Wii backwards compatible with GameCube?

[slackerinabox]

I'm *NOT* a gamer in the least, I'm just looking to get a simple system to play games that are social or good stress busters (racing games, "party games", dance dance revolution, boxing games, etc. etc. etc.)... I don't want to spend a lot and thought about picking up a used gamecube - $70 aint a big deal but I'm worried about the Wii coming out soon and being able to play gamecube games out of the box. Since the Wii is the only next gen system that I really care about i'm thinking that it would be redundant to own both.

anyone know a definitive answer? i'm also thinking about getting an xbox but demand for used systems are high and xbox seems to be a home for geek games vs. the fun, goofy stuff i'm into. Any benefit to getting an old school xbox vs a gamecube? I have tivo and a divx dvd player so mediacenter functions don't mean much to me, but convince me either way - 🙂

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Yes, Wii can play Gamecube discs.

 

[sao123]

Probably wont know for a long time.... interestingly enough, The Wii at e3 might have been a gamecube in disguise...

Nintendo faked Wii demonstration - claim
Wii white lies

By Nick Farrell: Friday 19 May 2006, 15:25

THE RECENT demonstration by Nintendo of its new Wii machine at the E3 show was all fabricated, according to the Nintendo insider forum.
Nintendo apparently was in a bit of a bind because it needed to make a good impression at E3, but it didn?t have a product. The ATI graphics card which will be a feature of the Wii is still in development.

The forum claims that the machine on show was just an empty box with a light on it. A large number of cables were seen coming out of the back which appeared to lead to a Gamecube.

The claim is that the Gamecubes were tinkered with to run a Wii development kit, with the signal routed back through a pretend Wii machine.

Should this prove true, it is amazing that no-one questioned why the Wii had such bad graphics for a second-generation machine. The US press who attended were probably too busy writing the press release up and cheering the presentation.

Looks like Nintendo would have got away with it, if he hadn't been for those pesky kids on the Nintendo Insider Forum.

We are waiting for Nintendo to get back to us with a comment. µ

 

[Demon-Xanth]

At E3, there was Wii hardware in GC cases. That would indicate that the platform wasn't on a production level PCB.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
I'm *NOT* a gamer in the least, I'm just looking to get a simple system to play games that are social or good stress busters (racing games, "party games", dance dance revolution, boxing games, etc. etc. etc.)... I don't want to spend a lot and thought about picking up a used gamecube - $70 aint a big deal but I'm worried about the Wii coming out soon and being able to play gamecube games out of the box. Since the Wii is the only next gen system that I really care about i'm thinking that it would be redundant to own both.

anyone know a definitive answer? i'm also thinking about getting an xbox but demand for used systems are high and xbox seems to be a home for geek games vs. the fun, goofy stuff i'm into. Any benefit to getting an old school xbox vs a gamecube? I have tivo and a divx dvd player so mediacenter functions don't mean much to me, but convince me either way - 🙂

It absolutely, postively, will play all gamecube games straight out of the box. But I'll sell you my gamecube for $70 right now if you want it. 🙂

Xbox media center is sweet - I havent played an xbox game in years on it, but it gets daily use as a media center, way better than anything else I've ever touched.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: sao123
I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

so... how exactly do you have 1.5 HDMI ports 😉

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

Half the point of Wii is its ability to play a whole host of previous Nintendo titles.
The fact that Nintendo are working with IBM and ATi again, and had their own optical system suggests they will, without much issue, be able to at least emulate the Gamecube, unlike MS which had issues with IP I think prohibiting them from being able to make the Xbox 360 work with all older Xbox games.
There may be changes, but I don't see dropping support for previous gen titles being one of them given the whole back catalogue thing.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time.... interestingly enough, The Wii at e3 might have been a gamecube in disguise...

Nintendo faked Wii demonstration - claim
Wii white lies

By Nick Farrell: Friday 19 May 2006, 15:25

THE RECENT demonstration by Nintendo of its new Wii machine at the E3 show was all fabricated, according to the Nintendo insider forum.
Nintendo apparently was in a bit of a bind because it needed to make a good impression at E3, but it didn?t have a product. The ATI graphics card which will be a feature of the Wii is still in development.

