doesnt-play-gamecube-games/) originally appeared on Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com) on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).




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[HappehLemons]

I always used the BC on the Wii to play Gamecube games. I actually used my Wii for Gamecube games more then I did for Wii games. It supported component cables, and a lot of games looks fantastic with progressive scan :)

[Swamperon]

I'm still not totally sold on that design... I expected a bit more than a Wii with rounded corners. Still, there's time for it to change.

It's a shame about the lack of GC BC but not a huge issue, beyond some dedicated Nintendo fans and us collectors no one is going to be affected. I'd be amazed if GC games are not added to the VC.

If only all Wii saves were transferable then I could box up my Wii and get out my GC.

[Kitsune Sniper]

... But it'll still have backwards compatibility with the Wii, right?

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

If it were BC with the Gamecube, it would add to the cost. Actually, I'd prefer it not to be BC with the Wii. Everyone already has a Wii.

[Icarus Moonsight]

... But it'll still have backwards compatibility with the Wii, right?

Software and controllers - All.

Was there ever a system that fully supported BC back 2 cycles (say PS3 and I'll bite you through the internet! I swear!)? Would have been groundbreaking, but probably not worth the effort or expense at all.

[kupomogli]

Software and controllers - All.

Was there ever a system that fully supported BC back 2 cycles

Aside from the PS3, yes. Two.

The Sega Genesis, although you had to buy the two separate additions for it to play the other consoles.

The GBA and GBA Player. GBA, GBC, and GB.

I guess I'm not too upset with no Gamecube bc as I only own 12 games for the system. Except all 12 are some of the best games, if not the best games, on the system.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Some of the better Gamecube games got rereleased for the Wii anyway.

But it still sucks for those gems that didn't. Ah well. :(

[buzz_n64]

The Sega Genesis, although you had to buy the two separate additions for it to play the other consoles.

There are three separate additions I can think of. The power base converter to play Master System games, the Sega CD to play Sega CD games, and the 32X.

[MrNelson]

I've still got my Cube, so the lack of support doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that I'll have to get used to a new controller for the next Smash Bros. Hopefully Nintendo will release some kind of Classic Controller modeled after the Gamecube one.

It's a longshot, but a man can dream :D

[Kitsune Sniper]

There are three separate additions I can think of. The power base converter to play Master System games, the Sega CD to play Sega CD games, and the 32X.

... But the Sega CD and 32X were -forward- compatibility add-ons. Not backwards compatibility. I don't think that counts...

[Flashback2012]

... But the Sega CD and 32X were -forward- compatibility add-ons. Not backwards compatibility. I don't think that counts...

It shouldn't.

I think what kupo was getting at was the PBC allowed the SMS games to be played on the Genesis in both cart and card form. The carts were from the SMS/Mark III while the cards were from the SG-1000/SC-3000. The latter was released prior to the SMS/Mark III so it counts as another generation technically. :)

As for the topic at hand, I'm not the least bit surprised GC BC didn't make it into the Wii U. I have to wonder though if the hardware architecture allows for more seamless emulation of GC games should they add an option for them on the VC. Isn't the Wii essentially a souped up GC of sorts? Maybe the box isn't designed to handle GC accessories but I can't imagine it'd be too much work on their part to re-work things like memory card saves to work with SD cards instead of dedicated memory cards. Additionally, the games that had GBA support they could finagle to work with the Wii U controller to perform essentially the same functions. Even still, the classic controller should be able to map all of the buttons from the GC controller and if that doesn't fly, what's to stop them from releasing a classic controller shaped like the Wavebird? :ass:

[Nebagram]

I'm not too disappointed, tbh I didn't really expect the Wii U to have double backward compatibility. Just another excuse to dust off my old cube. :)

[BetaWolf47]

Um, folks, the Power Base Converter isn't 100% compatible with all Master System games. There's one plane combat game that doesn't work.

Also, this news is no surprise. With the sole exception of GBA, no Nintendo system has ever been backwards compatible with a system two generations old. By the way, this also means no GameCube controllers on Brawl. Keep your original Wiis, folks.

[Kellhus]

I read the topic and thought to myself, "oh".

[Zap!]

Aside from the PS3, yes. Two.

The Sega Genesis, although you had to buy the two separate additions for it to play the other consoles.

The GBA and GBA Player. GBA, GBC, and GB.

I guess I'm not too upset with no Gamecube bc as I only own 12 games for the system. Except all 12 are some of the best games, if not the best games, on the system.

I wouldn't count the Genesis, because he asked about a system playing two previous generations. Genesis just did Sega Master System games in that respect.

[Lerxstnj]

I thought it might be BC, but not too disappointed. I enjoy my Gamecubes and they'll likely be my last Nintendo. I am still quite happy with my decision to skip over the Wii and looks like I'll do the same with Wii-U.

[Belmont008]

Honestly I figured if it was backwards compatible with the wii then it would be backwards compatible with GCN since they are near identical hardware.

[calthaer]

The GameCube had a lot of quality and innovative titles, in spite of the fact that it was the underdog for its generation. Metroid Prime, Pac Man Vs., Zelda Four Swords, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Viewtiful Joe were there - it had a lot of real winners. There were also solid multi-platform releases (LEGO Star Wars, Resident Evil, Killer 7, Beyond Good & Evil), updates of popular franchises (Super Smash Bros, Paper Mario, Zelda, F-Zero), and re-releases / remakes of classics (Metal Gear Solid, Sonic Adventure DX, Ikaruga, and the various "collections" of old-school games). And then, as has been mentioned, you could go with GBA / GBC / GB games on the big screen if you had the GBA player (which, I must say, rocks...why no NDS player for the Wii yet?).

