You'll have to travel a helluva distance to find somebody who likes the Wiimote and Nunchuk as much as we do, but there's no getting away from one fact: Nintendo's unique peripherals weren't made with intricate, combo-heavy fighting games in mind.
Fortunately, when it comes to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, Capcom has two solutions. Solución uno: a simplified control scheme whereby a chain combo can be pulled off with a single button press, and special moves don't require input commands. Solución dos: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom will be compatible with the sleek, delicious slab of plastic that is the Classic Controller for the hardcore set. Not that we'd expect fighting enthusiasts to play this with anything other than a Hori Fighting Stick but, you know.
How many times in your history as a gamer have you felt that your console's controller couldn't be any better? Every time I've gotten my hands on a new game controller, there's been something I wished could be different. The NES controller could have been rounder. The SNES controller could have used some more face buttons for Street Fighter. The N64 controller needed speedier room service.
The Wii controller is built with expansion, flexibility, and upgrades in mind, and with the addition of a third party accessory, I've been able to mate the Wiimote with the Classic Controller to form a Voltronic gestalt of a controller that should be capable of great things. But is it perfect?
The Nyko Wing solves the one seeming design flaw of the normal Classic Controller -- that short length of cord. Of course, the tradeoff is that you now have AAA batteries to contend with. And also that the controller looks kind of janky (that would be more of a concern if it looked uncomfortable-janky instead of just regular janky).
Is the wirelessness worth the battery thing and the slightly less elegant presentation? Have you been waiting for a wireless Classic Controller solution? Have you ever wanted to be, like, three feet away from your Wiimote?
Nyko's Wing is the first truly wireless Classic Controller alternative (that isn't actually a GameCube controller): instead of a short cord, it communicates with the Wiimote via a wireless adapter. Unfortunately, it also looks about as comfortable to use as the Turbo Touch 360. The patriotic-looking Wing runs on two AAA batteries, and can even recharge them while playing via a USB cable. Nyko has yet to release any price or release date for this controller.
What's so weird about a wireless Classic? It may not connect to the Wiimote with a wire, but it's still connected. You still have to have the Wiimote sitting next to you (which isn't really a problem). The controller communicates wirelessly with the Wiimote, and then the Wiimote communicates with the Wii. It's like a relay for your button presses. We want one like GameCyte's preview copy.
Posted Aug 26th 2008 7:10PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: Mods
Joe D's concept of a beautiful, Atari VCS-style Wiimote, Nunchuk, Perfect Shot, and Classic Controller makes us want to slap some wood veneer over the shiny white controllers right away. While thirty years and Jonathan Ive have clouded our minds, one look at something like this reminds us that real electronics look like furniture. Microsoft knows this!
Despite being one of the most obvious designs (in our minds), we didn't see a woodgrain theme on the one decal site we checked, the popular DecalGirl. That means the market is wide open! We're not sure, however, what's going on with the lights. Electronics with lights? That's crazy.
There are certain things that we, as gamers, just need to have. Wavebird controllers, Classic controllers and a rechargeable battery solution for our Wiimotes are just a few of these things. What would you say is essential equipment for your Wii? What peripherals and other equipment can you not live without? Your Zapper? Your Wavebirds, like us? Your Wiimote jackets? What is it?
We're rather big fans of the (potentially endangered) Classic Controller, so were delighted to learn that High Voltage would be including support for the peripheral in its excellent-looking Animales de la Muerte. Producer Micah Skaritka's suggestion that the control scheme would be comparable to Smash TV was especially encouraging, and we now know exactly how we'll be taking down any zombie giraffes that cross us.
Animales is far from the first WiiWare title to use the Classic Controller, so what's your preferred weapon of choice when a variety of control options are available? Is there any WiiWare that you feel might have benefited from going Classic?
The panicked consumer is a predictable beast. Upon hearing that the Wii's Classic Controller might be withdrawn from sale in the near future, more and more customers have been scurrying to pick up the sleek, Virtual Console-compatible pad. Sales at Amazon have shot up by 207% after a court threatened to ban further sales of the $19.99 peripheral unless Nintendo coughed up a bond.
As the Classic Controller is still on sale around the 'net, we can only assume that Nintendo did indeed pay up, though the company isn't out of the woods yet: Nintendo will be taking its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where it will hope to prevent an outright ban.
Remember that recent lawsuit that didn't work out in Nintendo's favor? Then they tried to appeal and failed? Yeah, things aren't looking so hot for Nintendo right now. And the latest on this debacle, courtesy of Bloomberg, doesn't look good for the house that Mario built.
