Here's Why The Nintendo Gamecube WaveBird Is Legendary
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
- During the sixth generation of consoles we were still stuck using wired controllers out of the box as the standard. A few years into the console cycle Nintendo introduced a first party wireless controller that used radio frequency to communicate rather than line of sight IR. This kicked off a chain reaction of several third parties getting into the mix and led to us eventually using wireless controllers as the standard. Today let's take a look at the Wavebird controller and why it is considered a legendary controller.
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#Nintendo #Gamecube #Wavebird
I will never get rid of my Wavebirds. I still have the matte grey and silver ones. I still use it for Smash today. At the time, it was legendary to bring over the Wavebird to a buddies house for Melee. 🖤
Agreed, I still have one myself. Absolutely loved using the thing though I didn't get mine until the wii era (never actually had a gamecube)
I've got both grey and silver myself! I lovem
Ayyy
I still have mine in excellent condition!
My uncle gave me the console and the controller
I still have my original Platinum Gamecube w/matching controller, Platinum Wavebird & the matte grey one. Been using mine thru the Wii, Wii U and now on my Switch, probably the best controller I've ever used
You shouldn't use Wavebirds for Smash because they introduce a small amount of input latency.
Names off everything needed for 16 player Mario Kart EXCEPT 16 Friends
15. Unless you just wanted to watch.
I was literally waiting for him to just say, 'oh, and 16 people as well!'
Valid point
You need at least:
4 tvs
4 gamecubes
4 copies of Double Dash
4 Lan adapters
16 controllers
Lee Martin Thank you for your service.
I own 4 wavebirds in pristine condition. I use them for backyard projector smash with my buddies. Still love them
You can actually buy them from GameStop's website. One of mine came from there and it was in good shape.
I never even realized the wavebird would work with the Wii for brawl lol. I gotta try that sometime
Wow! That sounds fun
Lucky...
@@MrBoop4345 yeah kind of want to but they're 80 dollars which seems like a decent chunk of money for a 20 year old controller although understandable since there's likely not a ton left and a lot of people never had them to start with
I still have my Wavebird I preordered from Circuit City and got on day one of it's release. It's a bit dirty as it survived a house fire but it still works perfectly. No stick drift or anything, which is miraculous considering how much I played with it. Gamecube hardware was made rock solid. I had a GC memory card that I dropped in the snow during the winter and couldn't find it(was about 7 inches of snow). I came back after the snow melted(weeks later) and found it pressed into the mud on the surface. I took it home and dried it off, and to my surprise it still had all my data intact and was working perfectly.
Whoa.. deja vu...
Damn
Just damn
You can take the controller apart and clean the shell. I'd suggest taking the circuit board out, and putting the shell and buttons into a bucket of warm, slightly soapy water. Get them all thoroughly wet, then go at them with a soft scrubbing brush. You can use a toothbrush for this. This should clear and help dislodge most of the caked on dirt, skin oil, and smoke particles. I just cleaned a bunch of keycaps from an old keyboard earlier today with that method, and I dismantled and cleaned my GC controller a few days ago. It's easier than you'd expect.
“It survived a house fire, I dropped it in the Atlantic in an oil spill, then it caught fire again. My cousins peed on it, all of them. All my cousins. My dog chewed up every inch of it. I lost the controller as a matter of fact. It still works great! My favorite controller of all time!!”
I had 2 wavebirds and I used them to convince some of my friends that my other friend Mark could beat them at Smash Melee blindfolded.
Mark and I had 2 wavebirds set to the same channel and only one receiver plugged into the game cube. Mark would turn off his controller but pretend to keep playing blindfolded, while I looked at the TV through my window with the actual working controller.
😂
bro is super intellegent
I still use my wavebird control for my gamecube. It was my first exoerience with good wireless controls.
