GameCube-Style Wii U Controller, the WaveDash, Seeks Kickstarter Funding

Oh my God that thing looks ugly. And why name it after this technique anyways? Screw wavedashing.

And why is this necessary anyway? Not really something I can see gaining a lot of support right now.

When was the last time there was a 3rd party controller that didn't have significant quality problems?

Ha if this thing came out when the GameCube was still around then I would be very excited for it as I want a GameCube controller with that bigger d-pad but nowadays there are better alternatives and Nintendo is giving us the privilege of using our original GameCube for Super Smash Bros. 4 anyways so I don't see the need for another clone controller.

Since Nintendo is officially supporting the Gamecube controller now, this will probably bomb... HARD.

Surprised Nintendo isn't doing this themselves.

They still might.

@jdarrell My Afterglow Wii U Pro works like a dream and is beautiful .

I don´t think that L and R will be analogue. The wii u pro controller doesn´t have them like that, so adding that feature would be useless since the wii u wouldn´t know how to handle it

We don't need that since Nintendo is making them as they were

Oh god, that build quality. Absolutely NOT supporting this.

@jdarrell Most of the Hori ones are pretty good. (They are normally more than the first party ones though).

@Emblem Has it got a switch to swap between classic controller pro and wii u pro controller mode ?

@LunaticPandora Did you not watch the video? It's a prototype

And pass for obvious reasons.

I actually really dig the Pro Controller so I can't say I'm that interested in this. Wish 'em luck though.

@unrandomsam that would be a great selling point for me. Still have a few Wii VC games I'd like to get.

Meh. I'll wait for Nintendo to release one.

@TheHaydenator Even so, I'd be surprised if they would actually use different plastic for the prototypes and final build.

Absolutely not.
1) No need for this
2) $400,000 is too high
3) The company has no history of successfully completing anything

I don't understand why anyone would want the GC's face button arrangement over the more universally adopted diamond formation.

Kinda ugly and rendered completely pointless by the upcoming Gamecube adapter.

I don't think analog triggers would make a difference anyway, since games would need to be designed with them in mind. As far as I know, no Wii U controllers have analog trigger functions, save for the original Classic Controller.

What's the point of this?

@Yosher Wavedashing is more useful than you think it is.

@SockoMario I know full well how useful wavedashing is. I just don't like the technique. I can perform it perfectly well, but it makes the characters look like androids rather than the characters I know and love and THAT is what bothers me about it.

I won't support this, but best of luck to 'em.

@RupeeClock

Violates Nintendo's patents? I'd wager they're not violating anything, since 3rd party controllers are everywhere, on every console, many of them looking identical to the official controllers.

Wave Bird is the best controller ever (even has the best controller NAME ever), closely followed by the Wii U Pro Controller. With the adapter coming, and rechargeable batteries, my Wave Bird will do just fine.

@LegendaryQ

It's ugly because it's a prototype. Obviously the finished product will be more aesthetically pleasing.

Rendered useless because of the upcoming Gamecube adapter? Eh, I disagree. Sure, Nintendo's bringing the Gamecube adapter, BUT, what games will be compatible with the GC controller? Cause thus far, not a single game has that compatibility. Which is where this controller shines. It's recognized as a pro controller, so you could use it on every game in the library right now, and every game that we see for the next 5 years. Whereas the GC adapter will only be useful for Smash and, if we're lucky, a few other select titles they decide to integrate GC controller compatibility.

i always found unofficially licensed controllers to be sketchy

@kirk I can't speak for everyone, but I actually prefer the Gamecube layout over the standard diamond format.

I never liked the ABXY button layout for the Cube controller. Going back to the diamond layout was one of the best things Nintendo did.

I wrote it in the announcement article and I'll write it again it is wireless = garbage...

@WaveBoy

I really like that mockup. That being said, the GC controller always threw me off. I could switch between the DualShock, Controller S, and 360 pads without issue. But if I used the GC controller I had troubles going back to the others.

