Posted on Sun Apr 1, 2018 12:00 AM EDT by: Hairball

This article was last updated on: May 16, 2020 5:42 pm EDT

Want to know how to play Wii U games on the Nintendo Switch? Tired of all the re-hashed ports that are being released on the Switch? As everyone knows, there are definitely way too many ports on the Nintendo Switch.

SM128C's inside sources have discovered that there is a faction of developers at Nintendo opposed to its current policy of porting all major Wii U titles to the Nintendo Switch and have secretly developed a feature to play Wii and Wii U games on the Nintendo Switch!



Super Mario 3D World on the Switch home screen just like any other game

"All the Wii U ports we're releasing now is a cash grab, it's a joke so we save on development costs for new games, which is what we want to do as developers," says one team lead who declined to provide his name.

In theNintendo Switch 5.0.1 system update, the Switch has added functionality that can now play Wii and Wii U games by simply plugging in a USB Blu-ray disc drive. It can either be a standalone USB Blu-ray disc drive, or a desktop computer Blu-ray disc drive with a SATA to USB adapter. Wii U game discs are not native Blu-ray discs, however the Nintendo Switch is able to use software to program the Blu-ray drive to properly read in the discs so they are playable on the console.

Simply plug the Blu-ray disc drive into the Switch's USB ports on the dock, and presto - Wii and Wii U games can be played just like any native Switch game! This feature to play Wii and Wii U games will only work on docked mode, handheld and tabletop mode is not supported. It wouldn't be practical anyway, this optical drive add-on is simply not very portable at all.



Connect a Blu-ray drive to your Nintendo Switch and you can instantly play Wii and Wii U games!

This update is similar to the surprise GameCube controller support added in the Switch 4.0 update that uses the Wii U GameCube USB adapter. It seems like the developers still run the show at Nintendo. Backwards compatibility has existed for the last few systems, GameCube games were playable on the Wii, Wii games were playing on the Wii U - the fact that Nintendo is once again offering backwards comparability is not entirely a shock.

Wii games will be upconverted to high-definition 1080p output when played on the Nintendo Switch, a feature that did not exist for the Wii U. This makes it possible to finally experience Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 in HD, the way it should have been in the first place.

The Nintendo Switch does not have a sensor bar - and cannot use the Wii U sensor bar, but the built-in gyroscope is far superior to what was found on the Wii remotes. The Switch Joy-cons will be used as a replacement for the Wii remotes and nunchuks, and the Switch Pro Controller can be used in place of the Wii U Pro Controller.

At this time, Wii U digital downloads that were purchased are not supported - no reasons were not provided. However, it's suspected that Nintendo just doesn't truly believe in digital content delivery and prefers doing business the old fashioned way.

There is one catch, the Wii U functionality will not be activated until it is announced at the next Nintendo Direct Mini that is scheduled for Wed Apr 4, 2018 at 5:00 pm ET. Unfortunately, setting the clock on the console ahead will not work.

Perhaps this is a sign that the porting frenzy is coming to an end and Nintendo is shifting the focus to new Switch games for the rest of 2018.

Source: "Liar Of Lop"