Nintendo Reveals New Wii Controller

IGN reports that Nintendo has unveiled the Classic Controller Pro, a new input device for the Wii of a more typical design than the Wii Remote. "From the info we've already got on the PRO, we know it's a larger controller, not only in thickness, height, and width, but it also makes use of one of the more well-received concepts out there, which is the extension grips, which gives it a GameCube, Xbox Controller S/360 look. As you can see, the Z buttons (Z/L and Z/R) are larger now, and placed like the R1/R2, L1/L2 setup found with Sony controllers. The PRO even borrows from the Nyko Classic Controller and Click Grip."

Comments

Um

[Masami Eiri]

It doesn't look like a Wiimote replacement. If anything, it's a Classic Controller with grips slapped on. The summary makes it seem like it's to replace the Wiimote.

Re:Um

[artor3]

It doesn't look like a Wiimote replacement. If anything, it's a Classic Controller with grips slapped on. The summary makes it seem like it's to replace the Wiimote.

What part of "the Classic Controller Pro, a new input device for the Wii of a more typical design than the Wii Remote" was lost on you?

Re:Um

[rrossman2]

The way the summary does make it seem as if it's a replacement option for the Wiimote. I was thinking the same thing as the OP

Re:Um

[Forkenhoppen]

What part of "the Classic Controller Pro, a new input device for the Wii of a more typical design than the Wii Remote" was lost on you?

Actually, if you want to go splitting hairs, it's really a new input device for the Wiimote, so the OP does have a point about the description being a touch misleading/inaccurate. ;)

Re:Um

[Secret Rabbit]

You need to re-read the summary then. Because, it doesn't say what you think it does. Also, if you would have RTFA, you would have seen this, "Behold the new Classic Controller PRO from Nintendo". So, hardly a replacement.

Re:Um

[broken_chaos]

It should read "of a more typical design than the Classic Controller". You do not use this to replace a Wiimote. You use this to replace a Classic Controller (or Gamecube controller - but not for Gamecube games).

To be honest, it seems a bit pointless to me. Having a classic controller around for SNES and other 8- and 16-bit era games is nice, since the form has the nostalgia value, as well as a proper button layout (A/B/X/Y in the proper places for SNES games). A Gamecube controller works very well for N64 games (though, for some, the Classic works equally as well), and works for Gamecube games.

Re:Um

[spinkham]

Yeah, it's a classic controller with grips. It looks better then the old classic controller, but I wish they'd just reintroduce the Wavebird instead. I have one and it's much better and more convenient then the Wii Classic controller..

Re:Um

[bonch]

The Classic Controller doesn't replace the Wii Remote. It simply plugs into it.

Is that a joke?

[Stormwatch]

It looks like a Dualshock ripoff. And why they imitate the WORST controller out there, hell knows why...

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously?! The PS# controllers and tied for second behind the SNES for me.

I love my 360, but only the GameCube had worse controllers (discounting the old school, pre-NES era. IntelliVision stunk.)

Re:Is that a joke?

[polywaffle]

worst controller? maybe sony are just lazy, but three generations of console with the same controller begs to differ..

Re:Is that a joke?

[macshit]

Sony just doesn't care...

The dualshock wasn't the worst controller in history, but they really should have corrected its mistakes somewhere along the line... E.g., don't put the !@#% digital pad in the sweet spot, when nobody uses it for the main controls (the sony dpad was a horrid dpad too, literally painful to use for any length of time).

Even worse, they repeated their mistakes with the PSP -- putting the dpad (and it's the same painful dpad as the playstation) in the sweet spot, and cramming in the analog control in an awkward and uncomfortable position -- despite having the opportunity to design the controls without compatibility concerns.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, but you're wrong. The GameCube controller remains one of the best controllers ever created.

My only issue with it is the stupid Z button. That thing is hard to press and annoyingly placed.

Everything else about it is perfect.

The PlayStation controllers, all of them, remain as the worst game controllers ever designed since Nintendo showed how to do it properly. Sure, some old 70s era consoles had worse controllers, but they at least have the excuse of still experimenting with controller design.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry but you're on crack. The Gamecube had one of the worst gamepad designs of any console. It was uncomfortable to hold, the oddly shaped buttons were annoying and the nub on the second analog stick had too small of a surface area.