It's understandable that Nintendo wouldn't want to include backwards compatibility with a ten-year-old system, but...it kind of seems to me that there's a lot more shovelware on the Wii than there are good titles. I'm hard-pressed to name more than ten titles on the Wii that I have that I consider "must-haves," that I would have to keep in my collection. I know I own - and enjoy - more GCN titles than I do Wii titles. I'd almost prefer that they skip Wii compatibility and go for GCN.

[Gameguy]

The Atari 7800 could play 2600 games, that was two generations old at the time.

Still not really a big deal. Did people really complain about the N64 not playing NES or SNES games?

[Bojay1997]

I wouldn't count the Genesis, because he asked about a system playing two previous generations. Genesis just did Sega Master System games in that respect.

Well, I think what Kup was getting at is that if properly equipped, it could play 32X and Sega CD games as well. Not sure how you would calculate the generational compatibility (32X is probably closer to the Saturn generation than the Genesis while the Sega CD is probably closer to the Genesis generation), but in theory, if you bought Sega CD or 32X, you would by default need to have the Genesis which was also backward compatible with the Master System with the right add-on. I guess the Laseractive would fall into a similar category. Unlike the launch PS3 or Wii or the 7800, however, the Sega Genesis isn't really backward compatible with anything and requires add-ons which were in and of themselves really separate systems.

[Baloo]

The Atari 7800 could play 2600 games, that was two generations old at the time.

Still not really a big deal. Did people really complain about the N64 not playing NES or SNES games?

This. People who have Gamecube games already have a Gamecube or a Wii, so in all honesty, is this really going to affect them that much? I'd rather see cost go down that a semi-useless feature be added in. Hell, I'd rather see my Gamecube hooked up as well instead of my Wii, takes up less space.

The only good point brought up IMO was that Cube controllers wouldn't be useable on Brawl. Didn't think of that, it is indeed disapponting. But the pad looks good enough for that, and there is classic controllers.

[Trebuken]

Come on. It's obvious that many of the games will be available for download. You will likely get downloadable versions of many of the games, or they may even be released for download on other consoles. That is the model these days.

The Cube is similar enough that they could have added backwards compatibility. The Wii-U controller seems to have a similar control scheme to the Cube. This is a marketing deciion more than a hardware issue.

May not be bad though. They usually don;'t add new content to older games, but it's possible the Wii-U controller could enhance some older games. I hope we see a Nintrendo DS adapter for the Wii-U.

[Zap!]

The Atari 7800 could play 2600 games, that was two generations old at the time.

Still not really a big deal. Did people really complain about the N64 not playing NES or SNES games?

But it skipped the previous one (5200). :)

[Icarus Moonsight]

Calthaer: NDS play and software download service would be possible on Wii U. It's perfectly set up for it. Netcode translation for NDS local wireless play to Wii U internet, *bam!* instant millions, just add water.

[The 1 2 P]

I don't think Gamecube support will matter to most people interested in purchasing this.

[thegamezmaster]

I mainly use my gamecube for the gameboy player and play gamecube games on the Wii. Saves on the cube's laser as I've had 3 go bad.

[heybtbm]

I don't think Gamecube support will matter to most people interested in purshasing this.

I agree. I couldn't care less about Gamecube backwards compatibility at this point. I have a Gamecube and a Wii for those games, but most of all I'm ready to move on to HD Nintendo games (finally).

[WCP]

I'm more concerned about the fact that we might not be able to use 3 or 4 of the new controllers simultaneously. In fact, there is even questions about whether you can use two of them at the same time.

back-pac with GameCube would have been nice, but thems the breaks.

[Robocop2]

But it skipped the previous one (5200). :)

I think Atari wished that they had skipped the 5200

[StealthLurker]

Software and controllers - All.

Was there ever a system that fully supported BC back 2 cycles (say PS3 and I'll bite you through the internet! I swear!)? Would have been groundbreaking, but probably not worth the effort or expense at all.

Wasn't the SEGA Mark III bc w/ SG-II and SG-I games?

.

[Leo_A]

I'm not too sad about it disappearing. If this had the capability of upscaling Wii games (Or perhaps even rendering Wii games at a higher resolution like the Dolphin emulator does and other post processing effects besides deinterlacing and/or upscaling), I'd be much more sad that GCN support was dropped.

But Nintendo has confirmed that Wii software will only output at 480i/p on this thing. So it won't bring any additional benefits to Wii software like PSOne games receive on a PS3 when played on a HDTV (I think Sony's emulator is just deinterlacing when necessary and upscaling it, but it goes a long ways towards improving the picture quality on the average HDTV). So we're not losing out on any beneficial improvements here other than the convenience factor of being able to play three console libraries on the same system.