Am I the only one who dislikes it when shoulder buttons are referred to as bumpers? I guess its nothing I've ever heard anywhere but on the clearly labeled X-Box controllers. I've always heard them called trigger buttons, or shoulder buttons, or simply L and R. Why in the hell is everyone suddenly calling them bumpers? Forgive me for being salty, but I hold a strong hatred for anything that reminds me of X-Box related stuff.

I'm sorry, but...no dice.

@WaveBoy Now that's a controller I can get behind!

I don't see this happening...

Why is the left analog stick 8 way but the right one not?

Its nice that its actually wireless.

"Ships within the US only".....laaaame

@WaveBoy, nice mock up. Maybe Nintendo should have stuck to this design for the Wii U pro controller

I'll stick with my two wavebirds thanks

Getting burned by poor quality 3rd party peripherals is a gaming rite of passage, and anyone that lived through the Gamecube generation and prefers that controller has already gone through that passage. Pretty much the entire target audience for a Wii U Gamecube controller is going to be skeptical.

Besides, this is pretty redundant now that Nintendo has announced an official first party Gamecube controller adapter.

It's cool that they attempt this, especially since a full wireless GC controller with all buttons it misses to be fully WiiU-compatible makes more sense than the adapter Nintendo is aiming for.
But I'm not sure if I actually want to pay for that, since I imagine the price to be pretty hefty...

EDIT: Okay, looked at the kickstarter page. 44$ for early birds and 50$ regular is actually pretty damn affordable. Just the high shipping costs outside of the US bother me.

@WaveBoy

The button layout was an interesting idea in principle but in reality there's some games where having that particular layout doesn't/wouldn't quite work, such as in certain fighting games where you might need to normally press two particular buttons at once with one thumb (B+Y to throw in a game like Virtua Fighter for example). Or even in one of Nintendo's own games like Super Mario World where you normally rock your thumb back and forth over the Y and B buttons, with the top of your thumb pressing down on Y continually and the bottom part rocking onto B as and when you want to jump, so you can effectively run and jump at the same time. Whereas with the traditional diamond formation you can do basically any combination used in any game to date.

Nintendo created the potential for incompatibility with certain games by default, or at least the need for developers to either remap their controls or add in options for the player to do so etc (with potential situations where even remapping might not give the specific options required to perform all the moves the way you would be expected to), where it wouldn't have existed at all if it had just stuck with the diamond formation, that it popularized in the first place.

@Dreamz

Well maybe that's because you're not thinking about the bigger picture (see my comment right above this one, to WaveBoy). There would have been no potential issues just sticking with the traditional diamond formation, that everyone else has adopted and already designed their games around at this point, but Nintendo just had to go against the grain even though in reality it didn't really serve any benefit, apart from maybe making things even more simplified and explicitly clear for noobs and casuals (big green A button for Yes/Action/Accept/Go and smaller red B button for No/Reject/Back), and in some cases could lead to potential conflicts.

If you Kickstarter guys actually read the comments on sites like this, I'd suggest you either go with the more standard diamond formation for the face buttons, since there's actually times where this particular layout may cause issues in certain games. Or actually go with the specific face button design on the early GC controller prototype below, where the B button is actually the same kidney shape as the other face buttons around the central A button:

http://oi61.tinypic.com/osfkba.jpg

I personally don't really see the need to have the B button be much smaller than the other buttons and keeping it the same kidney shape as X and Y means you can more easily and naturally rock back and forth from the main A button to any of the surrounding buttons.

PS. Also; why not actually go with the color arrangement on the traditional GC controller because I think that's a lot more visually appealing than just plain white buttons, which looks bland and slightly amateur imo, and specifically have the A button green for Accept/Go and the B button red for Back/Stop because this actually makes good sense and is very clear to the user.

http://www.gamechoiceclub.com/image/gc_controller_black.gif

A little more color in general never did anyone any harm...

http://oi58.tinypic.com/6zwlu8.jpg

Also; make the think matte for Christ's sake! The shiny looks so cheap, tacky and is a finger print and dust magnet.

