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Revision as of 09:59, 17 February 2024 by SammyGoesHowdy (talk | contribs) (note to self: when its 9pm, go to bed. because now i gotta wait for this to be approved.)

An emulator is a piece of software that uses computing power to simulate another device, such as a video game console or a personal computer. As a general guideline, the Wii is capable of emulating most popular home consoles up to around the fifth generation (the N64/PS1 era).

The Wii has hardware that allows for native backwards compatibility with the GameCube, meaning such software can run at full speed as they would on the original hardware. While this is not actually emulation, methods that use this hardware will be included here due to the ubiquity of the term.

Handheld video game consoles

Nintendo DS

Barely possible through DeSmuME Wii. A partial compatibility list can be found here; most games are incompatible or run very slowly.

Game Boy Advance/Game Boy Color/Game Boy

Posssible through mGBA, this is the recommended option. Another option is Visual Boy Advance GX

WonderSwan

Possible through WiiMednafen.

Home video game consoles

Wii U/Switch

Not possible. These consoles require too much computing power to be emulated by the Wii.
Also note that due to these computing power requirements, ports of Wii U/Switch games are also extremely unlikely.

GameCube

GameCube games can be played natively through Nintendont, a tool that lets you play GameCube backups from an SD card or USB drive. All Wiis can play GameCube games, but the Wii Family Edition (RVL-101) & Wii Mini (RVL-201) cannot read GameCube discs, requiring you have a GameCube or an original Wii (RVL-001) to dump GameCube games.

PlayStation 1

Barely possible through WiiStation or WiiSX. compatibility lists for both WiiStation and WiiSX can be found.

Nintendo 64

Possible through Not64, this is the recommended option. Another option is Wii64. Virtual console injects can also be created if you prefer individual channels on the Wii Menu

Super NES

Possible through Snes9x GX. Virtual console injects can also be created if you prefer individual channels on the Wii Menu

NES / Famicom Disk System

Possible through FCE Ultra GX. Virtual console injects can also be created if you prefer individual channels on the Wii Menu

Sega Genesis / CD / 32X / Master System / Game Gear / SG-1000

Possible through Genesis Plus GX. Virtual console injects can also be created if you prefer individual channels on the Wii Menu

Arcade cabinets

You can play most arcade games via the MAME-Wii emulator.

Home computers

DOS / Win9x

Possible through DOSBox Wii. Windows 3.1 and 95 technically work, albeit slowly; this emulator is much more practical for older DOS games.

Commodore 64

Possible through Frodo.

Overview chart

WIP

Emulators that don't exist

These are consoles or devices that will not work on the Wii, usually due to computing power requirements.

  • PlayStation 2 and newer
  • PlayStation Portable and Vita
  • All Xbox consoles
  • Dreamcast
  • Windows NT (XP/Vista/7/etc)