I hoped (Although I never expected it to actually happen) that this thing was going to be able to get GCN and Wii games to look something like these Dolphin screenshots. Guess I'll have to hope that they consider giving some of their classics a HD upgrade. Wind Waker especially seems to look very impressive in the emulator screenshots I've seen, as these two screenshots show.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7384/windwaker1280x9608xqcsawx8.jpg

http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pSI8etZKO_1lB6sJSr8lpGKkQIdUH1AxDxBAt6Z4OQqtMWxU HlId0fELE4k7xrfmSacUSyvGJM6mdv5lib0J-vw/Zelda%20WW%2022.jpg

A few more pretty screenshots can be found in this AVS thread if anyone wants to see any more.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1144081

[j_factor]

I think what kupo was getting at was the PBC allowed the SMS games to be played on the Genesis in both cart and card form. The carts were from the SMS/Mark III while the cards were from the SG-1000/SC-3000. The latter was released prior to the SMS/Mark III so it counts as another generation technically. :)


Wasn't the SEGA Mark III bc w/ SG-II and SG-I games

The Sega Mark III was backwards-compatible with SG-1000 games. It's easy to get mixed up because there were two different kinds of SG-1000 games -- standard cartridges, and cards, which worked with an add-on called the Card Catcher. The Mark III didn't need an add-on, as it has slots for both -- and therefore Mark III games were also released in both formats (same with SMS in the west). There was a system called the "SG-1000 II" but it didn't have its own games, it was just a second model. The SC-3000 was a computer version of the SG-1000 -- it's not really its own system either. The SG-1000 even has a port to connect a keyboard. There was a second model of the SC-3000 with more RAM but I don't think any games used it. There are only a few things exclusive to the SC-3000: a BASIC cartridge, a music editor software, a speech synthesis unit, a light pen, and an all-around upgrade that adds RAM (thus 4 possible configurations of RAM), a floppy drive, and a couple ports for printers or something. I'm not aware of any actual games that used any of this stuff, and they are very rare items. The Mark III, in case you're wondering, isn't backwards-compatible with anything specific to the SC-3000, or anything requiring a keyboard. And the Power Base Converter does not play any SG-1000 games, whether cartridge or card, even if it's a Japanese Mega Drive and converter. The Genesis VDP just doesn't support it. That's also why there's one SMS game that doesn't work -- it's actually an SG-1000 game in disguise.

tl;dr version:

SG-1000, SG-1000 II, SC-3000: Same shit, except for a few rare things that require SC-3000. Cartridge out of the box, card format with add-on.
Mark III/Master System: Backwards compatible except for those rare things and anything needing a keyboard. Cartridge and card out of the box, both for BC and its own games.
Genesis/Mega Drive with converter: Compatible with Mark III / SMS only, both cartridge and card.

[Flashback2012]

Looks like I've been misled/misinformed all these years. ^^;

I've always been led to believe that the card games were from the SG/SC systems and that Sega had put BC into the Mark III/SMS with a port to use those cards. That doesn't appear to be the case so thanks for clearing that up. As for the PBC, it didn't have all of the guts from the SMS in it did it? I thought as it ran off the Z-80 that was built into the Genesis and just had the cartridge/card ports. Any clarification on that? :)

Back on topic...while disappointing to most, it doesn't appear that many people are surprised by the lack of BC for the GC. Personally, I wouldn't mind giving up BC if they would make their console systems (and 3DS) region free. One can dream I suppose. :ass:

[Breetai]

I chimed in a bit too late to tell everyone that the Japanese Master Converter for the Mega Drive does not support SG-1000 games. Oh well, I'll be the second to confirm it. I tried it personally.

I guess the GBA is the only console to be fully backwards compatible for two previous generations, other than the PS3 (some early models).

Hopefully the VC will add Gamecube games, along with... Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast, Virtual Boy, FM Towns Marty, Sharp X68000, NEC PC-88, PC-FX, 3DO, Jaguar, Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Wonderswan games!

[Zap!]

I think Atari wished that they had skipped the 5200

I can think of a few systems Atari wished they had skipped. Maybe all of them except the 2600. :)

[Icarus Moonsight]

You know, I'm willing to bet that BC with GC games was completely possible. However, anyone coming into the Wii U that is fairly new to gaming is probably not going to have or desire to track down physical copies of 2 gens old games to play on their new system, or compatible controllers. Having all the required stuff on the system would add to cost and yield very little benefit (not enough value added among all potential purchasers). Also, to put Gamecube titles back into retail channels, Virtual Console and Digital Distribution is the only viable option. If the Wii U is Wii BC physical - then GC VC is a very good possibility. I'd be shocked if it were not done this way.

Wouldn't it be a kick in the pants if GC VC titles got upscaled to 1080p, and Graphics hardware enhanced - like N64 games on Wii were?

[Clownzilla]

I'm more concerned about the fact that we might not be able to use 3 or 4 of the new controllers simultaneously. In fact, there is even questions about whether you can use two of them at the same time.

back-pac with GameCube would have been nice, but thems the breaks.

Nintendo announced that you can only use one pad at a time. I guess it's good to know that all my Wii controllers can be used with the new system. I think the pad will end up being used for extra data on team games or a controller for co-op gameplay with the pad-player playing a unique role (like the navigator for a spaceship)

[kedawa]

The added cost of the controller/memcard ports and the drive mechanism for 8cm discs was likely more than the feature was worth. I won't miss those flimsy side flaps one bit.

[Leo_A]

Nintendo announced that you can only use one pad at a time. I guess it's good to know that all my Wii controllers can be used with the new system. I think the pad will end up being used for extra data on team games or a controller for co-op gameplay with the pad-player playing a unique role (like the navigator for a spaceship)

I believe a Nintendo rep just said that they didn't have any plans of selling the WiiU's controller individually.