Perfect timing
Also, i see the following problems: Like they said, the controller will likely act as a classic pro controller, meaning that the OS will expect the same deadzones from the analog sticks. They updated the C-Stick so that it has a round casing, but the left stick still has an angular casing.
In a worst case scenario this will mean, that you can only achive "full tilt" in a definite position (Up, Down, Left, Right and diagonals) and everything in between will result in a half tilt,
I had such a problem back in the PS1 days, which was one of the reasons i stay FAR away from 3rd party peripherals.
Also, if nintendo is planning to use the GCN ports for "other things" (cough GCN VC cough) it probably wont recognize the analog shoulder buttons.

Im sorry for these guys, but that project is pretty much dead.

@Kirk Diamond layout would completely obliterate the purpose of this. This controller, as well as the official Gamecube controller, is for people who PREFER the large A button layout. If you don't prefer that layout, there's already a controller for you: the Wii U Pro Controller.

Better use original instead

I'll stick with the pro contoller thanks, that looks damn ugly

I use the more superior Gamepad for everything anyway... Normal controllers aren't Next Gen enough and are way too small for my big hands

@WaveBoy Much agreed. This is not worth my money as a Kickstarter project.

Somehow I don't believe Nintendo is making that GameCube controller adapter solely for smash bros. I think they will bring back some GameCube classics and if this controller will be identified as a Wii u pro controller then it would be completely useless for that purpose.

@shattacrew Hmm you might have a point there....Cant wait for E3

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=832618
Apparently Hori is making a Wii U "Classic" controller and the GC pad as the base. Not sure if it can also be a "Pro" controller for Wii U.

Good idea, but Nintendo needs to make this to ensure its quality and compatibility is in line with all their controllers. Nobody makes controllers like Nintendo. Everything on a console pad was invented by Nintendo.

I can't understand why the initial wii u pro controller wasn't based on the wavebird in the first place, it looked, felt and seemed more like the appalling xbox 360 controller. Awful.

@Tsurii897 pretty sure you are the only person, less than a minority.

Gamecube controller was THE most ergonomic controller ever made in history and a zero element of "clunk" anywhere on it

@DESS-M-8 You're joking right? It's all cramped up, the shoulder buttons are awful and spongy, the Z button is the opposite, it's all clicky and tight. Nah, not a very good controller at all in my opinion.

@CaviarMeths

The Pro controller most certainly isn't for me because I can't reach the d-pad and face buttons comfortably, which goes to ergonomics, and it lacks analog triggers.

I would have figured the reason people would rather have the general GC controller design was more that they thought the analog triggers were a great fix for an unnecessary omission in the Pro Controller and also that they preferred the GC controller's superior ergonomic design, rather than it having anything to do with that particular face button layout to be honest.

The triggers and ergonomics of the GC controller actually add to the overall controller design but the face buttons just limit it slightly imo. Unless you seriously consider having one button be bigger than the rest as being more important than having a button layout that actually supports more games naturally.

To me it would be the same if the guys making this new controller that's inspired by the GC controller had omitted the second shoulder/bumper button just because the original GC controller lacked one, even though adding that second shoulder/bumper button is clearly an improvement on that original design.

Why anyone would choose a controller design that keeps or even introduces certain unnecessary limitations rather them fix existing ones, is beyond me.

@pukka-pie

In terms of the pure ergonomics of the actual controller shape (the shell itself), the GC is the most ergonomically comfortable first party home console controller in existence.

Just try holding any other controller in it's default grip position and compare how the feel side by side (without moving to other random buttons or whatever; just that default grip and how natural and comfortable it is)...

Nothing even touches the GC controller in terms of the ergonomics of it's shape, except things like the center prong of the N64 controller and the Wii Nunchuck for example and this is because they are basically the same shape as the GC controller's handles.

@Kirk "Why anyone would choose a controller design that keeps or even introduces certain unnecessary limitations rather them fix existing ones, is beyond me."

That's what I said. This controller isn't for you. It's for the millions of people who prefer the Gamecube controller. You don't have to understand it. Frankly, neither does Nintendo or anyone producing 3rd party controllers. They just need to understand that there is a market for it.

