Not long ago Nintendo excited a lot of loyal fans by unveiling The GameCube Controller Adapter for Wii U, the reveal of which was tied with details of the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Invitational at E3 2014. Of course, that's all about plugging in existing controllers, and a company from LA has hit Kickstarter to promote its own wireless GameCube-style alternative for Nintendo's current console.

It's called the WaveDash, quite clearly taking inspiration from the Wavebird yet blending in more modern touches — it has two full size clickable analogue sticks, two dual bumpers (which aren't specified as analogue), an internal battery charged via USB and is wireless; you can see a prototype below.

Wavedash

It's a project that faces a major challenges, not least due to its ambitious $399,000 goal, which the company states is to ensure quality in the final product. In an update it's also addressed the obvious factor of Nintendo's recent announcement:

The adapter is what a lot of people were asking for, the ability to use GameCube controllers on the Wii U. As a gamer, I am happy Nintendo was able to listen to their fans. 7 months ago, we were not too sure that would happen.

At that time we started looking into the cost of doing it ourselves, and what we would want from it. Compatibility was a huge part of that. So we made sure to update the analog sticks to “clickable’ along with being full size, a larger D-pad for classic play, and wireless. Any Wii U game that supports the WiiU Pro Controller, The WaveDash will function with.

That last point is a key selling point, as this controller has that GameCube vibe while it'll work with any game that supports the Wii U Pro Controller.

Check out the pitch video below and let us know what you think.

[source kickstarter.com]