Using mine on my switch, it rocks with several games I've been playing
Go do road roller throw at jotaro
I was so young at the time I didn’t even realize just how great it was to not have to point the controller, but I sure enjoyed laying in my parents bed pointing the controller up at the ceiling and having it still work perfectly
Your low-key humor is integrated so casually
You know what's crazy about the Wavebird? If you have 4 Reciver, you can actually controll 4 Characters in Smash with one Wavebird, using the same Channel.
I also like the idea having one Wavebird and 2 Recivers having one each plug in a GC and a Wii and you don't have to change anything.
Yes the Wavebird is amazing, even today.
The receivers are actually the more expensive part. I guess a lot of them disappeared over time. I am thinking of getting a few japanese Wavebirds, even without the receivers. They are relatively cheap and they come in different colours that weren't released in the US or EU.
UndeadCollector u just blew my mind
I found a wavebird and receiver at gamestop today for 20 and im ecstatic
Lmao, that's crazy! That means you can also fight Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Twin Snakes with 2 receivers and controller by using 2 channels.
The console its self is legendary imo
Yup.
Nope.
@@Noname15514 ????
Not really everything else available was better
But everything else didn’t have a handle ✌🏾
One thing I loved about the Wavebird was the battery life, I could just stick the batteries there and forget about it for a very long time.
Also, it may be ugly ( I guess? ) but I struggled to understand why did they get rid of On and Off switch on controllers when wireless became mainstream, the need of hold a button wait a prompt to pop up and select "turn off controller" options is kinda silly in my opinion... it's much more convinient to just switch it off in half a sec sometimes for when you're taking a quick break and want to save some battery, I don't know, maybe it's just me.
Probably my favorite controller ever, especially with it coming when it did. It was the first legit, reliable wireless controller on the market.
OR worse said cable snagging would damage the controller port. I will say Microsoft was smart in putting a breakaway plug in the controller cable.
Yes, my gamecube has come flying across the room several times due to someone tripping over the cord. 😂
Doesn’t matter really the Xbox weighed a ton
that would pull down my whole tv
@@karandhaliwal6881 I will never understand why people don't see "living room in use, wires strewn around the area" and not conclude to avoid the area. It's like when people poke me and pull my headphones off when I'm at the computer instead of just saying my name or tapping on my desk to get my attention. It's extremely rude and a violation of personal space, or, in the case of playing a console game, an invasion of the "activity area".
Oh that's sick! I've never had an XBOX so I didn't even know that. Sounds like more carried over from SEGA's hardware, Saturn's 3D control pad had something similar, where the cable could be detached, likely for easier storage or to use a longer cable.
One of my favourite controllers ever.
At the time I bought 4 of them in the hope of using them in multiplayer scenarios. Sadly that never happen so I only ever opened one of them. Which means I still have 3 unopened wavebirds in my collection :)
The Wavebird and probably just the GameCube Controller in general is pretty much the best controller in it’s time (on par with the slimmer Xbox Controller) and the GameCube Controller still holds up extremely well today..
I never had a wavebird, so I can’t attest to its quality, but the wired GC controller was legendary so I can’t see how a wireless version wouldn’t be even better.
Yeah but the wavebird does have input lag in some sort of delay
@@Matanumi Technically, since the connection turns off when it detects no input (to save power) and turns on again when it does, it can have latency when making an input after not pressing anything.
Consistent inputs, apparently, are registered much more quickly because they don't have this (already not very noticeable) issue.
@@Matanumi seconded
Honestly the wavebird was legendary at a time when so many wireless controllers would fail very quickly the wavebird had such a good lasting quality and near perfect signal. Its almost on par with modern wireless controllers.
I never owned a Wavebird as well only the wired GameCube controller.
Absolutely love my Wavebirds. I use them on the Wii. I never could find an answer why they didn’t rumble. Now I know.thx
7:14 Love how smooth the transition is into taking apart the subject matter of these educational throwback episodes...
I still have mine. Used it a lot back in the day and always was pleasantly surprised by how long the batteries would work. The Wii controllers felt like such a step back in that regard.
I traded my gamecube, games and most accessories to get the Wii since it had gamecube built into it. Luckily i was smart enough to keep my wavebird and memory card. I just picked up another one at local chain store in great shape for $12.
