WaveBird Wireless Controller

The WaveBird is an amazing wireless controller. In the past, 3rd party wireless controllers have been somewhat frustrating. The sometimes interfere and the many gamers complain that the response time isn't good and that the transmitter is sometimes a little slow. Some say that they just don't feel right. In steps Nintendo do get it right.

Let's get a few concerns out of the way. It takes 2 AA batteries and Nintendo claims that it can last 100 hours! Nintendo is usually conservative with their estimates too. Even with the batteries in it, the WaveBird feels pretty light. There are 16 different channels. You can set these by using a dial on both the controller ant the receiver. This ensures that four players can use WaveBirds simultaneously and they can also avoid any outside interference. A little light on the receiver flashes to indicate that it is receiving a good signal from a WaveBird.

Nintendo says that the WaveBird will work up to 20 feet away. Again, I will mention Nintendo's conservativeness. People have stated that they've witnessed the WaveBird being used at about 30 or 40 feet away! I myself have tested the WaveBird by it using outside of my house. I left the GameCube inside and stood about a total of 30 feet away from the GameCube and played by looking through the window at my TV. It still worked perfectly! The GameCube and the player do not even have to be facing each other. Nintendo has demonstrated it by using it behind walls and with objects in the way, and it works just fine.

Playing with the WaveBird feels just like using a normal controller. The response time seems no different than the original controllers. It works great. It does not feel heavy and the battery box is placed in such away that it avoids discomfort as much as possible. Some people with bigger hands have mentioned that their fingers touch the battery box when they hold the controller.

Unfortunately, the WaveBird does not receive signals. That means there is no rumble. That is the one fault of the WaveBird. Apparently, if the WaveBird received signals as well as transmitted them, it would not only make the battery life shorter, but more importantly, the response time of the controller would be somewhat lagged and playing fast games such as SSBM would not feel right.

Overall, the WaveBird is of good design. It is sturdy and I have witnessed them being dropped down a small flight of stairs more than once, and it worked fine. It feels just like a GameCube controller without a wire or rumble. There are no real 쩳suesith the controller as it performs wonderfully. It will be released June 24th of this year at $34.95.