Nintendo optical discs

Nintendo optical discs

GameCube Game Disc (left) and Wii Optical Disc (right)
Media type	Read-only optical disc
Encoding	Digital
Capacity	GameCube: 1.46 GB Wii: 4.7 GB / 8.54 GB Wii U: 25 GB
Read mechanism	Laser
Developed by	Nintendo Panasonic
Dimensions	GameCube: 8 cm (3.1 in) Wii and Wii U: 12 cm (4.7 in)
Usage	GameCube Wii Wii U

Nintendo optical discs are physical media used to distribute video games on three of Nintendo's consoles that followed the Nintendo 64. These are the GameCube Game Disc, Wii Optical Disc, and Wii U Optical Disc. The physical size of a GameCube Game Disc is that of a miniDVD; the Wii is based on DVD format, and Wii U Optical Discs are based on Blu-ray format. To maintain backward compatibility between generations of game consoles, GameCube discs are compatible with the first model of the Wii, and Wii Optical Discs are compatible with the Wii U. A burst cutting area is located at the inner ring of the disc surface. All official discs and their formats were manufactured and developed by Panasonic.

In 2017, Nintendo discontinued disc-based media in favor of game cards for the Wii U's successor, the Nintendo Switch, although it would license several more physically released Wii and Wii U games for many more months, with the last one being a port of Shakedown: Hawaii to both consoles in the summer of 2020.