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Nintendo WaveBird Wireless Controller Review June 20, 2002 Bob Colayco |
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Summary: Nintendo has set a new standard for wireless controllers with its WaveBird. Read our review and find out why we think it's an essential accessory for any GameCube owner.
 Overview | Page:: ( 1 / 4 ) |
Those of us who’ve played consoles extensively have had it happen. You and three of your friends are having a heated match of NHL or Madden, you’re pounding away at the buttons, screaming your heads off, and making incredible play after incredible play…and then your (circle one) mother/sister/girlfriend/cat/dog picks that key moment to walk across the TV and trip over one or more of the controller wires, yanking the pad out of your hands and/or pulling the console down off the shelf. It’s a tragic scene, and in this country, it happens once every 4.673 minutes.We’ve seen wireless controllers in the past. In an effort to reduce the clutter in front of the TV, I remember my father about 15 years ago buying an infrared 3rd party joystick for me to use with the NES. Unfortunately, it was a piece of junk. Compared to the NES Advantage, the stick itself had a horrid, clickety feel to it, the base wasn’t as stable, and the infrared sensor could be interfered with by someone walking in front of the TV or setting a soda can down in the wrong place. The NES Satellite was a better option; it was an IR hub that allowed you to plug any controller (4 ports) in and use it remotely, but the IR nature still made it susceptible to interference. Those were my first and only experiences with using wireless controllers on console or PC. Obviously I wasn’t impressed.
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Fast forward past the death of the NES, SNES, and N64, and here I am with my GameCube, finally healed from the trauma that was wireless gaming, ready to give wireless another chance. This time, I went with a first-party solution, Nintendo’s WaveBird controller. Unlike the horrible joystick I tried before, the WaveBird has the same solid construction you’d expect from a Nintendo product. And unlike the previous IR wireless solutions, Nintendo’s WaveBird uses RF, which means that you don’t have to be pointed directly at the console, nor will obstructions hinder its effectiveness.
The WaveBird has been one of the GameCube’s most highly anticipated accessories since before the system even launched. At least, to hardcore console/Nintendo fans. This particular editor hasn’t exactly lost a lot of sleep waiting for the WaveBird to come out, but I happened to be at an Electronics Boutique when it arrived in stores last week so I picked one up to take it for a spin.
What do we get for ten dollaz $34.95?
In the box, you get the controller, the receiver, and a pair of double A batteries. The receiver plugs into any of the four GameCube controller ports and draws the power it needs from the port. There’s a little green LED on the receiver that tells you when the receiver is getting a signal from the WaveBird. There’s also a dial underneath the receiver that lets you select between 16 different frequencies, labeled, oddly enough, 1 through 16. You’ll need to synchronize this number with the identical dial on the controller itself. Multiple frequencies allows for several WaveBirds to be used on the same GameCube without interference.
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SIDEBAR: A GameCube
$34.95
| Testing | Page:: ( 2 / 4 ) |
The same layout you know and love
The WaveBird controller looks almost exactly like a regular GameCube controller. The buttons, joysticks, and D-pad are all exactly the same as a standard ‘Cube controller. There are only a couple of differences. The WaveBird has no rumble functionality – the compromises on battery life would be too much, and weight was also a factor, since the WaveBird needs to carry two AA batteries, which slip into a compartment underneath the controller. An on/off switch is present on top of the controller, unobstrusively placed between the D-pad and the C-stick. An orange power LED appears below the on/off switch. Finally, the frequency selector dial on the controller is on the “back” of the controller, facing the user when you hold it. Since this is RF, not IR wireless, there is no window in the front that can break or get scratched.
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With the batteries in, the WaveBird is slightly heavier than a regular controller, but even the frailest, palest, and weakest video game addicts should have no problems “hefting” the WaveBird for extended play times. In my hands, the WaveBird feels exactly the same as a regular controller.
Testing
Nintendo claims the range on the WaveBird to be 20 feet. Surprisingly, this turns out to be a gross underestimation. Maybe you’ve seen the review on IGN where they take the controller and run 90 feet behind the television and the controller is still working. I tried a similar test at our house. I had my roommate stand in front of the TV in my bedroom to confirm operation of the controller, while I walked around the house. I walked out the door of my bedroom (10 feet to the side of the console, obscured by the TV and partially by the bedroom door) and mashed some buttons. Check. Down the stairs halfway. Check. All the way to the bottom of the stairs. Check. To the front door. Check. Out the front door. Check. Past the porch. Check. To the edge of the street – finally it failed. Put simply, the WaveBird’s wireless capability is comparable to that of a good cordless phone. You can use the WaveBird sitting anywhere in any sized room, and not have to worry about the signal cutting out or having line of sight to the console.
