We recently told you why the Nintendo 64 controller was actually terrible, contrary to any mistaken childhood memories you may have. Now let’s take a look at why the GameCube controller is anything but. In fact, it’s one of the best joypads Nintendo has ever released and a shining example of how much Nintendo could improve in just one console generation.
Released alongside the tiny GameCube in 2001, the controller beautifully refined the N64’s entries. Its main joystick and D-Pad were aligned for easy access, while the four C buttons of its predecessor evolved into their final form, the C-stick, a long-awaited second joystick that allowed for better camera controls.
The N64’s poorly positioned Z trigger became the GameCube’s Z button, located above the right shoulder trigger, while the left and right triggers were curved outward to naturally hug players’ fingers.
The gameCube pad also offered some bold design choices, such as the ultra-prominent A button, surrounded by the B, X, and Y satellite buttons; the latter two return for the first time since the SNES. The asymmetry is still a little strange to look at, but mechanically it works wonderfully.
Making Mario jump, its raison d’être, is assigned to that colossal A button on Super Mario Sun; is the main interaction button for Luigi’s mansion either The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Wakerthe fire button on Metroid Prime. He gently reminded players, and perhaps even developers, how often a single-sided button dominates control layouts and how controls can often be simplified to minimize inputs in the first place.
Overall, it was an incredibly ergonomic controller, more comfortable to hold than its predecessor and better suited to the grip of homo sapiens, a species that, as mentioned above, evolved to have two hands, not three.
free as a bird
Nintendo even improved the GameCube controller just a year later, with the glorious WaveBird model, a wireless upgrade that finally cut the cord for console gaming.
GameCube wasn’t the first console to introduce a wireless controller; That honor, technically, probably goes to the Atari 2600—But WaveBird made the idea finally viable. Many previous efforts relied on an infrared detector (like Nintendo’s own). NES Satellitewhich allowed up to four players to connect to the humble NES from 15 feet away), but since the technology required a strict line of sight between the controller and receiver to operate, they often failed. Others, like this monstrosity Intel attempted to be a wireless PC controller in 1999 and required the installation of prominent base stations.