And another executive at Nintendo stated during E3 that they were looking into possibly allowing two of them to be used at once and seemed intrigued by the idea.

They never came out and announced that only one is going to be able to be used at one time. So we can't very well rule out definitively that more than one will never be able to be used at one time. It's all assumptions as of now.


The added cost of the controller/memcard ports and the drive mechanism for 8cm discs was likely more than the feature was worth. I won't miss those flimsy side flaps one bit.

They didn't need controller and memory card ports. They could've just programmed the system's OS to allow things like Wii Classic Controllers or the WiiU's controller to control GameCube software. And virtual memory cards such as Sony has done on the PS3 for backwards compatibility solves having to include two memory card ports.

Supporting GCN accessories isn't necessary to play GCN software. But I wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if the disc drive is what killed it off. Saving even just a few cents on every system sold for a feature most people could care less about and would never of used anyways seems like a logical guess to explain this decision.

[WCP]

Nintendo announced that you can only use one pad at a time. )

link?

I know it's the rumor, but I didn't know Nintendo officially said anything about it. If this is indeed true, then this is INCREDIBLY disappointing. One freaking controller? Very un-Nintendo-like if you ask me. Nintendo is all about 4 people playing at the same time. I thought I was going to be able to play 4 player Mario Kart with these 4 controllers, whether the TV was on or off. Apparently that isn't going to happen.

Nintendo has to figure out a way to get two of these controllers working. At the very least for a game of Madden in which you can hide your play calls from your buddy.

[RP2A03]

link?

I know it's the rumor, but I didn't know Nintendo officially said anything about it. If this is indeed true, then this is INCREDIBLY disappointing. One freaking controller? Very un-Nintendo-like if you ask me. Nintendo is all about 4 people playing at the same time. I thought I was going to be able to play 4 player Mario Kart with these 4 controllers, whether the TV was on or off. Apparently that isn't going to happen.

Nintendo has to figure out a way to get two of these controllers working. At the very least for a game of Madden in which you can hide your play calls from your buddy.


Using only one pad is something Nintendo is seriously contemplating. Perhaps they are just scheming of ways to get you to buy a 3DS so that it can print money for them.


Our basic premise is that you can use one [Wii U controller] with a system. If we got to an idea of having multiple [controllers] it might be just more convenient for people to use their Nintendo 3DS and have a way to connect that... That being said, we are doing research about if someone brings their controller to their friend's house and they want to play together on Wii U to whether or not something like that would be possible.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/06/miyamoto_3ds_could_be_a_convenient_wii_u_controlle r

[kupomogli]

Instead of only allowing to use a 3DS as an additional controller. How about *gasp* Make for the 3DS AND the Wii U controller to both be compatible. I must be a fucking genius! Oh wait. Nintendo can't allow the use of more than one Wii U controller. How else would they fuck over their fanbase. Knowing Nintendo, of course they'd find some sort of scheme to screw their fanbase out of money, but this time selling more portable systems in the process. Atleast that's one way to stop your portable system from selling like total ass like it's been doing since launch.

*high five Nintendo.* I'm still interested in the Wii U, but you never cease to amaze me with how much you treat your customers like shit yet are probably the most loved video game company. Guinness needs to put you in their next book. No other company would ever surpass that record.

...and again. People wonder why I hate Nintendo.

[Bojay1997]

Instead of only allowing to use a 3DS as an additional controller. How about *gasp* Make for the 3DS AND the Wii U controller to both be compatible. I must be a fucking genius! Oh wait. Nintendo can't allow the use of more than one Wii U controller. How else would they fuck over their fanbase. Knowing Nintendo, of course they'd find some sort of scheme to screw their fanbase out of money, but this time selling more portable systems in the process. Atleast that's one way to stop your portable system from selling like total ass like it's been doing since launch.

*high five Nintendo.* I'm still interested in the Wii U, but you never cease to amaze me with how much you treat your customers like shit yet are probably the most loved video game company. Guinness needs to put you in their next book. No other company would ever surpass that record.

...and again. People wonder why I hate Nintendo.

Although your troll credentials are well known, I can't help but respond to your stupidity. How about asking Sony to make the PSP Vita and the PS3 100% compatible? They could have done so in theory but they won't. You know why? Because they want to sell you two products instead of one and two sets of games. Frankly, I am a big Sony fan and we own four Sony HD TVs in our household and I have owned almost exclusively Sony electronics products since the early 1980s, but I'm not going to act like Sony or Nintendo or Microsoft are charities. They exist only to make as much money as possible.

[kupomogli]

Not really asking for Nintendo to make the 3DS compatible, but like RP2A03 mentioned, you'll only be able to use a single Wii U controller on a Wii U, but Nintendo is thinking of allowing you to use a 3DS as a second Wii U controller just to push more consoles.

So you won't be able to buy additional Wii U for each member of your family to use, you'll need to buy a 3DS. Or if a friend owns a Wii U as well, they won't be able to just bring their controller over, but remember, you can still use a 3DS. Isn't it convenient that the Wii U controller itself won't be able to be used as a second or third controller, but an entirely separate device might possibly be able to.

Sony and Microsoft aren't charity, I agree, as like you said, and like is obvious., all companies are out to make money. XSeed is probably the most fan friendly niche company right about now, and are they doing it for any other reason to make money from their fans? No. Treating your fanbase well really goes a long way.

