Hacking Emulation of Wii U: Beginner's Questions

[Digit-Aria]

Hey, everyone. I'm a longtime Wii U user with interest in playing emulated titles on it. I've done some research both here and elsewhere, but am not sure if I have everything right. I was hoping I could get a few points clarified.

• There is no Wii U-specific emulator; I would need to download the homebrew channel for the virtual Wii mode, correct?
• If I wanted to play Playstation titles, I would then need to download WiiSX, correct? Or is there a better emulator?
• The tablet will display emulated titles, but you cannot play with them?

Is there anything else I should know, or are there FAQs/instructions I could be directed towards?

 

[YugamiSekai]

Hey, everyone. I'm a longtime Wii U user with interest in playing emulated titles on it. I've done some research both here and elsewhere, but am not sure if I have everything right. I was hoping I could get a few points clarified.

• There is no Wii U-specific emulator; I would need to download the homebrew channel for the virtual Wii mode, correct?
  
• If I wanted to play Playstation titles, I would then need to download WiiSX, correct? Or is there a better emulator?

• The tablet will display emulated titles, but you cannot play with them?

Is there anything else I should know, or are there FAQs/instructions I could be directed towards?

• There is no Wii U-specific emulator; I would need to download the homebrew channel for the virtual Wii mode, correct? That is correct
• If I wanted to play Playstation titles, I would then need to download WiiSX, correct? Or is there a better emulator? There is also PCSX-Revolution
• The tablet will display emulated titles, but you cannot play with them? Most likely yes it will display them. You can't play with the gamepad yet.
  

 

[Digit-Aria]

Would the new Gamecube controller attachment for the Wii U work with any emulated titles?

 

[YugamiSekai]

Would the new Gamecube controller attachment for the Wii U work with any emulated titles?

It should. I know definitely that Nintendont (The GameCube Emulator) works with it.

 

[tswntk]

strictly speaking, nintendont is not an emulator but thats not the point of this post.
nintendont has specific codes to enable it to use the new Gamecube controller attachment.
If the emulator you used has been updated for that, then yes, else no.

 

[TehCupcakes]

Last I knew, Nintendont is the only homebrew to support the official Gamecube controller adapter. As the user above me stated, this is because it is specifically coded to send the proper handshake and such to make it work. None of the emulators have been updated to include this.

However, there are those Mayflash adapters and various other adapters which will work for emulators. This is because they merely trick the Wii U into thinking it is a classic controller pro, rather than treating it as a legitimate Gamecube controller through the official protocol.

 

[Sli 41]

Last I knew, Nintendont is the only homebrew to support the official Gamecube controller adapter. As the user above me stated, this is because it is specifically coded to send the proper handshake and such to make it work. None of the emulators have been updated to include this.

However, there are those Mayflash adapters and various other adapters which will work for emulators. This is because they merely trick the Wii U into thinking it is a classic controller pro, rather than treating it as a legitimate Gamecube controller through the official protocol.

What would be the better choice then? To get an official gamecube controller adapter or one of those generic ones? What is the real benefit of having the controllers treated as the real deal to the expense of not being able to use them for emulators and stuff?

 

[TehCupcakes]

What would be the better choice then? To get an official gamecube controller adapter or one of those generic ones? What is the real benefit of having the controllers treated as the real deal to the expense of not being able to use them for emulators and stuff?

Super Smash Bros. 4 and it has 4 ports in one. You can also use the official adapter with Dolphin (on PC). I don't know exactly how well other adapters perform, as I only have the official, but it's worked flawlessly for me.

 

[TecXero]

The Hori Battle Pad is a nice alternative for Analog Stick centric games. For games where a D-Pad is better, I recommend just using a Classic Controller Pro. You could also just grab a Pro Controller. Most Wii homebrew emulators and loaders have been updated to use it, and it has both a decent Analog Stick and D-Pad. It won't work for Wii games, but it will work fine for most Wii U games.

 

[Sli 41]

For D-Pad games I ordered an 8Bitdo SNES30 controller which apparently is pretty good. That's why I'm wondering about the Gamecube adapter, is it compatible with Wii games that support Gamecube controller? I'm thinking of just getting one of the the cheap adapters as the official is still harder to find and more expensive.

 

[TheNerdWIzard]

For D-Pad games I ordered an 8Bitdo SNES30 controller which apparently is pretty good. That's why I'm wondering about the Gamecube adapter, is it compatible with Wii games that support Gamecube controller? I'm thinking of just getting one of the the cheap adapters as the official is still harder to find and more expensive.

You can buy the official gamecube adapter on gamestop's website. I got an off brand (non official) one at my local video game store. It works just fine. And no, the adapter does not work woth wii games.

 

[Sli 41]

You can buy the official gamecube adapter on gamestop's website. I got an off brand (non official) one at my local video game store. It works just fine. And no, the adapter does not work woth wii games.

Not from the US so my options were very limited, I was about to get an off brand one but got lucky and Amazon got a new batch of official ones. Price gouging is crazy for this thing. So yeah If anyone is looking for one they're available on Amazon right now.

 

[the_randomizer]

FWIW, Nintendont is a virtual machine, and not an emulator, just wanted to establish that. Otherwise, there'd be no way it could achieve 100% compatibility.

 

[rafalince]

Can i format my Wii U before install homebrew ? Or iwill lost homebrew forever?

 

[the_randomizer]

Can i format my Wii U before install homebrew ? Or iwill lost homebrew forever?

Why would you want to? You don't need to, actually.

 

[rafalince]

I will Sell my Wii U, and i wanna format it for sell. But before i format, i can reinstall Homebrew or i will lose it forever ?