INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Don’t Give Up, Gamers! Fresh Restock Of GameCube Adapters For Wii U Hits Retailers

By Kristine Croto
Published on: 05:55 PST, Jan 20, 2015

In a world where Microsoft and Sony seem blithely unconcerned about releasing platforms with little to no backwards compatibility (the ability to use a game from a previous console generation), Nintendo sometimes feels like a breath of fresh air with their approach, first on the Wii and then the Wii U. With the original Wii, many games were available for download, and with the Wii U, Nintendo has gone a step further, and created adapters that allowed users to play some of their old GameCube games. Unfortunately, the adapter has been hard to come by at the best of times.

About a month ago, Gameranx reported that Nintendo had responded to customer demand for these Wii U accessories.

“Both the Super Smash Bros. Edition Nintendo GameCube Controller and the Adapter that connects it to the Wii U console remain in distribution in the North American region. Nintendo of America is doing everything we can to meet the strong demand for these products, and additional stock will be made available and delivered to retailers. We ask consumers to contact their local retailers directly regarding availability.”

Yesterday, Gameranx shared a photo a Dallas user had taken of a shelf in Best Buy where Wii U GameCube adapters are back in stock. The site also clarified the adapter issue

“Since the adapters are the only official way to use GameCube controllers to play Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, they’ve been far more popular than your typical accessory. But while the GameCube controllers themselves have been in ready supply as of late, the adapters have not. Sounds like our fortunes are finally changing.”

Some retailers have also posted what they have available on social media.

For users who haven’t been able to lay their hands on an adapter, and aren’t able to get one from their local gaming store, there are third party solutions available from companies like Mayflash. Bonus: the adapter can also be used on a PC. If you want to use the Wii U’s GamePad to play certain games, Wii U Daily offers a homebrew solution using a non-Nintendo based firmware. Be aware, if you choose to look into this, that homebrews are not officially supported, and could be banned from the Nintendo Store down the road.

All this product shortage makes a gamer almost miss the days when finding a Wii was completely impossible. The Wii U is in no short supply, but finding this random piece of gear impossible. Sounds like there may be more demand for GameCube games on the Wii U than Nintendo has understood so far.

[Image from Wii U Daily]

Share this article: Don’t Give Up, Gamers! Fresh Restock Of GameCube Adapters For Wii U Hits Retailers
wii nintendo wii u
More from Inquisitr