But with Nintendo covering this market themselves, it seems pretty pointless to crowdfund this. It's solving a problem that doesn't exist.

If I was going to get a wii u gamecube type controller it would need to be pretty much exactly like what waveboy posted. Im fine with my corded gc ones with the wire extension

The face buttons on the Gamecube controller are fine, really. I actually rather like the layout because it's pretty simple to get a good feel of where the buttons are and which ones do what in the game. It was bad for the Wii VC, but that was more a matter of Nintendo not supporting custom control mappings over anything else.

The controller itself, of course, is incredibly comfortable to hold as well. And I prefer having the face buttons sitting over the right stick because it's generally more comfortable. The main reason I want to use it, though, is for Smash Bros- anything else is a bonus, quite frankly.

I'm all for retro stuff. It sounds like a neat idea, but personally I hated the d-pad on that controller. Horrible for fighting games in my opinion. It was so tiny, and the D-pad is what i use for precise input on any fighting game (hence why i hate Xbox controllers). Otherwise i love it. I just think the Wii U gamepad and controller pro are the ultimate controllers for me. I wish these guys the best though.

@Kirk As if that matters when you have at least 3 buttons that are either horrible to press or as is the case with Z both horrible to press and a stretch to reach.

@pukka-pie

Well if you wrap a set of decent buttons around that basic GC controller shape then you basically have the best "traditional" style controller ever made imo.

Personally, if I were designing a game controller, I'd move the shoulder buttons from above the triggers to the back of the grip handles (and they'd also be analog), so you pull them like bike brakes with all/one of your three fingers (not your index finger because that's used for the triggers, which would probably be digital in my design since the brake grips would already be analog), and that way your trigger fingers also never have to move from the triggers. I'd also just go with the standard diamond formation for the face buttons.

Well, actually, if I were REALLY designing a controller it would be very different to what we have now but that's a whole different thing.

@CaviarMeths

Yes but are they REALLY choosing the GC controller because of that particular face button button layout?

If the original GC controller never had that particular face button layout (and more importantly became known as the de-facto Smash Bros controller) don't you think most of those same people would probably still prefer it?

I don't think the face buttons are what makes people want a GC controller and personally I also think the GC controller would be a superior controller with a set of standard diamond face buttons too (hence why I think they should go with that layout on this new controller).

That controller is ugly as hell. I mean why even fund when you can connect your old controllers to the Wii U, probaly even cheaper.

This seems like it has potential, but I really don't see them raising almost $400,000.

$399,000

I mean, I don't think it's a bad idea...but they won't reach that...

@WaveBoy THAT would do

@pukka-pie I think it's you who's joking. Nothing is a stretch anywhere on that pad. PS3 and 360 are positioned no different. PS4 feels even worse. The gamecube pad design would need tweaking anyway, such as a fourth shoulder button, upsized right analogue and dpad. But the actual physicality of the pad which is where ergonomics comes in should remain the same. Nothing has come within the gamecube controllers since.

@WaveBoy yes and i rather stick with the original

@NintendoMonkey @WaveBoy It's a prototype. It won't look like that.

Looks kinda rough but I'm sure it will turn out okay
I'd buy it (if I had a Wii U)!

I don't buy controllers that aren't official anymore, and this doesn't look very appealing. Ah well. :3

Plus, I know it's a prototype but the funding goal is huge!

Scanning through the comments, I think I'm the only Nintendo Life reader that would be interested in something like this. However, considering the newly-announced GameCube controller adapter I guess there wouldn't be a point to getting one.

@Emblem I have wii m+/chucks that were from china in an epackage, 4 for $40. Been working fine for 3 years now. No name brand...just says "motionplus". Even just used 2 for mario kart before this 😄

GC controller buttons seem weird but when you use it you realize its amazing. the big A button. That central position of a main button is awesome. Would work well with Mario Kart 8 and any Zelda ofcourse. Best controller ever! GC!

@WaveBoy i love that mockup wii U updated gc controller. I'd buy 2 day one.