[Enigmus]

Instead of only allowing to use a 3DS as an additional controller. How about *gasp* Make for the 3DS AND the Wii U controller to both be compatible. I must be a fucking genius! Oh wait. Nintendo can't allow the use of more than one Wii U controller. How else would they fuck over their fanbase. Knowing Nintendo, of course they'd find some sort of scheme to screw their fanbase out of money, but this time selling more portable systems in the process. Atleast that's one way to stop your portable system from selling like total ass like it's been doing since launch.

*high five Nintendo.* I'm still interested in the Wii U, but you never cease to amaze me with how much you treat your customers like shit yet are probably the most loved video game company. Guinness needs to put you in their next book. No other company would ever surpass that record.

...and again. People wonder why I hate Nintendo.


Sure is /v/ in here since the Wii U was announced.

[WCP]

Wow...

I'm amazed that this one controller thing isn't getting more run in the mainstream gaming press. It should be the No.1 story on all the gaming websites. I went from being super hyped on the Wii U idea, to being very confused about all of this. One controller? Am I just crazy or something? Nobody else is perplexed by this?


It's weird that so many people don't regard this as a huge, huge letdown.

[buzz_n64]

2 controller minimum or people may be disappointed. Well, maybe they figure that the Wii Fit is one player and is a hit, people will suck it up. Same with the Kinect. Take a look back at 1 controller systems (not including add-on multi-taps) TG-16, CD-i, 3DO(sort of) None of them were successful, but maybe Nintendo's name and games may at least make it at least as successful as the Gamecube, but now with blind obedience like Apple fanatics.

[Leo_A]

Not really asking for Nintendo to make the 3DS compatible, but like RP2A03 mentioned, you'll only be able to use a single Wii U controller on a Wii U, but Nintendo is thinking of allowing you to use a 3DS as a second Wii U controller just to push more consoles.

Once again, they didn't confirm anything of the sort.

A Nintendo representative said that they don't have plans to sell the controller individually, and other Nintendo representatives stated things about exploring their options of allowing more than one to be used at a time, including the creator of the Mario/Donkey Kong/Zelda franchises.

The hardware very well might be limited to just 1 (Certainly how they're talking and what they showed suggest this is at least their current plan), but they're also very clearly stating that this and other aspects of the system are subject to change and that they're still exploring and considering their options.

We simply don't actually know at this point how many of these controllers can be used on the system. It very well might be limited to 1, but it could easily change by the time next year rolls around.

[allyourblood]

I don't mind that they left GC BC out of the coming Wii. While it was a nice bonus to be included in the current Wii, I hate it. I have long been frustrated with having to use the Wii Remote to enter the game menu; I wish having a GC disc in the drive would just boot straight into that mode. That right there is enough to keep my Gamecube hooked up to this day. Well, that and the lovely GBA player.

It makes sense, too, since building in controller and memory card support, or bothering to R&D a workaround using the newer controllers simply wouldn't be cost effective. Plus, it would've been irritating, just like it is on the Wii. So, good riddance.

[geezuzkhrist119]

dont worry about it. just wait till someone hacks the console and makes a GC emulator. cuz we all know that will happen.

[kupomogli]

While Miyamoto hasn't confirmed this for the final release, he's pretty much said that at this time they're thinking about limiting it to one controller and that we could use the 3DS if any other controllers were to be used.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-09-only-one-wii-u-controller-per-console

IGN has a list of why the Wii U might only allow one controller. They forgot one though. "To sell more 3DS systems."

http://gear.ign.com/articles/117/1175842p1.html

Also. Another thing. I skipped the Wii and now I'm getting the Wii U, but the Wii U doesn't even upscale to atleast 720p for Wii games. That's another problem with it. Wii games will still look like crap on an HDTV.

[Bojay1997]

While Miyamoto hasn't confirmed this for the final release, he's pretty much said that at this time they're thinking about limiting it to one controller and that we could use the 3DS if any other controllers were to be used.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-09-only-one-wii-u-controller-per-console

IGN has a list of why the Wii U might only allow one controller. They forgot one though. "To sell more 3DS systems."

http://gear.ign.com/articles/117/1175842p1.html

Also. Another thing. I skipped the Wii and now I'm getting the Wii U, but the Wii U doesn't even upscale to atleast 720p for Wii games. That's another problem with it. Wii games will still look like crap on an HDTV.

We get it, you think Nintendo is greedy and doesn't care about consumers. You know what, so is Sony and so is Microsoft and so is every other successful company. Should I complain that Sony didn't give me extra dualshocks or the Move controllers free or that four players can't use the same dualshock and Move controller simultaneously? Should I be upset that I paid $1200 for a 3D HDTV because that's the only way I could get my PS3 games to play in 3D? Why didn't Sony let my sunglasses function as 3D goggles instead of charging me $100 a pair? Why didn't Sony magically transform my old TV into a 1080P 3D unit? My old TV is a Sony too, so those greedy bastards screwed me. Should I be upset that I had to pay for Kinect? Why couldn't the old Xbox camera that I got with You're in the Movies allow me to play all the Kinect games? Give it a rest, nobody cares.

