4 ms·

Does this page leak news about Nintendo DS emulation for the Wii U Virtual Console? Or is this a mistake/old news?

Kronopath 12y ago
It might be DS emulation for 3DS. I'm pretty sure that DS games run under software emulation on that platform, given that you can do things like hit the "home" button to return to the 3DS's menu.
- ntkachov 12y ago
  Nope. I think its hardware emulation. The DS games run on one of the processors. I think its the processor that runs the system OS, which is why you can't just back out of a DS game into the main menu, you have to quit the game. Also the reason why you don't get street passes when you play DS games.
  - DSMan195276 12y ago
    IIRC, it can't run the System OS at the same time because the system switches in to 'DS Mode'. The DS actually had two processors inside, and AFAIK the 3DS under-clocks both processors to match what the DS had and runs the games that way (And thus, while it's in 'DS Mode' the only way back to 3DS mode is via the Home button).
    - Danieru 12y ago
      Its also interesting to note that this is how Nintendo has handled backwards compatability for every gameboy generator. In the DS the GBA's arm was used for sound processing. And the GBA has a GBC's z80. The GBC itself was just a GB z80 with a higher clock and special memory space for color palettes.
      - MBCook 12y ago
        I believe that's also how the PS2 worked. I think it used the PS1 processor as the sound chip as well so they didn't need to emulate the processor.
        glhaynes 12y ago
        Likewise the Sega Master System used a Z80 as its CPU; later, Sega used it for the Genesis / Mega Drive's sound management processor (plus a Yamaha synthesizer). If you plugged in the Power Base Converter, the Z80 would become the CPU and let you play Master System games.
      - DSMan195276 12y ago
        More interestingly, I read something not to long ago that the GBA games released for the 'Ambassador' program on the 3DS are also run right on the hardware (For better or worse). I feel like that means the GBA's processor is also inside of the 3DS, probably because for 'DS Mode' to work it'd have to have a compatible sound processor in there somewhere.
      - duskwuff 12y ago
        > Its also interesting to note that this is how Nintendo has handled backwards compatability for every gameboy generator. Same pattern as how they handled Game Cube compatibility on the Wii, I believe. I wouldn't be surprised if Wii mode on the Wii U were similar, but I'm not familiar with that.
        Danieru 12y ago
        True, in the case of both the Wii and WiiU they are mostly higher clocked Gamecubes. This is why Dolphin started as a Gamecube emulator and added Wii support. About a year ago I talked with one of the Dolphin developers and he anticipate extending to the WiiU once we have the CPU headroom.
        delroth 12y ago
        I don't know who you talked to, but Dolphin will never have support for Wii U. Wii U emulation requires a completely different emulator type compared to Wii emulation. Source: I'm a Dolphin developer.
    - Kronopath 12y ago
      That's cool, I didn't know that. Thanks!
pdknsk 12y ago
It was rather quietly announced earlier this year, during a financial results briefing. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130/02.html http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130/02.htm...
mattl 12y ago
They released Brain Training DS in JP and EU about a month ago for the Wii U.

It might be DS emulation for 3DS. I'm pretty sure that DS games run under software emulation on that platform, given that you can do things like hit the "home" button to return to the 3DS's menu.

ntkachov 12y ago
Nope. I think its hardware emulation. The DS games run on one of the processors. I think its the processor that runs the system OS, which is why you can't just back out of a DS game into the main menu, you have to quit the game. Also the reason why you don't get street passes when you play DS games.
- DSMan195276 12y ago
  IIRC, it can't run the System OS at the same time because the system switches in to 'DS Mode'. The DS actually had two processors inside, and AFAIK the 3DS under-clocks both processors to match what the DS had and runs the games that way (And thus, while it's in 'DS Mode' the only way back to 3DS mode is via the Home button).
  - Danieru 12y ago
    Its also interesting to note that this is how Nintendo has handled backwards compatability for every gameboy generator. In the DS the GBA's arm was used for sound processing. And the GBA has a GBC's z80. The GBC itself was just a GB z80 with a higher clock and special memory space for color palettes.
    - MBCook 12y ago
      I believe that's also how the PS2 worked. I think it used the PS1 processor as the sound chip as well so they didn't need to emulate the processor.
      - glhaynes 12y ago
        Likewise the Sega Master System used a Z80 as its CPU; later, Sega used it for the Genesis / Mega Drive's sound management processor (plus a Yamaha synthesizer). If you plugged in the Power Base Converter, the Z80 would become the CPU and let you play Master System games.
    - DSMan195276 12y ago
      More interestingly, I read something not to long ago that the GBA games released for the 'Ambassador' program on the 3DS are also run right on the hardware (For better or worse). I feel like that means the GBA's processor is also inside of the 3DS, probably because for 'DS Mode' to work it'd have to have a compatible sound processor in there somewhere.
    - duskwuff 12y ago
      > Its also interesting to note that this is how Nintendo has handled backwards compatability for every gameboy generator. Same pattern as how they handled Game Cube compatibility on the Wii, I believe. I wouldn't be surprised if Wii mode on the Wii U were similar, but I'm not familiar with that.
      - Danieru 12y ago
        True, in the case of both the Wii and WiiU they are mostly higher clocked Gamecubes. This is why Dolphin started as a Gamecube emulator and added Wii support. About a year ago I talked with one of the Dolphin developers and he anticipate extending to the WiiU once we have the CPU headroom.
        delroth 12y ago
        I don't know who you talked to, but Dolphin will never have support for Wii U. Wii U emulation requires a completely different emulator type compared to Wii emulation. Source: I'm a Dolphin developer.
  - Kronopath 12y ago
    That's cool, I didn't know that. Thanks!

pdknsk 12y ago

It was rather quietly announced earlier this year, during a financial results briefing. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130/02.html http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130/02.htm...

mattl 12y ago

They released Brain Training DS in JP and EU about a month ago for the Wii U.