Modern Blu-ray drives can now rip GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360 games to PC
Recorded: May 26, 2026, 9:01 p.m.
| Original | Summarized |
Modern Blu-ray drives can now rip GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360 games to PC — third-party OmniDrive firmware unlocks game rips from physical media on select players | Tom's Hardware
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TrendingTH Premium May PromoAI Data CentersRAM Combo DealsIntel Xeon 600DLSS 5RAM ShortageBartlett Lake Video Games Console Gaming Modern Blu-ray drives can now rip GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360 games to PC — third-party OmniDrive firmware unlocks game rips from physical media on select players News By published 26 May 2026 Specialized firmware enables certain Blu-ray players to read the formatting of retro console games. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Getty Images) Copy link X Share this article 6 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Backing up physical media on older consoles such as the GameCube, Wii, original Xbox, and Xbox 360 has long been a frustrating experience for retro gamers. However, according to a YouTube video from Archades Games, modern Blu-ray players can now rip physical media from these consoles to a PC with new specialized firmware from OmniDrive.The OmniDrive firmware unlocks the ability for compatible Blu-ray players to read the proprietary formats of physical media on older consoles. Compatibility is strictly limited to select external and internal Blu-Ray disc drives that use the MediaTek MT1959 chipset and are compatible with the firmware OmniDrive provides. OmniDrive Firmware Made My Blu-ray Drives 10x Better! - Full Tutorial - YouTube Watch On The ability to rip old console game discs with modern Blu-ray drives is a drastic improvement over previous methods that gamers have been forced to use to extract game data from retro consoles with unique formatting previously. In the past, copying a retro game often required the console itself to be modified. With OmniDrive’s firmware and a compatible Blu-ray player, ripping these older games is nearly as simple as ripping a traditional DVD movie.This method of ripping physical game media will likely become the norm moving forward for retro gaming enthusiasts for the purposes of game preservation and game emulation. However, if you plan on using this firmware yourself, be sure to check if your Blu-ray drive is compatible, as flashing the firmware on an incompatible drive will almost certainly brick the Blu-ray player.Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware NewsletterGet Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. See all comments (6) Aaron KlotzSocial Links NavigationContributing WriterAaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards. 6 Comments Comment from the forums usertests Do these "retro" discs require a Blu-ray drive? Because these flashable internal Blu-ray drives are rare and becoming expensive as hoarders get to them, while DVD drives are probably 10-100x more common, to the point where I can buy a $50-100 office PC and it will probably have a working DVD drive. Reply bit_user I thought Gamecube support has been around for decades? Or am I just thinking of the ability to burn Gamecube discs? Reply Highlandword9 usertests said:Do these "retro" discs require a Blu-ray drive? Because these flashable internal Blu-ray drives are rare and becoming expensive as hoarders get to them, while DVD drives are probably 10-100x more common, to the point where I can buy a $50-100 office PC and it will probably have a working DVD drive. Reply usertests You got jannied! TL;CR: This story doesn't matter. Reply Demento01 “Modern” Reply BillyBuerger bit_user said:I thought Gamecube support has been around for decades? Or am I just thinking of the ability to burn Gamecube discs?I've been copying my GC and Wii games for backup purposes for years now. From what I recall, Nintendo just uses normal DVD media but the only difference is that they spin backwards. I remember hearing that certain DVD drives were compatible and could do the reverse spin and checked some of the old drives I had laying around and found I had one. No firmware flashing was needed. I just plugged the drive into an old Win XP PC and used RawDump to extract an ISO image for the disc. I'm glad I did that as at least one of my discs has issues when used in the Wii. I can still play the game with Dolphin using my own backup. Reply View All 6 Comments Show more comments Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Add as a preferred source on Google Terms and conditions Contact Future's experts Privacy policy Cookies policy Accessibility Statement Advertise with us About us Coupons Careers © |
Modern Blu-ray drives, when paired with third-party OmniDrive firmware, enable the ripping of games from physical media of retro consoles such as the GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360 to a personal computer. This specialized firmware unlocks the capability for compatible Blu-ray players to read the proprietary formats embedded on physical media from these older consoles. Compatibility is strictly limited to external and internal Blu-Ray disc drives that utilize the MediaTek MT1959 chipset and are compatible with the OmniDrive firmware. The process, as demonstrated, involves installing the appropriate firmware, which has two options, one for full-sized Blu-ray players and another for external slim drives. Users must verify compatibility with OmniDrive's support list before attempting installation, as flashing incompatible firmware risks permanently damaging the Blu-ray player. The process leverages tools like the Media Preservation Frontend, an open-source disk-dumping tool, to extract the game data from the physical media, converting it into a standard ISO file. This method represents a significant advancement over previous techniques for accessing game data from retro consoles, which historically often necessitated modifying the console itself. By utilizing these modern Blu-ray technologies, gamers gain a much simpler approach to game preservation and emulation. Consequently, this technique is anticipated to become the standard methodology for retro gaming enthusiasts seeking to manage and preserve their game libraries. While physical media from other console generations, such as PlayStation 3, 4, 5, and Xbox One/Series, can technically be read, their content remains encrypted, limiting the direct utility of this specific firmware functionality to the previously mentioned GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360 formats. |