I was one of those guys that bought the Wii off of eBay shortly after its release at a scalper's ransom. For months my roommates and I would drink beer, talk trash, and play Wii Sports bowling for hours on end. Of course the Wii never got many quality games but the console was worth the price alone for all the fun we had with Wii Sports.
A decade later my Wii doesn't work very well; the discs are scratched and the Wii usually spits out any disk I put into it, which is a shame because my four year old is just getting into gaming. After a bit of research I've found that Dolphin, the emulator I found to play Gamecube games, can also emulate Wii games. It took a few hours of experimentation but I finally figured out how to play Wii games on my Mac. Let's have a look!
The Wii Homebrew Channel and Browser. With the Wii Homebrew Channel and Homebrew Browser installed, you can download custom games and apps. Use the tabs at the top of the menu to browse the different categories. After selecting the apps you wish to install, you can access them from the Wii Homebrew Channel. Description: Step by step instructions on how to find the MAC Address on the Wii. What to Do: Power on your Wii console and press the A Button on the Wii Remote to reach the Wii main menu. Play Wii/GameCube Games on a Mac! Mac Tutorials; Play Wii Games on Windows & macOS for FREE Dolphin Emulator; How To Run Wii & GameCube Emulator on MAC or PC; Play Any Wii Game on PC/Mac FULL GUIDE Easy and Free; NEW How To Play Wii Games on your Mac! 2020 Set Up The Dolphin Emulator On Mac Play GameCube & Wii Games On Mac; Playing Wii Games.
Play Wii On Pc
Step 1: Get Dolphin
To get around this, delete the installation folder and install from scratch. Takes like 30 seconds of your time. Or you can just keep Wii U USB Helper open.The app will take a rather large chunk of space (about 1GB) due to its Windows' and.net dependencies hosted with it in the application. Credits to @Hikari06 for creating the Wii U USB.
The Dolphin app is an emulator for both Gamecube and Wii. Download and install Dolphin emulator and you should see this screen when you open the app:
Step 2 (Optional): Get the Wiimote Dependencies
This step is only required if you want to use real wiimotes to play wii games on your Mac. Many gamers have mentioned that the Xbox controller is an excellent alternative.
Start by opening System Preferences > Bluetooth and ensuring Bluetooth is turned on. Despite being a bluetooth device, the wiimote does require a bit of extra software to work as desired:
This step is only required if you want to use real wiimotes to play wii games on your Mac. Many gamers have mentioned that the Xbox controller is an excellent alternative.
Start by opening System Preferences > Bluetooth and ensuring Bluetooth is turned on. Despite being a bluetooth device, the wiimote does require a bit of extra software to work as desired:
- foodhid: OSX IOKit driver for implementing virtual HID devices (joypads, keyboards, etc.)
- WJoy: Nintendo Wiimote driver for Mac OS X. Unfortunately the current version of the original repository has an immediately disconnecting defect so use this forked version which contains fixes so your Wiimote can stay connected.
The WJoy utility may not be needed to play games with Dolphin but it's a very useful app for using a Wiimote for any purpose on Mac. WJoy displays in the menu bar and allows you to open or close Wiimote discoverability. Click the 'Begin Discovery' menu item, then grab your Wiimote and hold the red pairing button near the Wiimote's batteries; WJoy will quickly discover and pair your Wiimote!
Step 3: Configure the Wiimote or Other Remote within Dolphin
Dolphin does not initially detect your Wiimote so you'll need to manually configure your Wiimote (or Xbox controller) within the Options > Controller Settings menu. Find the 'Wiimotes' heading and choose either 'Emulated Remote' (for a controller other than Wiimote) or 'Real Wiimote' if you have a Wiimote.
Notice that you can use up to four real Wiimotes (it works!). You'll also want to turn on the 'Continuous Scanning' option under the 'Real Wiimote' heading.
After initial setup, Dolphin will remember any configuration you've created. Once Dolphin recognizes your Wiimote, the Wiimote will rumble and make the typical Wiimote chime.
Step 4: Load an ISO and Play!
Click Dolphin's 'Open' icon and choose an Wii game ISO file. The game will start and you're ready to play!
Play Wii On Android
My 2017 13″ MacBook Pro plays Wii Sports flawlessly, even without the Wii sensor bar. The swinging and other Wiimote motions are just as responsive as my old Wiimote. Kudos to the developers of Dolphin and the Wiimote drivers for making all of this Magic happen!
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