My god Nintendo, are you being intentionally trollish towards us or what? First you remove the GBA slot from the DS and now you remove backwards compatibility for the GameCube from the Wii U. Before anyone says "well gba and ngc have phased out." Okay yes that is true, but then in that case what is nintendo going to do with the NX? Remov. Wii backwards compability? It may sound idiotic to still retain that, but at least I am not saying to have NES compability. Now why would it be a good idea to retain the compability? You know what how about I put it this way, what does gamecube, the wii, and wii u have in common in terms of its format? They are cds. NOW HOW DOES NINTENDO DO THIS CRAP, WHEN THERE IS NO PROBLEM IN IMPLEMENTING
BACKWARDS-COMPABILITY?

But its fine if you remove the compability with GameCube, but at least
put GameCube games on virtual console.

BUT THEY DIDN'T!

Oh and did I forget to mention the 3DSdoesn't have GBA games in virtual console, but the wii u does

WHAT KIND OF BULLCRAP IS THAT?!

Final verdict, Nintendo either you change something and do good or DON'T DO IT ALL!

-VGMX

It's not as simple as games being cross console compatible just because they are on discs. The market is already saturated with Wiis, so there would be no reason to make it backwards compatible. Even if they wanted to, it would only cause issues. Let's take Sony for an example. The original Playstation 3 was fully backwards compatible with both the Playstation 2 and original Playstation, but severely over heated with even moderate, let alone prolonged, use. This was because it actually used Playstation 2 hardware. To try and remedy the ailment in the later models, they omitted the extra hardware and used an emulator instead, which had it's own set of compatibility and performance issues, and by the time the slimline had come around, they dropped backwards compatibility altogether. The lack of a Gameboy Advance slot in the DSi was more than likely partially a result of new hardware that was being used. The reason the DS and DS Lite had Gameboy Advance ports was because it was still popular when said consoles were released. By the time the DSi was released, the Gameboy Advance was dead. That, and there had already been several free emulators developed, effectively killing any kind of market for the GBA there was left. You also have to factor in that they are trying to cater to their core following, who are most likely repeat customers who already own a GBA or Wii. In short, it wouldn't be cost effective, it would have it's own set of problems and it's really unnecessary. Believe me, I'm one that criticizes Nintendo for their decision making quite often, but they are a game company and not miracle workers.

It always cracks me up when people talk about backwards compatibility for systems. Having systems that are "backwards compatible" hurts the consoles from moving forward and having the top of the line hardware and graphics that everyone complains about.

Here's the main solution, if you want to play the old games, keep your old systems. Then it won't be a problem.

Also, WiiU never had backwards compatibility for Gamecube. The original Wii's did. It was only their last edition of the regular Wii that took out that ability. Mainly because no one really used it.

I can also tell you that I've never once worried about playing NDS games on my 3DS.

Most systems are moving away from backwards compatibility because it prevents them from fully moving forward.

"THERE IS NO PROBLEM IN IMPLEMENTING
BACKWARDS-COMPABILITY?"

There is a problem, many in fact.

Now id love to be able to play psp games on my vita, or other games on my ps4, but by adding that, you are making the state worse. Why do you think most of the original DS games were bad aside for a few? They weren't actually able to even be built to their full potential because most of the DS's allocation of technology or whatever went to GBA games, which is why it was a terrible idea.

If Nintendo changes their policies, their systems will only get worse.

zanderlex : Although we are basically saying the same thing that by providing backwards compatibility, you are ultimately holding the hardware back from reaching it's full potential in a new system....I'm going to have to totally disagree with you that there were only a few good games for the NDS. The NDS had a ton of great games. Which is one of the reasons why the NDS is only just barely behind the PS2 as the best selling game console of all time.

Jordanv78 : I didn't say all ds games, I said the originals, after that, developers had to put more into their games and do them differently to make them work the way they should.

What I liked most about WiiU was its backward compatibility. I wish they could keep that compatibility with all of their old consoles including GameBoy Advanced but, I do see how that could not pay out to them the way they hoped and how that hinders progress like mentioned here. I like the option to play NES, SNES, N64 games specially as digital copies, cheaper, and all in one console. I still get a few WiiU games and really enjoyed the graphics and all the upgrades they made since old consoles. To me getting WiiU was a way to get rid of old consoles and also be able to play newer games so, I am glad they still have those backward compatibility and would continue to use them. If they come up with a new console that surpasses the control options for WiiU, graphics, etc then of course I would not care about backward compatibility since I already have that with WiiU so in other words I am ok with progress moving forward but, as of for this WiiU console I hope the compatibility continues as it is the main reason I use it aside from tv apps and newer WiiU games with better graphics and sound.

I must agree that I would like systems to be backwards compatible, since the games are far easier to keep and/or re-acquire than the systems. However, the systems must always strive for the best, and being anchored in the past isn't the key to success anymore.

We also have to add that old games mean very little revenue for the companies, so they prefer to focus on developing new games and powering their systems to the limits. Money makes the world go around, so if the companies have to take losses, at least they want to have a position at the top of the market so they at least have a chance of balancing out the losses in the mid-term.

In Nintendo's case, I think it's a big mistake to not keep backwards compatibility with the Gamecube. The playing style has changed a lot for all games, unlike in Sony or Microsoft where only a handful of games were exclusive to the new motion controllers. But well, Nintendo has demonstrated to be capable of the best and of the worst, so no big surprise.

Jordanv78 : I never owned as many games for the Wii as I did for the Gamecube. Plus, most of the times I'm playing Gamecube games, or Wii games compatible with the Gamecube controller. Seems like I belong to a small minority there.

Sure,Nintendo will give you backwards compatibility just like Microsoft and Sony,via a pay portal. Now I know that used games really do not benefit the original companies,but we are sentimental to a point. And the console makers know it and exploit that weakness. Nintendo has a bad habit of making crap decisions and trying to justify them. And Nintendo is nowhere as dominant as they once were. Once,upon a time,they saved the video game market by being good. Now,they are little more than a shadow of what they once were. They are now regarded as a kiddie system and have lost respect with a lot of third parties.

Disc format isn't the only issue, there's also the system architecture. For example, try putting a PS2 disc in a PS4: it can't read it. Why? The architecture is different. Different OS, different languages, different hardware, etc.

Adding straight up backwards compatibility costs the system developers and in turn raises the cost of the system for the consumer, plus restricts the system from moving forward as much as it could. For the NX to cling to Wii U compatibility would not be the best idea as it limits what Nintendo can do with the system toward changing the mistakes that they say they made with the Wii U (their words, not mine). Adding Wii and GameCube BC to it as well would leave us with a monstrously large console with heating issues, lack of forward movement toward a better system, and an absolutely enormous price tag because essentially you're paying to produce four game systems with each NX you make. So literally we could expect a price tag around $700 if they added all that hardware. And they can try emulating it, but we've seen how well that works (PS3, XB1). And the same applies to handhelds, it just isn't financially feasible for the developer or the consumer, plus it halts real progress.

Thankfully that isn't a big issue though, as you can get a Wii, GameCube, and GBA all for less than the cost of a new Wii U game. Net one of those and you have yourself a way of playing the games for it plus a collectible item for cheap. Win win.

I don't think that we can expect backwards compatibility with every single console Nintendo releases. It can be disappointing not to have it, yes, but it's not really a necessity.

That being said, I DO think that Nintendo really needs to step their game up with the 3DS virtual console releases. It's ridiculous that we haven't gotten any game boy advance games yet, and seeing as it's been out for like 5 years now, I don't think we ever will. It's just disappointing because we KNOW the 3DS can run game boy advance games, because Nintendo gave out some as free downloads to certain people in their ambassador program who purchased the original 3DS.

My argument I tried giving was unclear...
I apologize...

BUT STILL!

While it is true that Nintendo has to move forward, their lack of concentration to the virtual console is what they really should move on as well.

If Nintendo goes as far as to removing the backwards compatibility for a console, they should at least try to implement the games that will not be available for the future in their new consoles. Sure the 3DS wouldn't be able to get GameCube Virtual Console releases, because that would be too much for the console, but the Wii U has enough power to run GameCube games on, even if it isn't implemented in the software.. I did my research, and I came across a GameCube emulator for The Wii U Version of The Homebrew Channel. Proving that it is possible...

taterii : As you mentioned that the 3DS can be capable of running GBA games, it really irks me that they didn't put any other GBA games other than that Zelda Four Swords Anniversary Edition thing. I don't know, but it may have something to do with Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. Not saying that Nintendo should just add the Pokemon Gen 3 games, I would love to see Metroid Zero Mission in the 3DS, it really pissed me off that it had to be exclusive to the Wii U...

