Can you play Wii games on the Nintendo Switch?

By every standard, the Nintendo Switch is a huge success. After their initial attempt at producing a device built for both handheld and console play, the Wii U failed miserably. Nintendo decided to focus their efforts on a whole new device: a genuinely portable console that isn't connected to a box under your television.

While the Wii U definitely raised questions about Nintendo's future viability, it's apparent that the Nintendo Switch is a huge success by any standard. 

The Switch continues to sell out years after its initial release, thanks to a fantastic library of exclusive titles such as Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Breath of the Wild, as well as a slew of third-party and independent games.

Of all, just because the library is fantastic doesn't mean there isn't a desire for a broader range of games to play. 

Owners of the Switch, in particular, have taken to wishing for games of all shapes and sizes to be moved to the Switch, to the point where just asking for titles to be ported to the Switch has become a joke. No other system has received as many requests as Nintendo's newest, owing to its mobility and fun to play Wii games on Switch. People can't get enough of requesting that games be added to the system.

One of the most asked queries from the buyers is can play Wii games on the Nintendo Switch? After all, Nintendo Game has a long history of inter-console interoperability. The Gameboy Advance could run Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, the Nintendo DS could run Gameboy Advance games, and the Nintendo 3DS could (and still can) play DS games in the same slot.

Similarly, the Wii featured complete GameCube compatibility, including ports for GameCube controllers on the top of the console. At the same time, the Wii U used emulation to function with the entire catalog of Wii games and peripherals. Can you play Wii games on Switch? Continue reading to find out.

Can you play Wii Games on Switch?

We won't keep you waiting too long: the quick answer to this query is no. For a variety of reasons, the Switch can only play Switch games for now. However, before you leave in dissatisfaction, you should stay with us. Things aren't hopeless regarding the Switch and probable Wii compatibility, as we'll discuss shortly.

First, it's important to know why Nintendo abandoned backward compatibility with the Switch and why there is now no backward compatibility.

Disc vs. Flash

If you own a Switch or know someone who does, you'll see that it marks a return to cartridges for Nintendo home systems for the first time since the N64's death following the GameCube's release in 2001. The Switch's cartridges are tiny, flash-based devices similar to how the DS and 3DS used to play games.

The feature to take the Switch on the move effectively eliminates the possibility of utilizing Blu-Ray discs for games used by both the PS4 and the Xbox One. Using a disc-based system would include real moving parts and more noise and mass, making the device considerably more unstable. Only Sony's PSP and its successor, the Vita, made the disc-based portable gaming system operate flawlessly.

As a result, you cannot play Wii games on Switch. Similarly, the Switch cartridge design differs from that of the DS and 3DS. Both are squarer than the taller, rectangular-shaped Switch cartridges that were subsequently released, making it challenging to play a physical game from a prior Nintendo title.

However, digital versions of games are not out of the question, as we will explore in further detail shortly.

What are Wii games available on the Switch?

While the Switch does not initially play Wii games, a few chosen Wii games have been converted to the Switch with enhanced visuals and new controls.

• Super Mario Galaxy was included in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. Even though Nintendo has only made the game available until March 31st, 2022, it is still playable on Switch.

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2022, along with all-new physical controllers that will allow gamers to circumvent the game's contentious motion controls.

• Xenoblade Chronicles: The Final Chapter: Though this critically acclaimed JRPG was challenging to find during its Wii North American release, newcomers and veterans alike can now play the first Xenoblade game on Switch with improved graphics.

Several third-party titles and indie classics from the Wii era have also been transferred to the Switch, including:

• de Blob

• Cave Story

• BIT.TRIP RUNNER 

• Okami

• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

What About Wii U Games?

Nintendo systems have nearly always been fully backward-compatible with the design that came before them. Still, the Switch's absence of a disc drive prevents it from playing a Nintendo fan's collection of Wii U titles.

Nintendo believes that, despite the Wii U's short lifetime and sales failure, a significant number of Wii U titles deserved a second shot. Nintendo has utilized the Wii U's library as a launching platform for the Switch, a means for the system to become a big sales success with a sound library of games for anybody to pick up and play, from sequels with upgrades and modifications to upgraded versions of Wii U titles.

These are the Wii U titles that have made their way to the Switch, either as sequels or upgraded remakes:

• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: This port includes all of the DLC from the original release, as well as an all-new combat mode that easily outperforms the original to create the finest Mario Kart game yet.