In my opinion the best gamepad made was the Alps Interactive Gamepad for the original Playstation. It didn't have analog sticks, but it was by far the most comfortable and well built controller I have ever owned. The prototype Playstation 3 controller strongly resembled the Alps and I was disappointed when Sony decided to drop the design when some people (who undoubtedly had no clue) whined about not liking the mere aesthetics of it.

Another controller design that I thought was excellent was the NES Max. It took some getting used to, but when you did you wondered how you played without it.

Other nice gamepad designs were the Mega Drive 3 button controller, Gravis Gamepad, SNES controller, Playstation Dual Shock, Xbox Controller S and the Saitek Cyborg Rumble Pad.

The worst gamepad designs were the original NES controller, Master System controller, Jaguar controller, N64 controller, Dreamcast controller and Gamecube controller.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Max Romantschuk]

The dualshock wasn't the worst controller in history, but they really should have corrected its mistakes somewhere along the line... E.g., don't put the !@#% digital pad in the sweet spot, when nobody uses it for the main controls (the sony dpad was a horrid dpad too, literally painful to use for any length of time).

Did it ever occur to you that not everyone shares the same anatomical configuration? I've always felt the PS-series controllers were quite nice to use. Not that I'm a hardcore games, but none the less...

Re:Is that a joke?

[Toonol]

I agree. I never touched a gamecube controller until after I purchased a Wii, but I was amazed by it. Possibly the best gamepad I've ever used.

I think the Wii beats it, though... not because of the motion detection, but because of the three foot cord between the left and right hand. My ideal controller would be something like a gamecube controller, but with the sides split so you don't have to hold your hands together in front of you.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

This may be a bit "Get off my lawn" but I've always preferred using the D-Pad for games. Much better precision.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Nerdfest]

Part of this complaint is hard-core gamer based I think. The thumbsticks are set much too far in and down to use for a long period of time. They're fine for short periods, but in a slightly un-natural position that gets more painful with time.

Re:Is that a joke?

[ZERO1ZERO]

Indeed. It's well known Nintendo make the best controllers, always have.

They were ahead of the game by offereing 4 ports as standard as well, plus with games like GoldenEye allowing a single player to use 2 controllers at once by holding the analog stick in each hand, giving analog movement and analog aim.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that all of their controllers after SNES suffered from one fatal flaw, there's no where to put your hands that can reach every button, and thus many games are designed to not make any real use of some of them.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

They must have done something right, considering that last I heard, PS2 is still outselling the newer generation of consoles. I never had a problem with the analog stick's placement in relation to the d-pad ( directional pad).

Dual-Shock are high-quality controllers. In fact, I've never seen a broken analog stick on one of them, compared to many worn-out nigh-unusable N64 analog sticks.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not that you're 'hard-core'. People just have different hand shapes. I probably spend 25 hours a week playing video games, and I find the Dual Shock series of controllers to be MUCH more comfortable than the Xbox 360 controller, ESPECIALLY in the analog sticks.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Nimey]

IMO the DS2 controller's configuration is pretty good. My gripe with it is that the thumbsticks are both too sensitive and not sensitive enough, if that makes any sense. Try playing a game like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and aiming your guns with the thumbsticks, and contrast that to aiming in $FPS with a keyboard and mouse.

Maybe it would help if Sony shipped a utility in their consoles to adjust sensitivity and dead zones that overrides anything in the game.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Spatial]

Maybe the answer lies in making a few different controllers rather than just one. Different shapes for different hands.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Jorophose]

Dual-shock? Good?

You, my friend, and deluded. The fact that both analog sticks rest at the bottom but the buttons are at the top right corner is evidence enough that it sucks giant donkey nuts. With a gamecube controller I can move and shoot. Can't do that with a dual-shock.

The Gamecube also managed to put in two L/R buttons: press down for one, and click for a second.

