Play Nintendeo Wii with Wiimotes on Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10

A couple of days ago I came across the Dolphin Emulator for Ubuntu Linux. Basically it will run Nintendo Wii games (among other platforms) on your PC in both MS Windows and Linux. It was easy to install and I was amazed at just how well it rendered wii games and connected to the wiimote controls.

I hate to admit it but the MS windows version runs much smoother, but either way it was a great project and i was happy with the outcome on both platforms. I have collected all the information I had used to get it going. So I wish you luck. Oh don't hesitate to ask me a question if you are stuck!

 Overview

Dolphin is a Gamecube, Wii and Triforce (the arcade machine based on the Gamecube) emulator.
Gamecube compatibility is okay - lots of games work, many games don't work.
Wii compatibility is also good - a lot of games do work. Wii emulation generally requires a bit more computing power than Gamecube emulation, though.
Triforce compatibility is not really known yet, but at least one game runs, with minor glitches.

System Requirements

• Windows XP or higher, or Linux, or MacOSX Intel.
• Fast modern CPU with SSE2. Dual core for a speed boost.
• Any reasonable modern GPU with Pixel Shader 2.0 or greater. nVidia or ATI are good. Integrated Intel chips won't work.
• For more information, see http://forums.dolphin-emu.com/thread-4.html

Features

• Runs the following types of games:
• Gamecube Game Disc
• Wii Game Disc
• Wii Downloadable Games / Virtual Console
• Triforce Arcade games
• Action Replay Simulator
• Xbox 360 Controller support, with rumble (KB Plugin)
• Experimental NetPlay
• Anti-Aliasing, Anisotropic Filtering (OGL Plugin)
• Save states
• Memory Card Manager with GCI memcard export/import support
• Real and emulated Wiimote support
• Basic PowerPC Debugger and Log Window
• DSP HLE and experimental LLE
• Memory viewer and dumper
• PowerPC Just-In-Time recompiler
• WAD Support
• Some support for Homebrew and XFB Emulation
• Hi-Res Support, texture dumper, Free Look (OGL Plugin) 

Download Dolphin Emulator Linux 32 bit Version Here!
DownloadDolphin Emulator  Linux 64 bit Version Here! 

Installation Guide Here!

Or enter the following commands into terminal!

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:glennric/dolphin-emu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dolhpin-emu

Ok What about the wiimote?

The Wiimote (Wii Remote Control) uses both Bluetooth and Infra-red technology. So yes, you can use it with your linux box

You have a few pieces of software to play with the wiimote in Ubuntu, I have used wiican . The main thing to do is pair the wiimote with the bluetooth on the PC, fairly easy!!!

The first step is to install a Bluetooth stack.

BlueZ is the package that allows Bluetooth connectivity in Ubuntu Linux. This package is included within the current kernel of Ubuntu. To add utilities to check whether your Bluetooth adapter’s firmware is current, install:

sudo apt-get install bluez-utils bluez-firmware

then run

sudo dfutool

Now let’s install the WiiMote

Install the cwiid Wiimote controller package and the lswm Wiimote discovery package:

sudo apt-get install wminput lswm

Install the drivers (or just reboot):

modprobe uinput

Note: You can also add uinput to the modules files so it loads automatically at bootup:

sudo echo "uinput" >>/etc/modules

Run (while pressing button 1/2 on the Wiimote): Some wiimotes you may have to press the red button on the inside of the battery compartment.

sudo wminput