Since the release of the Switch, Nintendo has been on a roll with both regular drops of their top-notch first party content and the encouragement and curation of indie highlights. Heck, two weeks after the newest standout exclusive - Super Mario Odyssey - we’ll be getting a healthy dose of Bethesda and Rockstar content with Skyrim, Doom and LA Noire all available to play on the go.
And yet, there’s still something missing. Something fans have been clamouring for since the announcement of the system: Virtual Console. More specifically, the ability to play GameCube games on the go. The latest crumb of info to kick the rumour mill into fifth gear comes in the form of a hidden function within the Switch’s most recent update - GameCube controller support has been added to the system!
And yet, there’s still something missing...the ability to play GameCube games on the go.
Following the discovery, Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Amie has said that the update “enables third-party peripherals to work on Nintendo Switch. As a result, the peripheral for the Wii U that allows it to attach GameCube controllers also works. [...] I think it’s fair to say [...] that that peripheral working was as much a surprise to us as it was for consumers.”
Killer 7 (Image: Igdb.com)
This could just have been a convenient bit of spin from Fils-Amie, but we’re not going to let that stop us from speculating! Following the announcement of Metroid Prime 4, releasing previous entries in the series on Switch could serve as an excellent way for fans to pass the time before release. Thinking about multiplayer GameCube games, using the two joy-con for split screen play could be as convenient of an instant multiplayer set up as any game built straight for the Switch. Something like Mario Kart: Double Dash (possibly the most underrated entry in the series) could work brilliantly with this setup. As for single player options, it’s clear that cult classics like Eternal Darkness and Killer 7 would be great additions considering finding a way to play these games right now is a challenge.
This could just have been a convenient bit of spin from Fils-Amie, but we’re not going to let that stop us from speculating!
Nintendo’s continuation of the ‘Classics’ line with the SNES Classic this winter shows they’ve found a way to turn retro gaming nostalgia into a novelty stocking filler. That said, they’ve got a long way to go before they get to the GameCube Classic, so whether this news marks an imminent Virtual Console announcement or not, the wait for a portable GameCube collection might well be over soon.