The only bad thing about it was the Z button, but games barely used it.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

Thankfully, this issue is rather moot with the Classic Controllers. Although I believe developers can make use of Classic Controllers in new games, they are designed mainly to play older Virtual Console games, 2D games where a digital pad would make much more sense. The N64 games are the only ones that would make any use of a stick, but I use a GameCube controller for those anyway.

And I concur with your assessment of the DualShock and the PSP. I also hated that Sony had to use shapes instead of alphanumeric characters to label the face buttons. A needless learning curve...

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess I'm just more versatile than you are since I find it equally easy to use the analog stick in the top or bottom locations.

The Dual Shock had 4 shoulder buttons. I'm not sure what you mean about "move and shoot", but you certainly can do that on the Dual Shock. If you're talking about using both sticks and pressing the face buttons, the Gamecube controller has the exact same problem with that as every other gamepad.

Oh, and have fun trying to press more than 2 shoulder buttons at a time on the Gamecube. The Dual Shock gives you 4 shoulder buttons that can be pressed independently or together for many combinations.

Re:Is that a joke?

[Anonymous Coward]

Part of this complaint is hard-core gamer based I think. The thumbsticks are set much too far in and down to use for a long period of time. They're fine for short periods, but in a slightly un-natural position that gets more painful with time.

Depends on your hands. I always preferred the PS controlers because I can hold them comfortably with my hands almost completely relaxed.

I game a LOT, on average 4-6 hours a day, 10 or 12 on weekends.

The thing that has always bothered me about consoles is the limited selection of shapes & sizes. I have large hands & many controllers are hard for me to use. I tend to stay away from portables because most are just too small... the Nintendo DS is especially bad, I can palm the damn thing in one hand.

Even more agitating to me is the shift away from the customizeable button configuration. Many times games are almost unplayable to me simply because I can't be precise enough... again, I'll point at the DS, MarioKart in specific.

I can see how people with smaller hands might have trouble with the PS controllers. My fingers are long enough that I don't move my thumbs "down" at all, in fact I "reach up" a little bit to get the sticks, with my fingers at a perfect distance to the triggers.

What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[AbRASiON]

How many stupid bloody plastic toy accessories are going to be released for this fad of a console?
You've got the Remote and Nunchuck.
In 12 months you'll have "remote 2.0" which has Wii Motion plus built in (AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE FIRST PLACE)
You've got your dopey plastic guitars.
Balance boards, classic controllers now this controller.

This thing is an excuse to sell cheap plastic accessories with 1 game.
Soon it will be a 1:1 ratio of games to controllers available for it, all the while your consumers snapping them like wildfire.

Sorry people but I owned one of these things and my god amd I glad to see the back of the thing, I'll stick with my PS3 and maybe buy a 360 again when Jasper Elite finally comes out.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[timmarhy]

what exactly is wrong with plastic? it's weight to strength ratio is higher than metal or wood, it's non toxic and stable in landfill. there are even plant based plastics now which while not being as good as petroleum, are getting better all the time.

frankly i defy you to come up with some kind of rationale to backup your rabid anti plastic hate.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[AbRASiON]

This is about un-necessary gimmick accessories for the sake of consumerism.
Sure all the consoles are just like htat but the Wii takes it to the next level with bullshit accessories for frankly bullshit games.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Toonol]

It's because the Wii is marketed to adults. The PS3 and 360 are marketed to teens and college students. Wii owners have money.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Anonymous Coward]

Uhh, no. The Wii is marketed at small children and non-gamers. The PS3 and 360 are the ones marketed to adult gamers.

People who have money will buy a $5000 gaming PC with quad core, quad SLI and 8GB of memory.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[interkin3tic]

How many stupid bloody plastic toy accessories are going to be released for this fad of a console?

I don't know, but I'd expect the total volume of plastic used for accessories to the wii to be maybe 0.0000000000000001% of the total plastic humanity has made.

So once the environmentalists have recycled all the billions of plastic bottles (maybe they will put a roof over the state of Washington or something) then wii accessories might be a priority.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[AbRASiON]

Correct to a point.
The PS3 and 360 are for the 'guys' between 14 and 44 (older is fine of course you older gamers)

The Wii is MARKETED towards children, housewives, grandparents and extremely casual gamers.
It does have some use in a purely casual party environment with the hardcore demographic too, it's a social console if people are around, yet online, it's FAR from social.

