Report says Nintendo Switch will have GameCube Virtual Console and these are the first titles

Nintendo Switch's Virtual Console support will be a bit more purple and handle-y than Wii U if a new report is accurate. According to Eurogamer's anonymous sources, the home/handheld hybrid system will be able to emulate GameCube games, and the initial lineup will include Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Smash Bros. Melee, with Animal Crossing currently in testing.

Eurogamer previously revealed that Nintendo Switch (then called NX) would use detachable controllers months before Nintendo confirmed anything about the console, so its history is pretty solid so far. And according to testing done by Digital Foundry, Switch's processor should be able to emulate GameCube titles that run at least as well as they did on their original system.

Wii U's virtual console support only goes up to N64, though it can also play Wii games by booting into an included Wii system menu. Unlike the original Wii model, Wii U can't play GameCube games. Which is kinda funny, since it sounds like Switch will be able to play GameCube games but not Wii or Wii U games. Nintendo loves to keep us guessing!

The January 13 reveal event for Nintendo Switch is just over a month away. Hopefully all of our questions - including the Nintendo Switch price - will be answered then, and it will simply be a matter of staring at the calendar until its March 2017 release window rolls around.

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Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.