The forum claims that the machine on show was just an empty box with a light on it. A large number of cables were seen coming out of the back which appeared to lead to a Gamecube.

The claim is that the Gamecubes were tinkered with to run a Wii development kit, with the signal routed back through a pretend Wii machine.

Should this prove true, it is amazing that no-one questioned why the Wii had such bad graphics for a second-generation machine. The US press who attended were probably too busy writing the press release up and cheering the presentation.

Looks like Nintendo would have got away with it, if he hadn't been for those pesky kids on the Nintendo Insider Forum.

We are waiting for Nintendo to get back to us with a comment. µ

At least Nintendo is rumored to have used their OWN previous system unlike Sony. 😀 WTF though, second-generation? Did we go back in time? 😕

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: sao123
Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

Note that MS and Sony have a history of overpromising and getting into spec races. Nintendo has a history of keeping it's mouth shut because you can't be knocked for rumors.

 

[Eeezee]

It will. I'd suggest buying the Wii. I'll definitely be getting it, and up until recently I didn't think the Wii would be that great. The virtual console and the game lineup are really awesome

It'll be compatible with gamecube discs, so those of us that didn't own a gamecube (me) can buy used discs and still play the game or just use the virtual console.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time.... interestingly enough, The Wii at e3 might have been a gamecube in disguise...

Nintendo faked Wii demonstration - claim
Wii white lies

By Nick Farrell: Friday 19 May 2006, 15:25

THE RECENT demonstration by Nintendo of its new Wii machine at the E3 show was all fabricated, according to the Nintendo insider forum.
Nintendo apparently was in a bit of a bind because it needed to make a good impression at E3, but it didn?t have a product. The ATI graphics card which will be a feature of the Wii is still in development.

The forum claims that the machine on show was just an empty box with a light on it. A large number of cables were seen coming out of the back which appeared to lead to a Gamecube.

The claim is that the Gamecubes were tinkered with to run a Wii development kit, with the signal routed back through a pretend Wii machine.

Should this prove true, it is amazing that no-one questioned why the Wii had such bad graphics for a second-generation machine. The US press who attended were probably too busy writing the press release up and cheering the presentation.

Looks like Nintendo would have got away with it, if he hadn't been for those pesky kids on the Nintendo Insider Forum.

We are waiting for Nintendo to get back to us with a comment. µ

At least Nintendo is rumored to have used their OWN previous system unlike Sony. 😀 WTF though, second-generation? Did we go back in time? 😕

Nintendo admitted it was in a gamecube case. They didn't lie about it or anything and try to hide it, they said it was made specifically for E3 and wasn't supposed to be the final mass produced item.

Text

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

Half the point of Wii is its ability to play a whole host of previous Nintendo titles.
The fact that Nintendo are working with IBM and ATi again, and had their own optical system suggests they will, without much issue, be able to at least emulate the Gamecube, unlike MS which had issues with IP I think prohibiting them from being able to make the Xbox 360 work with all older Xbox games.
There may be changes, but I don't see dropping support for previous gen titles being one of them given the whole back catalogue thing.

There is no IP stopping MS from full compatibility.
360 compatibility for XOBX games is done through emulation also.
The problem is, there no one emulator which works for every game. Each game has to have tweaks and changes so that the game runs properly.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

From xbox backwards compatibility FAQ:

Xbox.com: What criteria do you use in choosing which Xbox games will be backward compatible on Xbox 360? How far back into the Xbox game library are you going to go?

Todd: When we say Xbox library, we mean the entire Xbox library. This ranges all the way from our launch in 2001 up to games that haven't even shipped yet. As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and those games with a large Xbox Live following for launch, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

Xbox.com: By what date do you plan to have all original Xbox games backward compatible?

Todd: We're continuing to work hard to certify as many original Xbox games to work on Xbox 360 as possible; we'll be adding to the list regularly.

Xbox.com: Will future Xbox games be backward compatible?

Todd: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. To that end, we are working with developers to certify that their games will run on Xbox 360 down the line.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

From xbox backwards compatibility FAQ:

Xbox.com: What criteria do you use in choosing which Xbox games will be backward compatible on Xbox 360? How far back into the Xbox game library are you going to go?

