How to Play DS Games on the Wii

By Landon Dent

Updated September 22, 2017

Items you will need

  • Wii with the Homebrew Channel

  • SD Card

  • Computer

  • SD Card Reader

With a homebrewed Wii, a smart card is as good as a DS.
i SD Card Toolbox image by Ron-Heidelberg from Fotolia.com

The Nintendo DS has a large and growing library of games that even users without the system would like to play. Emulators make playing video games, including NDS games, possible on other systems or computers. The allure of playing emulated Nintendo DS games through a Nintendo Wii has been impossible until recently. However, a port of the DeSmuME emulator for homebrew Wiis is now available which allows anyone with a Wii to play NDS backups off their SD card.

Readying DeSmuME for the Wii

Insert the SD card into your card reader and attach the reader to your computer.

Download the "DeSmuME Wii" emulator to your computer. (See Resources for link)

Extract the .zip file to the root of your SD card.

Open the SD card in Explorer (Windows) or Finder (OSX).

Place NDS game ROMs in the "ROMS" folder, located inside the "DS" folder.

Place NDS save data in the "SAVES" folder, also located inside the "DS" folder.

Playing the emulator on the Wii

Eject the SD card from your computer.

Insert the SD card into the Wii's SD slot.

Turn on the Wii.

Open the Homebrew Channel from the Home Menu.

Select the DeSmuME emulator, then your ROM.

Warnings

Using ROMs that you don't own is a form of piracy.

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