I’m far from a big time gamer, and I have a hard time getting into newer games, however I’ve been considering the Wii U for a while now mainly due to the availability of older games that I’m actually familiar with on the virtual console. I know the original Wii would be a much cheaper option to play the old games, however I’m not overly concerned with price, and I’m more interested to know if there’s anything the Wii can do that the Wii U cannot.
So, if money isn’t a factor, is there any reason not to get a Wii U? Like I said, I’m most interested in older games, however I’d also probably consider some new stuff as well. Is there anything at all that would make me want to get an original Wii over the Wii U?
Also, speaking of the virtual console, I see a lot of games listed on the Wikipedia Page for Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64, however none for the GameCube. Does anyone know if GameCube games may become available in the future on the virtual console, or if the actual old GameCube discs could be played on either the Wii or Wii U?
The Wii can play Gamecube discs natively, the Wii U cannot. Also, despite Wii backwards compatibility, there are a couple of Wii games (I think DDR and the like) that you can’t play on Wii U because it doesn’t have the controller ports for the extra control peripherals.
It is unclear at this point whether Gamecube games will come to Wii U VC, but I wouldn’t count on it happening soon.
The Wii’s Virtual Console is pretty well stocked so if you want to play now I think a Wii’s the better choice and if you get a Wii U later, the games can be transferred via SD cards but not the save files, I believe.