[Icarus Moonsight]

http://www.fritogos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/troll-arms.gif

[kupomogli]

See. You're being unrealstic. With the 360, it upscales XBOX games 1080p. The PS3 upscales PSX and PS2 games to 1080p. Even a $100 bluray player upscales DVDs to 1080p, yet Nintendo doesn't upscale their games. A feature that would be next to nothing for Nintendo to add onto its console. It makes you wonder since this feature isn't included, will DVD playback be included this time around? If it is included, being that Wii games aren't upscaled, you can also be assured that DVDs won't be upscaled either, so it makes you think they won't include DVD playback again.

For current gen consoles, the PS3, 360, and even Wii, can use up to four "standard controllers" on one console. Atleast Wii controllers are available to use still, but the functionality of any of the Wii controllers are less as their are fewer available buttons.

Has anyone thought of what's going to happen with all the Wiiware titles you own on your current Wii? Are they going to be transferable over to the Wii U or are you screwed out of them as well? You can't transfer them through different Wii's, what makes you think that they'll be transferable to your Wii U. Yet with Sony, one PSN account can be added to five different PS3s, and while people are less than honest about the uses, if your PS3 happens to die and Sony won't remove the account from that PS3, you still have four PS3s you can apply it to. With 360 while you can't use the downloaded games on multiple systems, you can atleast transfer your gamertag between systems once a year.

With some of these, no one but Nintendo knows as of right now, but for what has been announced so far, and it being Nintendo, you can only assume the worst. And like I've said previously. Every company is out to make money. But Nintendo fucks over their fanbase repeatedly while doing so. Without lube.

[Bojay1997]

See. You're being unrealstic. With the 360, it upscales XBOX games 1080p. The PS3 upscales PSX and PS2 games to 1080p. Even a $100 bluray player upscales DVDs to 1080p, yet Nintendo doesn't upscale their games. A feature that would be next to nothing for Nintendo to add onto its console. It makes you wonder since this feature isn't included, will DVD playback be included this time around? If it is included, being that Wii games aren't upscaled, you can also be assured that DVDs won't be upscaled either, so it makes you think they won't include DVD playback again.

For current gen consoles, the PS3, 360, and even Wii, can use up to four "standard controllers" on one console. Atleast Wii controllers are available to use still, but the functionality of any of the Wii controllers are less as their are fewer available buttons.

Has anyone thought of what's going to happen with all the Wiiware titles you own on your current Wii? Are they going to be transferable over to the Wii U or are you screwed out of them as well? You can't transfer them through different Wii's, what makes you think that they'll be transferable to your Wii U. Yet with Sony, one PSN account can be added to five different PS3s, and while people are less than honest about the uses, if your PS3 happens to die and Sony won't remove the account from that PS3, you still have four PS3s you can apply it to. With 360 while you can't use the downloaded games on multiple systems, you can atleast transfer your gamertag between systems once a year.

With some of these, no one but Nintendo knows as of right now, but for what has been announced so far, and it being Nintendo, you can only assume the worst. And like I've said previously. Every company is out to make money. But Nintendo fucks over their fanbase repeatedly while doing so. Without lube.

Right, I'm being unrealistic because a product I paid $250 at launch to purchase which never promised to do anything but play Wii games at SD resolution doesn't upscale? I bought a PS3 at launch and it cost me $600. My 360 was $400. You don't even know how much the new Nintendo system will cost and yet you feel confident enough to criticize the fact that it may not upscale or play DVDs? Do you know how many times I have played a BluRay movie or watched a DVD on my Xbox or PS3? A total of zero. I have several DVD players and a nice Blu Ray player already. Did Sony or Microsoft offer to refund the money I paid for features on their expensive launch consoles I didn't use? Nope.

As for the WiiU, you can have a minimum of four players using the same controllers you have already invested your $40+ to purchase once. I'm guessing with the next Xbox and Playstation, I am going to have to buy new controllers once again. Moreover, the current intent is that only one person will be using the WiiU screen controller at a time. The games it is designed for are designed for single players, not groups. Could it be possible that some innovative developer may find a use for four screens at once? Possibly, but that's not the current design plan and who knows if the hardware will support it. Certainly, the whole 3DS thing is just speculation and a response from a Nintendo employee who didn't seem sure what the plan for 3DS integration was down the line.

You wanna really get into being screwed? Sony allowed the private financial information of millions of people to be stolen and took weeks to admit it. They finally got PSN back up and all they gave people was a bunch of old game downloads. Microsoft launched a console that failed repeatedly for millions of people and while they replaced them, it initially took weeks or even months to get a warranty replacement. Personally, I don't like the whole WiiU screen concept, but I refuse to stand by while you spread lies and misinformation in a weak attempt to assert that Sony is somehow the savior of video games while every other company is screwing consumers.

[Enigmus]

See. You're being unrealstic. With the 360, it upscales XBOX games 1080p. The PS3 upscales PSX and PS2 games to 1080p. Even a $100 bluray player upscales DVDs to 1080p, yet Nintendo doesn't upscale their games. A feature that would be next to nothing for Nintendo to add onto its console. It makes you wonder since this feature isn't included, will DVD playback be included this time around? If it is included, being that Wii games aren't upscaled, you can also be assured that DVDs won't be upscaled either, so it makes you think they won't include DVD playback again.

For current gen consoles, the PS3, 360, and even Wii, can use up to four "standard controllers" on one console. Atleast Wii controllers are available to use still, but the functionality of any of the Wii controllers are less as their are fewer available buttons.

Has anyone thought of what's going to happen with all the Wiiware titles you own on your current Wii? Are they going to be transferable over to the Wii U or are you screwed out of them as well? You can't transfer them through different Wii's, what makes you think that they'll be transferable to your Wii U. Yet with Sony, one PSN account can be added to five different PS3s, and while people are less than honest about the uses, if your PS3 happens to die and Sony won't remove the account from that PS3, you still have four PS3s you can apply it to. With 360 while you can't use the downloaded games on multiple systems, you can atleast transfer your gamertag between systems once a year.

With some of these, no one but Nintendo knows as of right now, but for what has been announced so far, and it being Nintendo, you can only assume the worst. And like I've said previously. Every company is out to make money. But Nintendo fucks over their fanbase repeatedly while doing so. Without lube.

Translation for normal people:


RAAAAAAAAAGE- oop, got a Sony boner.

[kupomogli]

You wanna really get into being screwed? Sony allowed the private financial information of millions of people to be stolen and took weeks to admit it.

Actually, it was one day. People noticed something with the PSN and they shut it down, they had one group look into it and they couldn't verify what happened so had a second group look into it and they came to the conclusion that the information was stolen. So altogether it took two weeks, but the public was notified one day after Sony was sure of what happened.

Do you think a business, any business, is immediately going to say. "Our infrastructure was hacked and your information may have been stolen. We're currently researching this." Then two weeks later. "No problem at all. Your information is safe." It would have been just as bad as if it was "Your information was stolen." They're going to research it first because there's the possibility that the information is stolen and would have put everyone in distrust regardless.

It has also been verified that no credit card information has been stolen. Public information and passwords have, however.


Right, I'm being unrealistic because a product I paid $250 at launch to purchase which never promised to do anything but play Wii games at SD resolution doesn't upscale?

I was speaking of the Wii U. Nintendo officially confirmed that Wii games will not be upscaled on the Wii U.


I'm guessing with the next Xbox and Playstation, I am going to have to buy new controllers once again.

More than likely not. 360 controllers are compatible with Windows. You'd really only have to assume that the functionality would carry over to their next system. They're wireless, also, you have one cord to seperate the console and the controller, so the next console could very well have a cord to seperate the console and the controller if you're using it wired and it should still work.

PS3 controllers are bluetooth and wired is connected to the console through USB. The PSP Go is bluetooth capable allowing for the Dualshock 3 or Sixaxis to connect wirelessly to it. The PS Vita is also bluetooth capable and I'm assuming it will also be able to be controlled with a PS3 controller. You could assume that the PS4 will also be bluetooth capable as well, and if it still uses USB, common and even located on the PS2, then it will also still be able to use the controllers wired.

[Bojay1997]

Actually, it was one day. People noticed something with the PSN and they shut it down, they had one group look into it and they couldn't verify what happened so had a second group look into it and they came to the conclusion that the information was stolen. So altogether it took two weeks, but the public was notified one day after Sony was sure of what happened.

Do you think a business, any business, is immediately going to say. "Our infrastructure was hacked and your information may have been stolen. We're currently researching this." Then two weeks later. "No problem at all. Your information is safe." It would have been just as bad as if it was "Your information was stolen." They're going to research it first because there's the possibility that the information is stolen and would have put everyone in distrust regardless.

It has also been verified that no credit card information has been stolen. Public information and passwords have, however.



I was speaking of the Wii U. Nintendo officially confirmed that Wii games will not be upscaled on the Wii U.



More than likely not. 360 controllers are compatible with Windows. You'd really only have to assume that the functionality would carry over to their next system. They're wireless, also, you have one cord to seperate the console and the controller, so the next console could very well have a cord to seperate the console and the controller if you're using it wired and it should still work.

PS3 controllers are bluetooth and wired is connected to the console through USB. The PSP Go is bluetooth capable allowing for the Dualshock 3 or Sixaxis to connect wirelessly to it. The PS Vita is also bluetooth capable and I'm assuming it will also be able to be controlled with a PS3 controller. You could assume that the PS4 will also be bluetooth capable as well, and if it still uses USB, common and even located on the PS2, then it will also still be able to use the controllers wired.


Completely incorrect. It took Sony over a week to notify users of the breach and the statement they issued was vague and offered no solutions. It wasn't until several US Senators including Connecticut senator Blumenthal demanded answers that Sony went public. In fact, every business regularly sends out notifications that information has been hacked immediately, whether they know the extent of the damage or not. In the past month alone, I have received notifications from various companies I deal with that hacks have occured. They don't try to cover it up or downplay it. Sony cannot say for sure that no financial information has been stolen. They are simply unsure and believe it wasn't.

With regard to your second point, I will remind you that the 360 and PS3 are not even 100% backwards compatible with the Xbox and PS2. In fact, unless you overspent for a launch PS3 like I did, you have pretty spotty backwards compatibility. Are you upset Sony took away much of the backwards compatibility from later PS3 models? What about the fact that not every Xbox game works on the 360?

As for controllers, there is no reason to assume the current 360 and PS3 controllers will be backwards compatible. My Xbox and PS2 controllers sure weren't. In fact, my launch PS3 controller isn't even the most up-to-date controller Sony sells as the Six Axis was replaced with the Dual Shock. Controllers and other peripherals are one of the main ways hardware manufacturers make profit since they seldom make it on the base unit. You can be sure Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will all be looking to sell new peripherals for their new consoles and doing whatever they can to make the old ones either obsolete or not up to current standards.

