Earlier this month, an unexpected development captured the attention of tech enthusiasts— a fresh build of the outdated Windows NT for PowerPC has surfaced, and it’s now tailored for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles. These Nintendo platforms have long relied on the PowerPC architecture supported by the original Windows NT PowerPC releases. Dubbed Entii for WorkCubes, this iteration has been showcased on GitHub and intriguingly, it also extends support to the Wii U. However, it doesn’t leverage the Wii U’s additional PowerPC cores, the larger RAM, or the more robust AMD GPU. Instead, the support is realized through the virtual Wii functionality. Early development boards are either not supported or are in a theoretical support phase, lacking proper testing.
For those passionate about homebrew software, particularly the kind running on a Nintendo GameCube, YouTuber @emukid_id has documented the Windows NT installation process along with some basic applications, and even offered a glimpse of The Ultimate Doom playing at a barely-there resolution of 320 x 200 pixels. Unfortunately, the videos are silent.
Sound issues aside, Windows 95 operates surprisingly well in this setup. Users can configure iconic Windows NT 3D wallpapers, like the classic 3D Maze, use Notepad, and even open basic Internet Explorer home pages. The system supports various PC-adjacent peripherals for Nintendo consoles—consider a GameCube controller modified with a built-in keyboard, a testament to creative input options for those using authentic hardware. Additionally, the conventional USB ports on the Wii and Wii U enhance compatibility with a wide range of USB peripherals.
It should be acknowledged that limitations exist. For example, anyone using Windows NT on a conventional PC today might struggle to access modern web pages. While there’s compatibility with GameCube and Wii Ethernet adapters, online functionalities remain quite restricted.
Despite these limitations, the system offers a captivating glimpse into the world of Windows NT and PowerPC, reminiscent of the pre-Windows NT 3.5 era. It’s fascinating to see Doom running on the GameCube. The Wii, essentially an enhanced GameCube with an updated CPU and GPU, underscores the evolution of these consoles.
If future versions of Windows like NT 3.5 or later are ever fully supported on the Wii U, it could unlock the console’s 1GB DDR3 RAM and triple-core PowerPC capabilities, offering significantly more power than the single-core setup of the GameCube and Wii. It’s worth noting the GameCube operated on just 24MB of system RAM, supplemented by small dedicated RAM portions for specific functions like video output and input/output processes.