Todd: When we say Xbox library, we mean the entire Xbox library. This ranges all the way from our launch in 2001 up to games that haven't even shipped yet. As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and those games with a large Xbox Live following for launch, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

Xbox.com: By what date do you plan to have all original Xbox games backward compatible?

Todd: We're continuing to work hard to certify as many original Xbox games to work on Xbox 360 as possible; we'll be adding to the list regularly.

Xbox.com: Will future Xbox games be backward compatible?

Todd: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. To that end, we are working with developers to certify that their games will run on Xbox 360 down the line.

Thanks, never saw that. As I said though, Nintendo isn't Sony. They may run into similar problems as MS did getting all the GC games emulated (although, I don't know anything about the CPU of the Wii, will it even require emulation for GC games?), but I have no doubt that Wii will be backwards compatible with the GameCube, which is what the OP asked.

 

[dsity]

sao123...this is NINTENDO we are talking about.

They will pull through with the backwards compatibility. I mean seriously before Zelda:TP had a version on the Wii, I'm pretty sure they would have marketed it to sell Wii's in its GCN media form.

Afterall, the GameCube and the Wii are said to be very similiar. (One has better specs, and a far out controller)

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

From xbox backwards compatibility FAQ:

Xbox.com: What criteria do you use in choosing which Xbox games will be backward compatible on Xbox 360? How far back into the Xbox game library are you going to go?

Todd: When we say Xbox library, we mean the entire Xbox library. This ranges all the way from our launch in 2001 up to games that haven't even shipped yet. As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and those games with a large Xbox Live following for launch, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

Xbox.com: By what date do you plan to have all original Xbox games backward compatible?

Todd: We're continuing to work hard to certify as many original Xbox games to work on Xbox 360 as possible; we'll be adding to the list regularly.

Xbox.com: Will future Xbox games be backward compatible?

Todd: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. To that end, we are working with developers to certify that their games will run on Xbox 360 down the line.

Thanks, never saw that. As I said though, Nintendo isn't Sony. They may run into similar problems as MS did getting all the GC games emulated (although, I don't know anything about the CPU of the Wii, will it even require emulation for GC games?), but I have no doubt that Wii will be backwards compatible with the GameCube, which is what the OP asked.

Considering that all indications point to the Wii chipset being an extension of the GC set, there will likely be no need for emulation. Not to mention it has standard gamecube controller ports. My guess is every game will work fine right out of the box.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

From xbox backwards compatibility FAQ:

Xbox.com: What criteria do you use in choosing which Xbox games will be backward compatible on Xbox 360? How far back into the Xbox game library are you going to go?

Todd: When we say Xbox library, we mean the entire Xbox library. This ranges all the way from our launch in 2001 up to games that haven't even shipped yet. As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and those games with a large Xbox Live following for launch, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

Xbox.com: By what date do you plan to have all original Xbox games backward compatible?

Todd: We're continuing to work hard to certify as many original Xbox games to work on Xbox 360 as possible; we'll be adding to the list regularly.

Xbox.com: Will future Xbox games be backward compatible?

Todd: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. To that end, we are working with developers to certify that their games will run on Xbox 360 down the line.

Thanks, never saw that. As I said though, Nintendo isn't Sony. They may run into similar problems as MS did getting all the GC games emulated (although, I don't know anything about the CPU of the Wii, will it even require emulation for GC games?), but I have no doubt that Wii will be backwards compatible with the GameCube, which is what the OP asked.

Considering that all indications point to the Wii chipset being an extension of the GC set, there will likely be no need for emulation. Not to mention it has standard gamecube controller ports. My guess is every game will work fine right out of the box.

If the chipsets are just gamecube plus... I dont see whats so next generation about it?
next generation to me implies new more powerful architecture.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

From xbox backwards compatibility FAQ:

Xbox.com: What criteria do you use in choosing which Xbox games will be backward compatible on Xbox 360? How far back into the Xbox game library are you going to go?

Todd: When we say Xbox library, we mean the entire Xbox library. This ranges all the way from our launch in 2001 up to games that haven't even shipped yet. As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and those games with a large Xbox Live following for launch, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

Xbox.com: By what date do you plan to have all original Xbox games backward compatible?