The Wii doesn't appeal to the 'normal' gaming demographic and frankly the fact that large amounts of gaming development budget is starting to be put towards developing for it frankly makes me sad.

The thing has gimick controls, it SHOULD have had motion plus at launch, it won't even play a DVD it doesn't have fcking optical audio output or HDMI (low res or not, no HDMI out in 2009!?)

This isn't just anectodal evidence, I genuinely know several people who literally have the thing under the TV collecting dust, the device is mainly a replacement for monopoly or a pack of cards at xmas, which is pulled out once a year because 'hey, remember that year granny won at bowling! haha'

I despite it even more, knowing nintendo is milking the shit out of the system by releasing peripheral after peripheral but offering little for online connectivity or storage solutions for the few who do donwload (OVER PRICED) old games on it.

Frankly, fuck the Wii.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Chih]

>I genuinely know several people who literally have the thing under the TV collecting dust... So have them all contact me so I can buy their consoles. I know several people who want one. I want a second one to hack/homebrew. I believe the wiimote with nunchuck is hands down the best controller on the market (though overly expensive at retail). I love hearing people complain about the Wii when Nintendo is watching every other competitor in their rearview.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[tepples]

I want a second one to hack/homebrew.

Can't you just use a PC, a Wii Remote, and a Bluetooth receiver for that?

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Jorophose]

The thing has gimick controls, it SHOULD have had motion plus at launch, it won't even play a DVD it doesn't have fcking optical audio output or HDMI (low res or not, no HDMI out in 2009!?)

Funny how everybody scrambled for motion-controls after Nintendo did it? And I wonder if you called the dpad, analog stick, etc., "gimick controls".

Motion-plus isn't really needed. It would have just bumped costs for nothing. There's only one game coming out that supports it, The Conduit, and it's not likely you'll see a whole bunch using it.

Everything in my house plays a fucking DVD. Do you really think I want another device burning its DVD drive just to play some movies? My laptop, my desktops, my DVD player all play DVDs already. (hey, who would have thought people bought these? what would you do with it if you had a wii? throw it out?)

Not everyone has optical audio. I don't. I want a car to come with my console. Does that mean I need it? HDMI is a terrible connector interface, the worst I've ever seen, with so many licensing issues, it's just a botched "standard". It's a good thing they didn't go for it.

"Gamers" make me fucking sad. You're the same pricks who bought PS2s back when the Gamecube was the only console putting out 480p over component, and was by far the strongest console of the last generation. Now that Nintendo realises it's a fairly useless title, you guys start bitching?

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[markimusk]

Don't hold it in, tell us how you really feel!

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Ant P.]

HDMI is a terrible connector interface, the worst I've ever seen

You've never seen a SCART connector then.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[lmnfrs]

The Dreamcast could do 480p in 1998, albeit via VGA which wasn't available on TV's at the time.

Gamers, the kind you're talking about, are just like any other group of people waiting to slurp up the latest marketing drivel. They think games are neat but aren't attentive enough to realize resolution and graphics power don't make a video game. Their interest is sparked by cool "new" things like WiiFit; they just don't realize the same thing was made for the Amiga in the 80's because games weren't "cool" then.

Shorter attention spans are disturbingly codependent with marketing.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Anonymous Coward]

Playing a Wii is still gaming, you stupid elitist fuck. "gamer" is no more valid an identifier than "music listener". Yeah, there are people who are douchebaggy about listening to music and will walk out of the room if a mainstream band comes on. They're douchebags. Similar applies to people who are snobby about playing a fun wii game with beer and a few friends, sometimes even female ones.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[el3mentary]

Also, the Wii can play DVD, just not under the standard firmware, under homebrew mine plays DVD's.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Ironchew]

How many stupid bloody plastic toy accessories are going to be released for this fad of a console?
Soon it will be a 1:1 ratio of games to controllers available for it, all the while your consumers snapping them like wildfire.
I'll stick with my PS3 and maybe buy a 360 again when Jasper Elite finally comes out.