Wait, why did you sell your GCN games if you cared about the fact that Wii was GCN compatible... lol
11:06
Tell me about it; I traded my whole GameBoy Advance, and most of my GameCube (including Wavebird) and N64 collection because I wanted the Wii at launch day with a couple games. How stupid my 18 year old self was, now I have been spending these last few years trying to rebuild my collection.
I remember we lanned up Double Dash one time in my friend's basement in jr high. What a pizza fueled night of insanity that was. Simpler times.
Great video - really like how you're tweaking the formula of these and telling more of the story while keeping the teardown aspect within context.
Really liked this video. A good mix of a teardown plus gaming history. Good job!
I loved my wavebird. Some of the most fond memories of my childhood and early adolescence are playing Melee with this thing. Also, I've never really liked rumble features and still usually turn them off if i have the option. I wonder how much of that preference was solidified by the lack of rumble in the wavebird.
This is an awesome breakdown of the Wavebird. Good stuff.
Also, your taste in background music is impeccable! Star Fox Assault had an amazing soundtrack and...is that Skies of Arcadia I hear?
I got the receiver years apart from actually having the wave bird lol, never had it when it first came out and they get harder and harder to get every year
Yeah, it's crazy how expensive they've stayed. I had to get each one separately too to keep the price low. It's weird though, that the controllers themselves are so much cheaper than the receivers (at least on US ebay)
I don't understand why a few people always dislike these videos. There's literally nothing to dislike... Just talking about controllers
I disliked your comment.
Brian De Jesus I disliked your reply
@@FireBlades I disliked your reply about disliking my reply.
PS2 Fanboys
Wow look at ign review
My wavebirds still work like a charm and I got them day 1. Such a great piece of technology. It is amazing to me that the first generation of technology outlasted my joycons.
I still have my baby. This controller was amazing.
I LOVED the Wavebird controller so much. I remember getting Metroid Prime for Christmas and it was packaged with a Wavebird. It was awesome!
Awesome video as always, Spawn Wave! I love these style videos.
If your videos were more like this Spawn... I would watch so much more. I love how you broke down the history and impact that the wavebird had and still has today. Thats insane! I learned a lot! Thanks so much man! Very well done video!!!
I really enjoyed this style of video. The story and the production quality made it interesting to watch. Keep it up!
Love this video format, feels more raw like your making things from genuine passion for the content
Hey man, just saying, setting up a 16-player match of Mario Kart Double Dash sounds like an A+ piece of content 👍
agreed
I wish I could post a pic with all my controllers on here. I still have a regular wavebird, and a platinum wavebird. The wavebird was the first GOOD wireless controller, and will always have a place in my heart.
10 years after, I’m still mad at my brother for selling our GameCube with all my favorite games and the wavebird.
lins I kept all of my old game systems and games from when I was a kid. I don’t regret it one bit. Never understood people who sold their stuff.
Aghhh I'm sorry bro I was so happy after I found my gamecubes and wired controllers after about 10 years I'm going to buy an off brand wavebird to play legend of zelda with
@@cantsneedgaming4591 that must be the greatest feeling ever :’)
@@lins_z2 yeah I'm sorry about all your stuff I never really play ocarina of time so it's been pretty fun the past few days they are pretty dusty so I wiped them down and it had been so long I forgot about the orange light haha so I thought there was something wrong
@@cantsneedgaming4591 the positive side is that for TLOZ, there’s wind Waker for Wii U, Twilight Princess for Wii and Wii U (I have the Wii one :’)) and ocarina and majoras both have remakes in 3Ds, so in those cases I don’t miss them. Now sunshine has a port to switch too. Wishing for: Starfox Adventures, Metroid prime trilogy (although 3 was for Wii), Paper Mario the thousand years door and idk, mario party 4 and 5 were pretty good too. Those are the games I miss the most 😭
And the battery is insane!!
I play my gamecube often and use my wavebird every time.
