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Nintendo Switch Update 4.0.0 Adds GameCube Controller Support

Nintendo has quietly added GameCube controller support to the Nintendo Switch with the console's latest update, fueling a new round of speculation.

Ozzie Mejia

October 24, 2017 11:20 AM

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The Nintendo Switch received a massive update last week and it looks to be so big that new additions are still being discovered. Earlier this week, intrepid users discovered that the update has also enabled GameCube controller support.

The folks at GameXplain (via Kotaku) noticed the sudden GameCube controller compatibility, which allows for the GameCube controller adapter that was issued for the Wii U to work on the Switch. What's particularly noteworthy here is that while GameCube controllers only worked for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on the previous Nintendo console, GameXplain has observed that the old-generation gamepads will operate on most current Switch games.

Sudden GameCube controller compatibility has particularly piqued the interest of the Super Smash Bros. community, who are taking it as another potential sign that a remastered Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is coming to the Switch. Of course, such an assumption is premature. Nintendo may simply be working on an entirely new installment of the franchise and need the GameCube controller to help test it out.

Another theory is that the long-awaited GameCube Virtual Console's arrival is imminent. The rumors of the GameCube generation going downloadable have been persistent since the Wii U's release, but there's still nothing concrete at this time.

Regardless of the reasoning, GameCube controllers now work on the Nintendo Switch. And while there's nothing pointing to specific new announcements, at the very least, it works on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?