Topic: The Final Stand of the Wavebird

As most of you already know, with the release of SSB4 the demand for the wireless Wavebird controller is higher than ever. And all over the internet, people are complaining about how they are forced to buy the Wavebird in three pieces: The controller itself, the oh so expensive receiver, and finally the near $20 piece of plastic most commonly known as the battery cover.

Obviously the controllers and receivers will become more scarce as time continues, however I am very surprised about the lack of people taking advantage of 3D printing technology. I'm sure out of the thousands of people on this forum there are at least a few with access to these printers. So here is my proposition:

Anyone out there with access to a 3D printer, start producing battery covers! Not only will you turn a profit but you will prevent thousands of people from being forced to overpay for a 10 year old piece of plastic that realistically won't last much longer under regular use.

I read an article this morning about some guy who 3D printed himself a battery cover for his Gameboy Pocket and it cost him less than $4 worth of material, so if you already have the technology its not an expensive process. The demand is out there guys and gals, so take advantage of it!

You're assuming we can afford a 3D printer...

It does make me wonder what role 3D printing will take in the future. Has your NES coloured yellow over time? Let's print a new cover. Your N64 control stick has worn down? Let's print a new one.

I would so love this to be feasible.

Assuming anyone has the Gamecube controller adapter. I know zero people who have it.

What makes this situation worse is there are different models of it - the 900mhz one working the best for obvious reasons.

Technically, it already is.

But I don't it's worth it to print the battery cover. Nintendo should just release a good series of GC controllers plus cover and adapter. That's what most people want. They really don't care about the little extra cost that much, they care that it's available.

lol bloody nintendo why dont they make enough battery covers lol

What i wonder is what happens to these battery covers?

It's not just Wavebirds, it's a large majority of old handheld or battery-operated devices that lack their battery covers if you find them second-hand or on eBay or whatever.

Why?

Where did they go?

Did they all run off to that magical land that the One Sock You Lose In The Laundry goes to?

The world may never know.

Maybe the controllers and battery covers are like a pair of socks! One always has to disappear. In the Wavebird's case, it's always the battery cover.

Working at a thrift shop I can't tell you how many Gameboys from original all the way up to the GBA, Game Gear, Atari Lynx systems we get with no battery covers amount other things like tape players, radios, cordless phones.

I used to get these for $8 bucks a piece, complete. WTF happened? Hardly anyone ever gave a s*** about these controllers, and now they are 12 year old products, sold for outrageous prices; crazy animals...

Ya it's totally weird. It's almost as if when something is not popular and nobody wants it, it's more abundant and much cheaper. But when the same thing is highly sought after, the prices go up and it becomes harder to find one!

Somebody should really dedicated some time to researching this phenomenon and figure out why this takes place. Perhaps call this situation 'supply and demand' until a more scholarly term is discovered?

That's the thing. There was hardly any demand when these things were still being manufactured, so the supply was low. Now the product is popular, and it's not even being manufactured anymore. I guess people just don't realize there is good stuff, until it's gone.

I would think younger gamers who possibly started gaming in 7th generation would be more interested in these controllers, because GCN was already past, and it wasn't even that long ago. I was playing N64 when people on this board weren't even born, and the general consensus is that SNES and prior is "old school". I think the "old school" definition is being pushed forward to 5th gen, because now we have controllers from 6th generation that are still immediately compatible with the new hardware, even if it is just Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

That's internet nostalgia in a nutshell.

In this case, a lot of people missed out on GCN, and are now going back to that, or they are younger gamers who never really had the chance to own this stuff.

lol, this whole thread just reminded me that I should go ahead and sell mine. In fact, I just put it up for sale on ebay today, complete, dongle and all. Ah good times.

Actually, the price on Wavebirds has been steadily going up for a while now, it's not just a recent thing (though there has been a recent extra-spike for obvious reasons).

That is true, but they've always been a bit overpriced since basically Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii. They were $30 online when I could get them new for that much if I searched a few stores, and I always found them laying around at the flea market for cheap. I got one for $3 once, even, so this is all ridiculous to me, especially since the only game people can use it for on Wii U, is Smash Bros. It still makes more sense to buy them for Wii, but that's why I'm saying it doesn't make sense to be buying them now for outrageous prices, when they mattered more for Wii, especially with GCN BC.

People can do whatever they want, though, so whatever.

Meaning, not those who don't already have access to one...

If I had one I'd definitely do this, great idea.