I still have had the same batteries in it for the past 5 years and I still don't need to change them.
Great retrospective format for this! Would love to see more vids in this style
Honestly i just love how much opinions spawn from one gaming video!
Wavebird is really cool controller only did not play much with it.
I was more playing on my PS2 back at the day ;)
Ps2 had better games San Andreas especially
@@michaelmyersplays4992 Exclusive wise is very opinion based. In terms of multiplatform games, the PS2 version was always inferior to the GameCube and Xbox versions.
I really love this format of informative videos from you, do more.
Just took apart and cleaned up my old childhood Wavebird. Works like a dream now! Also, love the use of the PSO Episode III Tower of Caelum music in the background
Really like the documentary style you went with this. Hope to see more of these eventually.
I loved my wavebird. I finished windwaker from the bathroom with a well placed mirror.
Also I typically don’t care for rumble so the wave bird lack of rumble was a selling point for me.
Love this type of videos from you! 👍
Proud owner of a Wavebird.
Easily one of the best controllers that I've ever used.
11:10 this can't be any more true that it hurts. I remember doing just that when Halo 3 came out and having to walk with my new 360 from GameStop to my house, took me a while hour round trip to do it. Now I live in forever regret...
I never traded in my GameCube but I did trade in my SNES with about 20 games, game genie and super game boy for crash bandicoot 2, jetmoto 2 and a memory card. Worst deal ever.
Same i traded a snes 18 boxed complete games for 2 n64 games back when the 64 was new out 😕
Damn i feel for you all
I traded in my PS2 and XBOX with about 50 games for a PS3 and Little Big Planet 1 & 2. I don't even have the PS3 anymore.
I sold my gameboy player for 10 bucks toward a 360 and Halo 3. Had to buy another one recently for 100 bucks
I still have my wave bird since when I had gamecube and have never used another GC controller since, even without the rumble motor left out
I loved my Wavebird. Through smart usage of the power switch (shutting it down when cutscenes or the like happened), I managed to double the battery life and save on buying AA's.
Sadly, it died some years ago. And then I found out Nintendo won't make any more Wavebirds and I got really sad. RIP birdy. You will never missed.
Dude, your channel is on fire right now! Pumping out video after video one more awesome and in depth then the last. SWM is becomming one of gamings GOATs really fast.
I didn't buy one of these until the Wii was out, where it became my goto controller for Brawl & all the GameCube gems I hadn't played yet. Still got it in fantastic condition.
I still love my Wavebird. All things considered I think the GameCube is my fave console.
Security cut on the og xbox controller saved my xbox multiple times actually XD
I got to do the 16 player Mario Kart with my friends and family, it was awesome! Good times.
Jak and Daxter! Loved that series. And, yes...I loved my Wavebird. It was a revelation at the time and felt amazing in my hands. It's bulkier size felt much better than the standard GC controller. And it was just as reliable as the wired controllers. My friends and I would always fight over who got to use the WB. Good times. :)
The GameCube controller is still the comfiest controller I've ever used. Never got the Wavebird only because it didn't have the rumble. Used extension cables instead. COMFY AF.
Fantastic video SpawnWave!
This is the one thing that I need for my old GameCube
I like the GameCube style of analog trigger way more then the normal way, and honestly, I’m kinda surprised that the GameCube is the only controller, (as far as I know anyway) to use that style.
I hope more controllers do it in the future because it’s very comfortable and satisfying to pull
That's why the GCC is the GOAT
A fun nod back to "the good old days" of technology.
In my grandfather's time, wirelessly transmitted television was the standard.
When I was growing up with game consoles, the video standard was the RF switch. The awesome thing about it was that you could hook up several game consoles at a time by hooking one RF switch into another. While television was playing, all you had to do was turn a game console on, and the signal would automatically switch to the console. When you turned the console off, it would automatically go back to TV. The modern process of "switching inputs" was fully automated.
