In a completely unpredictable move, Nintendo has announced the GameCube Controller Adapter for Wii U, alongside what appears to be a Smash Bros.-branded GameCube controller.
The Smash Bros. Invitational Tournament that will be taking place at Nokia Theatre during E3 2014 will reportedly be set up with GameCube controllers, and while we’re stoked at the thought of playing the latest game with the best controllers made for it, we’re worried for two reasons.
First, this better not be the new hardware they’re announcing. If it is, Nintendo played us all, and they played us hard. We’re sure they’ve got something else up their sleeve, and while it’s probably not a new home console or anything, we’re hoping it’s something awesome enough to get us excited about the future of the company.
If Nintendo has no faith in the GamePad, why should I? Really, Nintendo is saying that the best way to play one of it’s biggest franchises is to use a controller that came out nearly 13 years ago? They couldn’t come up with a cool enough use of the GamePad to make this worth it? Also, I have to buy another peripheral to connect old GameCube controllers? What if I don’t have GameCube controllers anymore? This is turning out to be messy.
Really, we’re excited that Nintendo is trying to be innovative, even if it is kind of like innovating backwards. If they’re putting GameCube controllers back into production, wouldn’t it have just been easier to make a wireless GameCube controller (not the WaveBird size) that connects to the Wii U without an adapter?
We don’t know enough yet to make any sort of call on this move, so we’ll have to wait another week and a half for E3 to shake out, but one thing is for sure: Nintendo is shaking things up. Whether or not they’re doing it the right way is a very different question.