I'm sorry, but Sony is no better or worse than Nintendo or Microsoft.

[Rob2600]

Just a friendly reminder:


It tickles me that you people still talk to kupomogli like he were a rational human being. Kupomogli is an object, incapable of adaptation and reason.

[Rickstilwell1]

The way I look at it, Nintendo had always been a company in the past who would say "if you like your old games and consoles, you should keep them" I remember something like that from Nintendo Power. The whole Gamecube thing is pretty much the same. And if you did sell yours it's only like $7-10 to find a used one. They are unwanted right now and all over the place.

And if you downloaded games, you should keep your Wii or device it was downloaded to and never get rid of it.

[98PaceCar]

Just a friendly reminder:



Originally Posted by Bratwurst
It tickles me that you people still talk to kupomogli like he were a rational human being. Kupomogli is an object, incapable of adaptation and reason.



This is one of the best things I've read on DP in a long time!! lol

Back on topic, I really don't understand why backwards compatibility is so expected by people. It rarely happens and when it does, it pretty much never works well enough to justify the extra expense and complexity. When I get a new console, I don't want it to be crippled by an artificial need to run games from previous generations. If I want to play something from an earlier console, I'll play it on that console.

[WCP]

Wii games will still look like crap on an HDTV.

The Dolphin emulator on a high-end gaming PC would beg to differ... heh.

[kupomogli]

The Dolphin emulator on a high-end gaming PC would beg to differ... heh.

But it would then be running in 1080p. On the Wii U, Wii games will still look like crap on an HDTV.

[Enigmus]

But it would then be running in 1080p. On the Wii U, Wii games will still look like crap on an HDTV.

Sure is /v/ in here.

[Leo_A]

It makes sense, too, since building in controller and memory card support, or bothering to R&D a workaround using the newer controllers simply wouldn't be cost effective. Plus, it would've been irritating, just like it is on the Wii. So, good riddance.

While I'm sure it was never under consideration to include physical GCN controller and memory cart ports, I really doubt they made this decision because it was irritating to people having to use the Wiimote to start up a GCN game (I admit that I feel your pain, I never understood why a GCN controller couldn't move the onscreen cursor around just like a Classic Controller can).

And I imagine the cost for a programmer to program virtual memory cards that replicate the same function as the original memory cards and allowing a different controller to control GCN software was miniscule.

I suspect like some have speculated that GCN support was going to slightly increase the cost of each system manufactured (Such as with the disc drive) and they just decided it didn't matter to enough people to justify the increased unit cost of the system.


dont worry about it. just wait till someone hacks the console and makes a GC emulator. cuz we all know that will happen.

If this can natively play Wii software, I imagine any hacks that bring about GCN compatibility would be running the code natively rather than via emulation.


See. You're being unrealstic. With the 360, it upscales XBOX games 1080p. The PS3 upscales PSX and PS2 games to 1080p. Even a $100 bluray player upscales DVDs to 1080p, yet Nintendo doesn't upscale their games. A feature that would be next to nothing for Nintendo to add onto its console.

I agree that the inability to upscale Wii games (And no GCN support, I was hoping this would help improve the look of my GCN games on my HDTV as well) is a disappointment and confusing. I'm really not sure why they've decided not to allow Wii software to at least be upscaled.


Has anyone thought of what's going to happen with all the Wiiware titles you own on your current Wii? Are they going to be transferable over to the Wii U or are you screwed out of them as well? You can't transfer them through different Wii's, what makes you think that they'll be transferable to your Wii U.

Considering what they've done with DSiWare (Which originally didn't allow content transfers) since the launch of the 3DS, I'd say there's an excellent chance that we'll be able to transfer them to a WiiU.

[j_factor]

To be fair, I'm pretty sure the PS3 didn't upscale PS1/PS2 games at launch. A firmware update allowed that feature.

[allyourblood]

It makes sense, too, since building in controller and memory card support, or bothering to R&D a workaround using the newer controllers simply wouldn't be cost effective.



I suspect like some have speculated that GCN support was going to slightly increase the cost of each system manufactured (Such as with the disc drive) and they just decided it didn't matter to enough people to justify the increased unit cost of the system.

Yup.


(The bit about the annoying Wii remote jazz was just my own personal grievance.)

[Leo_A]

I know you said that, but the way you phrased it, you were saying they didn't impliment GCN backwards compatibility since there would've been a massive R&D expenditure to impliment such things as virtual memory cards and remapping the functions of a GCN controller to a different controller.

That just doesn't sound right to me. My guess for why GCN compatibility isn't going to be included isn't because of what seems like minor development work, but because it would've increased the unit cost of each system manufactured throughout the console's production run (Such as perhaps a slightly more expensive disc drive mechanism to accomodate the GCN's 8cm game disc).

I think it's missing not because they would've had to spend a few dollars now to develop some simple things like virtual memory cards, but because there would've been an on going extra cost to support GCN software with every single system sold. And when most wouldn't use the feature, it's an easy thing to cut even if you're just saving a dime for every system you produce.

Of course that's just my theory. We're all in the dark about this decision so you could just as easily be correct and perhaps I'm underestimating the development cost of this feature. [Edit: Considering that Homebrew Channel now supports playing GCN disc images via Wii Mode on a Wii U, it certainly wasn't something difficult to implement just as I said]