Also, every TV had power, volume, and channel buttons on the front. Remote controls were around, but in case it was lost under the couch or just temporarily misplaced, you could manage easily, and weren't just screwed.
Also, for you competitive gamers out there, input lag on CRT televisions was basically nonexistent.
Overall, things are better now. But progress is 2 steps forward, 1 step back. And those steps back can get annoying. I really wish there was a modern equivalent of the RF switch. Audio and video in 1 cable, the TV only needs 1 input to support any number of devices hooked up to it, and whatever is in use will be automatically selected.
I did eventually find a third party wireless GNC controller that still included rumble. It was white and blue. Also, we setup 16 player Double Dash LAN on 2 GNC's for my brother's bachelor party!
Best controller ever! I remember that the wireless phone I had in my room would screw up the controller's signal whenever it rang, lol.
Nowadays we're going back to wired controllers because the Switch Pro Controller is so darn expensive!
Neo Geo Pocket Color in the back, I see you SpawnWave! :)
That system was great!
the gamecube will forever be one of my favorite systems of all time and the wavebird is one of those reasons
I've been playing GC games on the Wii, with component, using the WaveBird... I just can't fork out $150 or whatever for these HD adapters... lol.
Hey, it works for me...
Idk how I’m just now getting this video notification here in 2022… I still have a GameCube and the wave bird controller. Don’t have many games for it but a few. I loved it when it first came out.
I still have the Atari Remote Controllers Joysticks CIB and got it in 83. Still works. I also have 4 WaveBird controllers form my Gamecube:)
The 16 channels on the wavebird weren't for playing with 16 wavebirds, the extras were there in case other devices were giving interference on some of the channels. The possibility of using 16 controllers is nice too, but usually you'd have better luck with some channels than others, especially if you had other radio devices in the house.
I remember having the Wave Bird back then man, it didn’t vibrate but what a great controller! Super comfortable, affordable and the batteries last like crazy! I’ve been even more than a month with the first batch.
5:30 I remember the homebrew Chat program that some people made so you could play online with Mario Kart, emulated MSN messenger of the day and sat as a man in the middle client to basically send your LAN packets over the net.
This video was done well!
Good job Jon!
The wave bird was awesome during that timeframe. I have some very vivid memories that I’ll never forget about that was somewhat of a downfall for the wave bird but that’s how technology was back then. When I was playing the mirrormode for mk double dash I was in the last cup on the verge of winning the gold and then my cordless phone rang 2.4ghz, it interrupted the reception for the wave bird and I lost the race. Lol funny thinking back on it now.
Amazing haha that’s beautiful
15 years, man this makes me feel old.
Great video Jon! Love this format
You know what you need to do...
Get 16 Wavebird wireless controllers.
Get 4 Gamecubes.
Get 4 copies of Mario Kart Double Dash.
Get 4 broadband adapters.
Get 4 CRT TVs.
Hook them all up.
Get you and 15 buddies together and record it! :D
You could have someone recording the room with a handheld camera, and you could capture the four CRTs and tile them to create a 4x4 split view of all 16 players.
My NES came with the Satellite and two four-player games on one cartridge: World Cup Soccer and Super Spike Volleyball. It used IR like a remote control. We didn't use it much.
I remember changing channels and turning the rotor to turn antenna to get the channel you wanted to watch . I did have a floor model tv from 1984 that had a remote to
Thanks to the Internet, I learned so much about gaming.
I don't want to think about what I'd say if I didn't know.
FUN FACT: At one point, I was convinced that the wired GameCube controllers also took batteries due to Chuggaaconroy's Super Mario Sunshine Let's Play (where he loses control and says his controller's batteries died, though I later figured it was a WaveBird). The idea of a wired controller that requires batteries and isn't powered by the cable connecting it to the console is unpleasant.
I 100% agree with this assessment of the WaveBird. I still have two and use them with my GC, Wii, and Switch. Yes, the WaveBird works with the Smash Bros. GC controller adapter for the Switch. GameCube was one of my favorite consoles. Not so much for the graphical content of the games, but for how fun they were. My PS2 ended up collecting dust unless I wanted to play a DVD.
