Nintendo may offer classic Gamecube titles for download on its upcoming new video game console.
What is known for sure about Wii U’s backward compatibility is that it will be able to play Wii game discs.
In an interview with 1UP, Nintendo of Amercia director of entertainment and marketing Amber McCollom said, “The Wii was compatible with GameCube and Wii U will be compatible with Wii and that’s pretty traditional in launches from Nintendo.”
But what was more interesting was when McCollom talked about Gamecube compatibility. “Actually the GameCube discs will not be compatible with Wii U, but a number of the games that were playable on GameCube can be downloaded from WiiWare,” she said.
Of course, the Wii allows users to play Gamecube game discs and also has a collection of Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, and NES games available for download. The 3DS is poised to offer several classic Game Boy titles for download.
So it would make perfect sense for downloadable Gamecube titles to fit in with Nintendo’s digital strategy.
What this would likely mean, though, is that Wii U systems will come with a much bigger hard drive than the Wii. While Gamecube games were put on mini DVDs, so the file sizes won’t be huge, they will require much more space than the any of the downloadable titles offered on Wii.
Nintendo later backtracked and issued this statement: “To clarify the capabilities of the Wii U system: As correctly stated, Wii U will not play Nintendo GameCube discs, however Nintendo has not made any announcements regarding downloadable content.”
Sounds like McCallum spoke out of term, but we believe she knew what she was talking about.