Better than "buying a 360 again" when a game comes out, eh?

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[Monsuco]

You've never seen a SCART connector then.

Well, that's French engineering, of course it is terrible.

Re:What do environmentalists think of the Wii?

[grumbel]

And I wonder if you called the dpad, analog stick, etc., "gimick controls".

Dpad and analogstick have well over a decade of gaming history to show that they work quite well, the Wiimote so far has none of that. Even after two years most games don't manage to produce more then a half functional waggle control and thats not because everybody is lazy, but simply because the device just doesn't have enough sensors to make a decent motion sensing device. Even Nintendo seems to have realized that and now brings us MotionPlus, which should at least reduce the problem a lot and allow developers to make a half decent sword fighting game, which was impossible before.

Everything in my house plays a fucking DVD.

That just makes it even more obvious that the Wii is missing something very basic. TVs have a limited amount of component connectors and many people would surely prefer if they could just have one box next to their TV instead of two. There are plenty good reasons why DVD in the Wii would be a useful feature for many people, but alas Nintendo doesn't offer that option.

HDMI is a terrible connector interface, the worst I've ever seen, with so many licensing issues,

Yeah, but so what? Its not that there are plenty of digital alternatives to chose from.

You're the same pricks who bought PS2s back when the Gamecube was the only console putting out 480p over component,

Only console? Xbox can do 480p and higher and the PS2 can even do 1080i. Now in terms of power per dollar, the Gamecube was probably the greatest console ever build, but in absolute terms the Xbox still has a lead, Gamecube gets close, but nothing more.

New?

[Johnson90512]

Sure it does look sleek, but it is much of an old gamecube controller

Still wired to wiimote

[daath93]

Was this really necessary? It looks to STILL have a wire necessitating connection to the wiimote. Why switch from a completely wireless gamecube pad for that?

Re:Still wired to wiimote

[ActionJesus]

Sorry, but you clearly don't understand how technology works. If it wasnt possible to have a wireless gamecube controller 7 years ago, why should it be possible now?

Re:Still wired to wiimote

[tepples]

Why switch from a completely wireless gamecube pad for that?

Tetris Party, Dr. Mario Online Rx, and probably several other WiiWare games are compatible with the Classic Controller's protocol. They are not compatible with that of the GameCube controller.

Re:Still wired to wiimote

[daath93]

its not that i don't understand, its that i think its fantastically silly that my girlfriend's wireless wii controller requires to be connected by a wire to a wireless wii remote. anyone who doesn't see this as completely crazy has no place to lecture on understanding "technology".

Clearly it is YOU who doesn't understand that "technology" has been leaving cables behind for controllers for quite some time.

Re:Still wired to wiimote

[Ant P.]

Do you want a $20 joypad that plugs into the wiimote you already have, or a $40 wireless one with non-removable added battery weight to hold (batteries which you'll either need to buy an extra set of or swap from/to a wiimote incessantly)?

Re:Still wired to wiimote

[tepples]

Do you want a $20 joypad that plugs into the wiimote you already have

I own two Wii Remotes, and the games support four. So if I'm not going to be using the Nunchuk or MotionPlus accessory with any 4-player games, I'd almost rather buy two Classic Controllers with integrated remotes (the way the Balance Board does it) at $40 each than two Wii Remote + Classic Controller bundles at $60 each.

Re:Still wired to wiimote

[75th Trombone]

You fail, dude. He was on your side. He was sarcastically saying that yes, we had wireless Gamecube controllers seven years ago and that you're right: we should have them today as well.

Games now.

[Forrest Kyle]

Good job on the controller! For your next assignment, expand the library of desirable games to a number greater than 4.

Re:Games now.

[pembo13]

I don't think Nintendo has a magic stick with which they can beat developers into creating games you specifically like.

Re:Games now.

[keitosama]

But they do have a pile of great old games which they refuse to put on Virtual Console.

Re:Games now.

[hort_wort]

I don't think this guy is flamebait at all guys, the wii really does need some more games. I bought Twilight Princess, MP3, and RE4 soon after they came out. Since then, I haven't gotten anything. After they figured out the awesome control of MP3, I figured they had it down and would release several more games at that level, but nothing yet.