• Splatoon 2: While not a remake, Splatoon 2 plays similarly to the original, improving on it while bringing new players to the franchise. The game is still alive. However, as we edit this post, the last Splatfest is now taking place, so anyone purchasing Splatoon 2 after July 2019 will find the community-based event has vanished.

• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: The newest installment in the long-running Donkey Kong Country series has minor improvements over the original Wii U edition but otherwise stays unchanged.

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Originally announced as a Wii U exclusive, the game was delayed in 2016 to premiere the Switch's first title and the Wii U's final round. The game is receiving a complete sequel set sometime after the original's finale, and the brief trailer unveiled at E3 2019 is a total banger.

• Bayonetta 2: Nintendo funded the sequel to Platinum Games' cult hit Bayonetta, then transferred to the Nintendo Switch. Due to the popularity of Bayonetta 2, Nintendo has announced the third game in the series, which will also be a Switch exclusive.

• Pokken Tournament DX: This Tekken/Pokemon crossover was launched late in the Wii U's lifespan, and it's now accessible for the Switch with all new features and upgrades.

• Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Nintendo is taking advantage of the Switch's limited autumn lineup this year to release two more Wii U ports to the system. Pikmin 3 Deluxe is a port of the famous strategy game from 2013, finally bringing the franchise to new fans for the first time since the Wii's days.

• Super Mario 3D World: To commemorate Mario's 35th anniversary, Nintendo is introducing Super Mario 3D World to the Switch, in addition to Super Mario 3D All-Stars. The world has been hailed as one of the finest 3D Mario games to date, and the all-new add-on, Bowser's Fury, has been hailed as the future of 3D Mario titles by critics.

• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: This chapter in the long-running fighting game series is technically all-new, with new mechanics and even new characters. However, the game is unmistakably based on the Wii U Smash game and has earned even more critical acclaim than the original.

• The New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Edition: This re-release contains the original game, the Luigi-themed DLC levels, and the addition of Toadette as a playable character. It's certainly worth your time to pick up if you missed out on the sofa co-op platforming fun.

While this does not include every Wii U unique game, it does have a huge number of ports and experiences that consumers missed out on the first time around. 

If you already had a Wii U, you may be disappointed to pay the top price for new, upgraded copies of titles you already own. Still, for those seeking to take their whole experience on the road, it may be worth upgrading to better versions of your favorite games.

Will the Switch be able to connect to a Virtual Console?

But wait, you may be thinking. Is this a sign that the Switch will have a Virtual Console like the 3DS, Wii, and Wii U before it? 

Unfortunately, it is a resounding no. When Nintendo finally revealed their plans for the Switch's online service in 2018, Reggie Fils-Aime, former president of Nintendo of America, confirmed that a Virtual Console would not be coming to the Switch, at least not shortly, stating that there were "no plans" to use the Virtual Console banner on the Switch.

Instead, people seeking to play older games on the Switch have two alternatives. The first is through the eShop, as several companies, notably Nintendo, have begun to provide vintage versions of games from consoles and arcade machines such as the Neo Geo. Several Neo Geo classics are available on the eShop right now, including Blazing Star and Fatal Fury.

The second option for downloading old games is Nintendo's online service, which contains a selection of NES games such as Ice Climbers and the original Super Mario Bros. and a new collection of SNES titles that debuted in September 2019.

Unfortunately, 2020 passed without the release of a Nintendo 64 collection for the Switch. However, the system's 25th anniversary is in 2022, so keep looking for future developments this year.

All of this is wishful thinking, presuming that Nintendo will ever get around to replacing the Wii with the Switch. Nintendo would have to include the Nintendo 64 and GameCube at the present rate of progress before eventually getting to Wii titles in 2023, five years after the Switch's release. 

This also disregards the company's library of mobile games, which may be included in addition to current home console releases.

Conclusion

In the end, Wii compatibility for the Nintendo Switch is a waiting game. Nintendo has begun to add libraries of older games to the console's online subscription service, but at a far slower rate than we'd want. These games feature minor changes to allow for online play, either competitively or cooperatively, implying that additional games with changed play may be on the horizon.

Sure, all of this might be for nothing. Perhaps Nintendo is content with the existing (and certainly fantastic) array of titles available through the eShop from AAA and independent creators. However, Nintendo would be foolish to ignore the demand for both new and old titles on the Switch.

The success of translations like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which outsold the original within months of release, demonstrates that Switch users are ready to spend the top price for titles they missed out on during the initial launch or want to play again on a portable console.

The market is there. The controllers are there, and the tech is there—it appears that it is just a matter of time before the stars align, and we can play Wii games on the Switch.