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As far as any possible lag or latency goes, there is none to speak of. I did hours of testing with Smash Brothers Melee, Resident Evil, Pikmin, Rogue Leader, and Luigi’s Mansion – at no point did I feel that my controller inputs were not being read in a timely fashion. The WaveBird worked flawlessly, just as well as any corded controller. Oddly enough, that’s probably the best thing I can say about the WaveBird’s performance, that it’s wholly unremarkable. You don’t really notice it at all. It just feels like a regular controller without the leash, and that’s exactly what you’d want and expect from a wireless. Again, the only negative is that the rumble functionality in the regular controller is absent. To me, this is actually a plus, since I find the rumbling annoying. I’ve yet to play a game where the force feedback was truly helpful to me. But if you are one of those people who absolutely needs their rumble effects in the controller, then the WaveBird is not your cup of tea.
Battery life is one thing we didn’t have enough time to test. I’ve read on various sites that Nintendo claims around 100 hours of effective battery life. Even if the WaveBird only lasted two thirds or three quarters as long, it would be a more than adequate amount of time for two AA batteries. If their previous estimates on battery life on the Gameboy Advance are any indication, Nintendo will meet or exceed the 100 hours for the WaveBird.
SIDEBAR: I own a black GameCube
| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 3 / 4 ) |
Pros
Wireless: Duh, that’s what you bought it for. No worries about tripping over messy entertainment centers, tripping on tangled wires in the middle of games, tripping over cords and controllers you left lying around while you find the bathroom in the middle of the night. And you can sit down anywhere you like in the room without having to worry about extension cords.
Insane range: The WaveBird has more range than you will ever need. And since it uses RF instead of IR, you don’t need line of sight from the controller to the box.
Solid construction: It’s a first party product – you don’t have to worry about it falling apart or that it uses cheap parts. The WaveBird is just as solid as every other Nintendo product.
Familiarity: It looks and feels just like a regular GameCube controller. Performs like one too.
Price is excellent: The WaveBird costs just about the same as a regular controller plus an extension cord. And you get batteries with it too. What more can you ask for? I’ve looked around and wireless controllers for the PS2 cost 50 and 60 dollars, far higher than the $35 asking price of a WaveBird.
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Cons
Batteries required: The WaveBird comes with batteries, and all indications suggest that you won’t have to replace them any time soon (100 hours claimed battery life). But the fact that you eventually will still implies a recurring cost. Don’t worry, it’s worth it. Just don’t forget to flip the on/off switch when you’re done playing. It would be all too easy to set the controller down after playing and forget to shut it off.
No rumble: If you’re like me, this actually belongs in the pro section. But in the unlikely event that some game comes out where rumble is a necessity, you may not want to throw out all your corded controllers just yet. WaveBird has no rumble.
Only one color for now: Isn’t it ironic? Nintendo, the company that produces everything in 20 pastel shades…neglects to produce the WaveBird in multiple colors when it would actually be useful. GBAs started out in 3 different colors. GameCube consoles are in two colors. Regular GC controllers come in three colors. N64s eventually came out in like 10 or 12 different colors. But the ONE device where it would actually be useful to have multiple colors (so you don’t get controllers mixed up when everyone gets up for a drink break during a 4-man NHL session), Nintendo only makes in one color – light gray. Surely there will be more colors coming later on, but for now, there’s only one.
SIDEBAR: Lots of good games to look forward to with the GameCube – Eternal Darkness, Mario Sunshine, Metroid, Zelda, and Resident Evil Zero to name a few.
| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 4 / 4 ) |
To sum up, the WaveBird is a controller that for all intents and purposes, looks and feels identical to a regular GameCube controller. The wireless RF works beautifully, delivering range well above and beyond the 20 feet that Nintendo promises in the WaveBird literature. We tested the controller and it should have no problems working at distances twice as far. Since it’s not infrared, you don’t need to worry about obstructions between the controller and the receiver, so people and pets walking in front of the TV will not cut off the signal, nor will shielding the controller under a blanket or behind a chair, etc.
At $35, the WaveBird is very reasonably priced, coming in $10 more than the regular GameCube controller, or put another way, about the same price as a regular controller plus an extension cable. You even get batteries with the package, so everything you need to get up and running is included. Battery life is supposed to come in around 100 hours, and so far we have no reason to believe that the WaveBird won’t meet or exceed that benchmark. The only real negative we could find with the WaveBird is that it doesn’t include force feedback like the regular GameCube controllers. Depending on your point of view though, that might just be another advantage, not disadvantage.
The WaveBird is a fantastic product, and at this point, I can’t imagine playing my GameCube without it. If anyone knows of similar products for the PS2, let me know.
SIDEBAR: What do you think of the WaveBird? Let us know in the comments section