U.S. District Judge Ron Clark denied Nintendo's appeal for a new trial. In Lufkin, Texas, Clark said that he planned to ban further sales of Nintendo's Wii Classic Controller, WaveBird controller and Nintendo GameCube, but must wait for another appeal from Nintendo (this one is headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) to go through. Judge Clark is set to issue this ban tomorrow, unless Nintendo posts a bond or puts royalties into an escrow account, which will then stop the ban.
Thankfully for Nintendo, the Wiimote and Nunchuk controllers both have been recognized as not violating Anascape's patent. So, sales of each of these peripherals should not be affected by all of this.
The Conduit, The Conduit, The Conduit -- that's all we media types bang on about when it comes to High Voltage. But the Illinois-based studio also has a WiiWare game in the pipeline: the scarcely covered Animales de la Muerte, a bloodthirsty shooter set in a Mexican zoo that has been overrun by zombie animals. Let's say that again, shall we: a Mexican zoo that has been overrun by zombie animals. It looks a bit like Samba de Amigo crossed with the gore of MadWorld, and if that's not potential GOTY material, we have no idea what is.
And it gets better. High Voltage's Micah Skaritka just confirmed to WiiWare World that Animales would feature Classic Controller support, allowing players to move with the left analog stick and fire with the right, a configuration that Skaritka compares to Smash TV (but which also reminded us of Geometry Wars or Robotron: 2084). Meanwhile, actions that would usually require a shake of the Wiimote (Whip, Throw, Rescue, and Activate) have been mapped to buttons. A welcome addition!
With Super Famicom- and even PSP-inspired Classic Controllers hitting the market, we're not surprised to see someone exploit the sentiments of nostalgic gamers with a pad fashioned after the original Famicom controller.
Available in Japan starting this September, Datel's line of retro Classic Controllers -- all four of which you can view in the gallery below -- will retail for ¥1,659 (approx $15.54). It's nowhere near an exact replica, as you'll notice several missing and inconsistent design elements, but the controller features Home and Turbo buttons. Also, you can relive those childhood memories of throwing an NES pad at the wall after crashing into the aircraft carrier for the 20th time in Top Gun.
The Blazepro Classic Controller claims to be the first third-party Classic Controller, which isn't exactly true -- the Hori Fighting Stick works as a Classic, and plugs into the Wiimote in the same way. But as far as we know, it's the first traditional-style third-party Classic Controller. And it should be a hit among Monster Hunter fans.
The product description at SuperUFO says that Blazepro's controller "is looks like a squareness,but the function has no difference between the origin one." It doesn't just looks like a squareness -- it looks exactly like a PSP. As in "somebody made a mold of a PSP as the basis for their controller." It's even got an area at the top that looks like the UMD slot!
On June 26, a patent application from Nintendo was published on the USPTO's database. The application details a strange-looking controller with the button layout of the GameCube pad and a big rectangular cavity in the middle. Could we be looking at the future of the Classic Controller, or even the next implementation of the GameCube controller for Wii owners?
No, we couldn't! This application may just now be published in the U.S., but it's based on a Japanese patent application from 2005. This is the past of the Classic Controller, from back when Nintendo was talking about "shells." That cavity is for the Wii Remote, of course, or, as the application puts it, "an imaging information arithmetic unit."
After a recent court ruling that declared Nintendo the loser in a patent infringement case, Nintendo appealed the $21 million penalty sum, hoping to have the charge reduced. Anascape Ltd. was the plaintiff in the case (and potential receiver of large amounts of cash), claiming that Nintendo violated their patents when making the GameCube, Classic, Wavebird, and Wiimote controllers.
A judge denied Nintendo's appeal, finding that the sum was fair based on the evidence. Anascape, obviously, was happy about the outcome, with the lead council saying, "We appreciate the Court's thoughtful consideration in upholding the jury's decision. Although not a giant corporation like Nintendo, Anascape has every right to protect its technology."
Since the patent affects all of Nintendo's most recent controllers, we wonder if this will have any impact on Nintendo's future designs or technologies.
Still hunting for a Wii? If so, Circuit City's online store has them in around about ... now.
Think supplies are going to last long? Hell no! Even though Circuit City is selling the things with an extra Wiimote, nunchuk andtwo of the titles listed below, we estimate these puppies will be gone soon. We'd usually criticize the practice of forcing customers to buy bundles, but we estimate that at least three or four of the six games being offered are must-haves:
