It has been officially confirmed that the Wii and Gamecube emulation system known as Dolphin Emulator will soon be available to download on Steam. An official release date is not known at this time, but the store page puts a tentative release window of Q2 2023.
Dolphin emulator is coming to Steam https://t.co/Qt3eOyQSxjhttps://t.co/9CbvlKWVfb pic.twitter.com/f2P0l9Kob1
— Wario64 (@Wario64) March 28, 2023
Dolphin Emulator is Coming to Steam This Year!
Dolphin Emulator is a free, open-source video game console emulator designed for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii family of systems. It is capable of running on PC via Windows, Linux, and MacOS, and is also available on Android, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S.
It was released in inaugural release in 2003 as freeware for Windows, and is the first successful GameCube emulator that could run most commercial games, such as Super Mario Sunshine, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness, and essentially all others. It can also successfully run most Wii games.
It works by creating a virtual environment on the respective device that is capable of running games originally relased for the Gamecube and Wii systems. However, Dolphin Emulator is merely a tool designed to run legally obtained copies of the game in qustion, and does not provide the games themselves, and that will not change with the Steam port.
Once players have put copies of the games into a compatible format via Dolphin, only then can they launch it directly from the emulator.
The official announcement of the Steam port of Dolphin Emulator confirms it will soon be available for download, and players can currently Wishlist it on Steam via the store page.
Dolphin Emulator on Steam will feature enhancements such as increased resolution, save states, and netplay, and players can sign up for early access there as well.
Dolphin Emulator is expected to launch officially on Steam sometime in Q2 2023. For more of the latest Steam news and information, please be sure to keep reading The Nerd Stash in the future!