At least Nintendo has backwards compatibility in the first place, having a sort of double backwards compatibility wouldn't make sense from a business standpoint and design standpoint. Take the PS3 for example, the inclusion of the Emotion Engine drove prices up and those early PS3's have some of the highest failure rates than any of the other models. Having no hardware for backwards compatibility is better to a degree as it allows the company to allocate the expenses and development towards the newer and better hardware instead of shoveling the old stuff back in. That said, I'm not sure why Nintendo hasn't put GameCube games on the Wii U's virtual console as Wii games are available there, but it could be the same reason as to why GBA games aren't on the 3DS VC. The GBA ambassador games along with the Wii games on the eShop don't have your typical VC features like Miiverse support, save states, suspend points, customizable controls, etc. and Nintendo doesn't want to sell something that isn't VC worthy I guess, but that's just my take on it.

VideogamemanX : That's not emulation though, the Wii U is technically capable of playing GameCube games natively through the Wii hardware that's included for Wii backwards compatibility. That is unless the Wii U has actually already been hacked and a Homebrew channel has already been implemented with a working GameCube emulator in place and I haven't somehow heard about it yet.

I don't think anyone is going to be against retaining backwards compatability at face value. But that said if Nintendo decides to leave out I don't think it'll do much to impact the sales, simply because the people who feel it's really important is a pretty small amount of people and likely own the previous console anyway and will get the next one regardless.

There could probably be financial or technical reasons for why they would decide to skip out on it as well, it isn't going to impact sales much and it may allow them to do more with the console or sell it at a cheaper price as someone who doesn't really have any console brand they're loyal to that could have an impact on wheter or not I decide to pick it up when it the next nintendo console hits.

Backwards compatability is little more than a nod to loyal nintendo fans at this point.

VideogamemanX : I feel your frustrations and I understand that they are made even worse by Nintendo seemingly picking and choosing where they where put backwards compatibility but what you have to understand is that making a system backwards compatible is like putting a whole other console into the already existing one which is sometimes do able but will always raise the price and is often times impossible as the current hardware in the system is already pushing the system itself to it's limit. The reason Nintendo was able to add the GB slot in the original is because the DS was so much more powerful and didn't have any apps or other specialties such as cameras or 3D to run with it. And the reason they could add GC to the Wii and not make it super expensive is because Nintendo made the GameCube with the small disks to be cheaper (and harder to pirate). Don't get me wrong I would love for them to bring back backwards compatibility, I'm just not sure if they can do it without making the NX a $1000 console.But if anyone could do it, it would be Nintendo.

It would be nice if the backward compatibility wasn't taken out, but console companies don't give a dam what the customers want, there gonna keep bringing out more consoles and increasing the price for each console and people are gonna buy them regardless cause they'll be new releases/ sequels to games that they wanna try out and get disappointed in. Since newer games aint as awesome and entertaining as they used to be. Most games are completed quite quickly now.

 Unfortunately for us we are gonna need to be hoarders and keep the old consoles if you want to play the games that you loved so much. And prob buy the remakes that are going to make you curse and swear because they messed it up.

Also means theres no point trading in your old console to save a couple of bucks on the new release.

Jordanv78 :  

I agree with his reply. Having backwards compatibility essentially holds back the console from being able to have top of the line hardware. And it would be more logical and simple to just keep your previous gen console. Also, it would cost a lot less money for the people who make the consoles, to not add backwards compatibility. While its always nice to have backwards compatibility, you cant tarnish Nintendo's reputation, or whats left of it anyways, for removing it. But you also have to keep in mind that one game consoles cant be compatible with 3 other different systems. Having Wii u backwards compatibility should be enough. Having wii supported along with that is costly and the system hard ware is already outdated. it just wouldn't make sense for the developers  

Well compared to Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo actually allows a lot about their past games to be played unlike the other two. Sure, they started to discontinue their backwards compatibility with the GameCube on the Wii-U, so you figure that they would add it to the VC, but they haven't (yet), because Nintendo thinks that the GameCube did so poorly, but I don't think so, there is a few of their games on GC that were quite successful (Super Smash Bros. Melee, all the Mario Party games on GC, plus a few others).

Plus like what was said, it's the hardware limitations that has affected their decision of having their consoles backwards compatible.

Sure, a lot of people were upset that Nintendo removed the GameBoy Advance slot from the DS starting with the DSi, especially if you wanted to transfer Pokemon from Gen III to Gen IV (in order to go to Gen V, then VI, then eventually VII)

Like you said about Nintendo not having GBA games on the 3DS (a handheld) but they are on the Wii-U (a console) doesn't really make any sense, because all handheld games goes to handhelds and consoles goes to consoles. Although you could use the SD/Micro SD card to store all the GBA games on for the 3DS, but like I said, it might be something to do with the hardware, but I'm not too sure why though because the 3DS should handle it.