Todd: We're continuing to work hard to certify as many original Xbox games to work on Xbox 360 as possible; we'll be adding to the list regularly.

Xbox.com: Will future Xbox games be backward compatible?

Todd: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. To that end, we are working with developers to certify that their games will run on Xbox 360 down the line.

Thanks, never saw that. As I said though, Nintendo isn't Sony. They may run into similar problems as MS did getting all the GC games emulated (although, I don't know anything about the CPU of the Wii, will it even require emulation for GC games?), but I have no doubt that Wii will be backwards compatible with the GameCube, which is what the OP asked.

Considering that all indications point to the Wii chipset being an extension of the GC set, there will likely be no need for emulation. Not to mention it has standard gamecube controller ports. My guess is every game will work fine right out of the box.

If the chipsets are just gamecube plus... I dont see whats so next generation about it?
next generation to me implies new more powerful architecture.

The controller is whats next gen about it. Knock it if you want, even though I'd rather have it kick ass HDTV, and am willing to pay for it, having to choose between all 3 next-gen systems at this point, the Wii gets it by a longshot, just because it looks fun.

Keep in mind PC CPU architecture hasnt changed much at all in 20 years, but that doesnt hold it back. Also, since its theoretically a familiar architecture, developers wont have to relearn the system, and all the work done in the past 5 years learning how to get every drop of performance out of it should still work.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: sao123
Probably wont know for a long time....

WTF are you talking about? It says right on Nintendo's site that it will:

Media: A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for Wii, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs.

Until we have a fully developed finished product ready to ship, any claims made right now are pure speculatory.

I recall the 360 supposed to be backwards compatible with all original xbox games. - not happened yet.

I recall the Ps2 supposed to be backwards compatible with all PS1 games, theres still some that it wont play.

I recall the PS3 to have 3 HDMI and 8 usb ports... now it has half that.

There will be changes to the Wii, you can count on it.

This is Nintendo, not Sony. And I don't remember MS saying they would have backwards compatibility with all XBox titles.

From xbox backwards compatibility FAQ:

Xbox.com: What criteria do you use in choosing which Xbox games will be backward compatible on Xbox 360? How far back into the Xbox game library are you going to go?

Todd: When we say Xbox library, we mean the entire Xbox library. This ranges all the way from our launch in 2001 up to games that haven't even shipped yet. As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and those games with a large Xbox Live following for launch, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

Xbox.com: By what date do you plan to have all original Xbox games backward compatible?

Todd: We're continuing to work hard to certify as many original Xbox games to work on Xbox 360 as possible; we'll be adding to the list regularly.

Xbox.com: Will future Xbox games be backward compatible?

Todd: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. To that end, we are working with developers to certify that their games will run on Xbox 360 down the line.

Thanks, never saw that. As I said though, Nintendo isn't Sony. They may run into similar problems as MS did getting all the GC games emulated (although, I don't know anything about the CPU of the Wii, will it even require emulation for GC games?), but I have no doubt that Wii will be backwards compatible with the GameCube, which is what the OP asked.

Considering that all indications point to the Wii chipset being an extension of the GC set, there will likely be no need for emulation. Not to mention it has standard gamecube controller ports. My guess is every game will work fine right out of the box.

If the chipsets are just gamecube plus... I dont see whats so next generation about it?
next generation to me implies new more powerful architecture.

The controller is whats next gen about it. Knock it if you want, even though I'd rather have it kick ass HDTV, and am willing to pay for it, having to choose between all 3 next-gen systems at this point, the Wii gets it by a longshot, just because it looks fun.

Keep in mind PC CPU architecture hasnt changed much at all in 20 years, but that doesnt hold it back. Also, since its theoretically a familiar architecture, developers wont have to relearn the system, and all the work done in the past 5 years learning how to get every drop of performance out of it should still work.

x86 architecture hasnt changed much in 20 years.

PowerPC architecture has advanced moderatly while maintaining 95% backwards compatibility, however there may be changes in the OS which probably will require some maintenance to allow for older software to run.
IBM PowerPC750 vs PowerPC G5 architecture comparison