I still remember how excited I got when I realized that I could play old-school Nintendo games on my PC back in 1997-1998 some time. Because at that time, I didn´t own any Nintendo system´s at all (today, I own most of them). However, I also remember all the fuss that followed with it. As Nintendo (and other game companies) didn´t like that people could download emulators and game roms and play their games for free. And I understand where they´re coming from, because at the end of the day it´s all about making sure that they don´t lose any money.

Even so, as a game collector, I don´t like the idea of wearing out my rare (or favorite) console games. And that´s where the emulators came into my life as a blessing from the Gaming gods. So I got really happy when I heard the news about the release of Dolphin 5.0:

“After a very long wait and too many delays, we’re proud to announce Dolphin 5.0 with this release video!

Special Thanks to Sage of Mirrors and LordNed for assistance in hacking Wind Waker for the intro. Also special thanks to all the people who helped review the video over the year and half since it started production. And of course, without the amazing developers behind Dolphin, there wouldn’t have been anything to show. I’d also like to thank Nintendo, and everyone who developed the wonderful games that make up the library of the GameCube and Wii!” – The Dolphin team

And for those who don’t know what Dolphin is, here´s the official description by the Dolphin team themselves:

“Dolphin is an emulator for two recent Nintendo video game consoles: the GameCube and the Wii. It allows PC gamers to enjoy games for these two consoles in full HD (1080p) with several enhancements: compatibility with all PC controllers, turbo speed, networked multiplayer, and even more!”

And yes, you can download and enjoy Dolphin 5.0 for free today! In other words, you could be enjoying Gamecube and Wii games on your PC right now =)

Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround

More by Robin Ek:

• New Old Pixels is to bring the original ‘Toki’ arcade game, to original retro hardware
• The 2D pixel art PvPvE extraction shooter, ‘Project S.U.N.D.I.A.L.’, is coming to Steam on April 27th
• The 1-4 player egg cracking adventure, ‘CRACK’, is coming to Steam on October 26th
• The unique horror game ‘Hoarder’ is coming to Steam in 2027
• The cozy first-person warehouse sim ‘BOB LOGISTICS’ is coming to Steam in Q4 2026

Tags: Dolphin 5.0, Emulators, Gamecube, Gaming, Nintendo, Wii