I have a GC, and have two wired controllers. Because I wanted to sit on the couch in my dorm room, I bought cable extenders, that gave me an extra 8 feet. They work great!
Born in 93 grew up with sega genesis dreamcast ps1 & ps2. That shit you said bout developing a hunch while gaming in the 90s was so true. Carpet gamer for life
I remember finding one in a pawn shop in 2006 for 10 bucks. I grabbed it and still have it to this day.
I grew up with the gamecube. As a kid that shit was legendary. I had friends with wavebirds. I never had one myself. Still a sweaty melee player until this day tho.
I had a two of those back in the day. I loved those controllers. Honestly, I always felt like the GameCube as a whole was severely under rated.
Anyone else have a Nintendo power subscription and remember the ads for the wavebird with someone playing GameCube while sitting on the toilet? Still have a wavebird and I use it on my Wii to play GameCube games and sometimes on switch to play smash ultimate. They were and still are very cool.
I still use my wavebird on my hacked wii to this day.
@spawnwave our first gen wave bird was able to reliable control from across the street outside and about 1/4 of a small suburban block away... I’d guess it was a solid 60-75 yards easy. We used our Nextel phones on two way radio to communicate when the character on the screen stopped responding to commands. Wave bird was just godly
I just remembered my childhood/puberty! Lol. Great video!
Still have my WaveBird Wireless Controller for my GameCube, both the light gray and platinum colors. Bought the gray one using a $15 off savings coupon taken from the Nintendo Power magazine to use at at the store I chose to buy it from (shedding the price down to $30). Years later I bought a used platinum WaveBird at a retro video game store. When playing the GameCube, I refer to the WaveBird controllers now.
I miss my wavebird! I still have the wired controller that came with my first gamecube, but I to this day have no clue where my bird went. I had the rechargeable battery pack for it and EVERYTHING.
Wavebirds are by far my favorite controllers. I was lucky enough to find a japanese club nintendo wavebird controller on ebay in an auction a couple years ago that didnt destroy my wallet, and it's still to this day my most precious controller.
It took me about 2 years of checking ebay regularly for this controller before finding one in an auction that wasn't nearly as expensive as they usually are. That was more than 7 years ago. Best deal I ever found on ebay.
How much if I may ask?
@@souldespair01 Back then it costed me 140$CAD shipped from Japan, no import fees.
16-player Double Dash only needed two TVs. The TVs were each split into 4 squares, with two players in co-op on each kart.
I got to play 8-player Double Dash on my 10th birthday. It was amazing, but I never got a Wavebird.
Because it's the best damn controller ever.
Glad I kept my Wavebird when I sold my GameCube
I never had one of these growing up. I just had my single purple wired controller that came with my purple system. It was the first game system I ever purchased with my own hard earned cash. It took until I was about 30 years old before I ever managed to find and purchase a wavebird controller. Got it for a decent price. I'm very happy with my silver one. Would like a couple more at some point for the future. But for now, I'm content with just the one.
It’s so true
So true
And I know about them wires
I was fortunate to do two 16 player Mario Kart LANs. I have two BBA and most of my friends had them as well as we all played PSO. It was crazy fun and I wish it had been out a little sooner. It would have been nice to do Mario Kart and Halo 16 player LANs when those were super popular.
Never knew how much the one I got from GameStop for $10 was worth. It was on clearance in 2015 when I also picked up the GC with it.
Now it's something I treasure and hope to keep as long as possible because I swear I play better on this one than any other.
I still have my silver one plugged in and working all the time from the day it launched.
It survived what seems to be about 300 hours of F-Zero GX and countless hours of other GC games. I even used to play other emulators with that controller because it was damn near perfect.
I still my original wavebird from when my gamecube was first bought way back when.
I remember as a kid we had one WaveBird and two regular controllers. We used to fight over who got to use the WaveBird for the longest time. I think eventually it was just whoever grabbed it first got to use it.