Nintendo trademark filings have offered a hint — albeit an unreliable one — of a retro-Gamecube console release. For those who can’t wait, a highly unofficial emulator is in the works for the Switch.

The trademarks are for the Japanese market and relate to the GameCube in the context of both videogame hardware and software, rather than being for more general merchandising.

Such trademarks have previously been a clue of a device such as the NES Mini being in the work. However, there’s no guarantee as similar trademarks were filed last year relating to the design of the original N64 controller. That sparked speculation an N64 Classic could get a release, something that’s not happened (yet).

GameCube fans who want to play on an official Nintendo console may soon have a somewhat tenuous way of doing so. A YouTube video shows Dolphin, one of the more popular GameCube emulators for PCs, running on a Nintendo Switch.

It’s very much a work in progress at the moment, specifically described as a proof of concept. Right now the performance falls short of 30 frames per second, making a visibly jerky picture. The emulator doesn’t yet support multiplay and doesn’t work in docked mode or with the Joy-Cons detached.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guamFaihXW0