Sources tell us that while the Nintendo Wii U will not offer backward compatibility to play GameCube titles, apparently Nintendo is planning for key GameCube titles to be offered via the Nintendo Virtual Console store on the Wii U.

While Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U will not offer GameCube compatibility as the Wii did, the announcement was a bit of a downer for Nintendo fans.  Offering the titles via the Virtual Console store does make sense, but that means owners will have to buy the title again as a digital download; which, of course, isn’t going to make owners of the GameCube title happy.

While Nintendo is saying officially that they have nothing to announce right now, our sources tell us that they expect Nintendo to announce at least some popular GameCube titles as Virtual Console titles for purchase before the end of the year. It is unknown what Nintendo will charge for these titles, but we do expect the cost to be more than that we can purchase a used copy of the title, in most cases.