Supported Formats
iCube reads the same GameCube and Wii disc formats as the Dolphin core it's built on. GameCube games are large (typically 1–1.5 GB per disc), so picking a compressed format matters if you're importing a lot of them.
Prefer RVZ for new dumps
.rvz is Dolphin's recommended format: it compresses well (typically roughly half the size of the raw ISO for most discs), loads quickly, and can be converted back to a byte-exact ISO whenever you need one. Avoid heavily “scrubbed” NKit dumps — Dolphin's documentation recommends converting those back to a standard format first.
Disc image formats
| Extension | Kind | Notes |
|---|---|---|
.iso / .gcm | Raw disc image | An exact, uncompressed byte-for-byte copy of a GameCube or Wii disc. Works everywhere but takes the most storage. |
.gcz | Dolphin compressed | An older Dolphin-specific compressed container. Still readable, but superseded by RVZ for new dumps. |
.rvz | Dolphin compressed (recommended) | Dolphin's modern container. Compresses well while keeping fast load times, and can be converted back to a byte-exact ISO. Typically around half the size of the raw ISO for many discs, though this varies by game. |
.wia | Dolphin compressed (legacy) | The compressed format RVZ replaced. Still supported for older dumps, but RVZ is the current recommendation. |
.wbfs | Wii Backup File System | A Wii-only container originally used by USB loaders. Strips update partitions to save space; does not support GameCube discs. |
.ciso | Compact ISO | Shrinks a disc image by omitting unused/empty sectors while keeping used data uncompressed. Supported by Dolphin and many homebrew loaders. |
NKit (.iso/.wia/.rvz) | Scrubbed variant | A further space-saving pass on top of ISO/WIA/RVZ that discards redundant data, so the result is no longer byte-identical to the original disc. Per Dolphin's own documentation, NKit images should be converted back to a standard format before use. |
Channels and homebrew
| Extension | Kind | Notes |
|---|---|---|
.wad | Wii Channel | An installable Wii Channel package (not a disc game) — the format used for Wii system/virtual console channels. |
.dol / .elf | Homebrew executable | Raw GameCube/Wii homebrew executables, run directly without a disc image. |
Getting your own dumps
Use Dolphin on your Mac or PC, or a homebrew disc-dumping tool such as CleanRip on real hardware, to rip your own GameCube and Wii discs. Step by step: Dumping GameCube & Wii Discs and WiiWare, Virtual Console & Channels. See Importing Games for how to get the resulting files onto your device, and the Provenance wiki guide on formatting ROMs for folder conventions.