page_title: Dolphin (emulator)
section_title: Graphical improvements
hierarchical_section_title: Dolphin (emulator) / Features / Graphical improvements
context_page_description: Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator for GameCube and Wii that runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android.
  It had its inaugural release in 2003 as freeware for Windows. Dolphin was the first GameCube emulator that could successfully run commercial games. After troubled development in the first years, Dolphin became free and open-source software and subsequently gained support for Wii emulation. Soon after, the emulator was ported to Linux and macOS. As mobile hardware got more powerful over the years, running Dolphin on Android became a viable option.
  Dolphin has been well-received in the IT and video gaming media for its high compatibility, steady development progress, the number of available features, and the ability to play games with graphical improvements over the original consoles.
context_section_description: Like many other console emulators on PC, Dolphin supports arbitrary resolutions, whereas the GameCube and Wii only support up to 480p.
  Dolphin can load customized texture maps. These can also be of higher resolution than the original textures. The emulator also has the ability to export a game's textures in order for graphic artists to modify them.
  Dolphin can output stereoscopic 3D graphics on any platform Dolphin runs. Special hardware such as Nvidia 3D Vision is also supported. The ability to play games in stereoscopic 3D is a feature the original consoles never had, although Nintendo did originally plan to release a stereoscopic 3D add-on screen for the GameCube.
  Additional features to further enhance the graphics quality are also available. Dolphin supports spatial anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, post-processing pixel shaders, and a widescreen hack for forcing widescreen output on games that do not support it natively. Games can also achieve higher-than-intended frames per second.
caption: Demonstration of anti-aliasing using simple shapes