Nintendo Switch Rumored To Come With GameCube Virtual Console Support

The Nintendo Switch rumors aren’t stopping anytime soon as insider sources have revealed yet another feature coming to the highly anticipated console. The Japanese gaming firm will be adding GameCube game support through its Virtual Console service.

Nintendo is said to have already tested three of its GameCube titles and all three are already working and prepped for the Switch, sources confirmed to Eurogamer. The GameCube titles that are said to be working on the Switch are “Super Mario Sunshine,” “Luigi’s Manson” and “Super Smash Bros. Melee.” Eurogamer also said on its report that Nintendo is currently testing the GameCube version of “Animal Crossing.”

This won’t be the first time that Nintendo has offered digital versions of its older titles for its new hardware. Nintendo’s Virtual Console service was made available to the Wii, Wii U and the 3DS. The Nintendo Switch will simply be following the company’s initiative in making sure that it’s able to play the company’s older games.

That being said, the Virtual Console feature on the Nintendo Switch is expected to be engineered by Nintendo European Research and Development (NERD), the same team that’s responsible for the NES Mini. The NES Mini has proven to be popular as it performed quite well in almost every market it reached. If NERD is able to reproduce the same quality on the Switch, then the GameCube emulator should be equally as impressive.

Despite all that, there’s one major problem with this upcoming feature. Those who’ve previously purchased games from the Virtual Console won’t be able to transfer their purchases to the Switch, according to Engadget. It looks like users will have to pay a small fee in order to get their previous purchases on to the Switch.

Nintendo is also said to be working on having the Wii U’s GameCube controller adaptor to work on the Switch as well, but the company hasn’t made a final decision on that just yet. This will be the first time that GameCube titles will be on the Nintendo’s Virtual Console, and it’s made possible thanks to the more powerful internals of the Switch.