Smash Bros Melee and Super Mario Sunshine 'heading to Nintendo Switch'

Nintendo will bring GameCube games to its hybrid handheld and home console the Nintendo Switch, according to a new report. The early 2000s favourite is the only Nintendo hardware that hasn't had games made available on the Wii and Wii U's Virtual Console.

Eurogamer reports, citing three separate sources, that Super Smash Bros Melee, Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine will be among the first games ported over to the Switch, a selection that is sure to please fans.

The report also claims a port of the original Animal Crossing is also being developed.

Fans have long been calling for GameCube titles to be made available on the Wii and Wii U. The console didn't sell particularly well, especially compared to PS2 and Xbox at the time, but its library did include many cult classics.

The Switch Virtual Console is being worked on by the Nintendo's European research and development studio (NERD) who also made the NES Classic Mini – the plug 'n' play hit released in November (and sold out pretty much everywhere).

Eurogamer also believes the push for GameCube games on Virtual Console stems from Nintendo's desire to ensure Melee is a game that's easy for its legion of fans to play. The beat-em-up favourite is still enormously popular 15 years on from its release, and remains a feature of eSports fighting game tournament EVO.

Nintendo revealed the Switch in a trailer released back in October, promising further details at a huge launch event planned for 12 January. The device is a hybrid home and handheld console.

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