I rented the new Super Smash Bros game. I got bored with that after a couple hours. Having movies of the characters I liked was cool (though way too darn fast), but the gameplay was just a weak sidescroller with no plot. I'm not a fan of typical Mario games, so Mario Galaxy was a pass for me also -- that lowers my decent game count to only 3. :(

And no, I don't count the virtual console as contributing to the Wii game count.

Re:Games now.

[happyemoticon]

You've gotta be kidding. You have a Wii and you haven't bought Super Mario Galaxy? That's so absurd I don't even have a snarky remark for it. Quit reading Slashdot and buy Super Mario Galaxy (and maybe Super Paper Mario) now.

I agree with your overall sentiment, though. The Wii isn't just a fun system for party games and sports - it's also got a very good shooter interface, better than consoles, and certainly more intuitive than a mouse and keyboard. I wouldn't play Unreal Tournament with it, but for the aforementioned RE4 and MP3 it's ludicrously fun.

That said, I can't help but look at most of the blockbuster games (i.e., the ones that rise to the top on Metacritic) for the Xbox and PS3 and think, "Well, I already beat that on my computer, with a better control setup." And I just got a new laptop, so I don't see much sense in getting one of the other consoles.

Re:Games now.

[grumbel]

That 'stick' is called money and Nintendo has more then enough of it at the moment.

Re:Games now.

[Anonymous Coward]

So just download them for free from a ROM site. No skin off my ass.

Re:Games now.

[KDR_11k]

Well, if you're looking for an FPS there's Onslaught on WiiWare, it's very good and a lot of fun but reviews seem to be intent on comparing it to Halo (which it isn't even trying to be, it's designed completely different). There's also a lot of B list (well, not really B but not GOTY caliber like the big 3/4, more like regular A list) games like Boom Blox, Wario Land, de Blob and Zack & Wiki.

wii fails hard

[timmarhy]

it's really only good for a laugh while drunk, and that novelty only lasts 3 times max.it needs more than a few gimmicy games before it's to be taken seriously.

It's a shell

[fyrewulff]

IGN are idiots. It looks exactly like a Classic Controller in a shell, not a new one.

The shell will probably sell for 5$ seperately, and new Classic Controllers will come with the shell by default for 25$.

Re:It's a shell

[morismike72]

completely agree, but, maybe they'll sell it for 3$ ? :)

Re:It's a shell

[KDR_11k]

I doubt it, a shell cannot move the buttons, the shell locking mechanism on the CC is purely mechanical. Also the assembly gap on the top of the thing goes through the cord connection leaving no gap for the separation between the CC and its shell.

Re:It's a shell

[fyrewulff]

Seems the cord is exactly the same. I can see a gap between the CC and the back buttons. Also, for all we know the shell could have a passthrough hookup. CC -> shell -> wiimote.

Re:It's a shell

[KDR_11k]

But then you'd have to shove the whole cord into the shell and it still doesn't explain where the original ZL and ZR buttons went.

Um...

[drsquare]

To me is just looks like a Sixaxis painted white.

Wavebird

[rishistar]

Bring out a wii version of the Wavebird - that really was my favourite of the controllers on the last gen systems. The biggest thing (not just wavebird specific) was being able to tell what buttons you were pressing without looking down because of the different shapes. The Xbox controllers in particular took ages for me to get accustomed to.

"Borrows"?

[Lord Lode]

It says in the article it "borrows" from the Nyko Classic Controller. But to me it looks like EXACTLY the Nyko Classic Controller except for the Nyko label and a slightly different look of the grips! I suppose Nyko and Nintendo are related to each other then?

Re:"Borrows"?

[jabithew]

The sticks have moved further apart, if you look at the middle buttons for reference.

this isn't a new controller

[n3tcat]

It's just a shell for the classic controller. This is no different than the "steering wheel" shell for the wiimote.

Re:this isn't a new controller

[tuffy]

It has to be a new controller because the two Z buttons have been moved. That said, it's easy to confuse it for something like the Nyko shell because its front design changes are so minimal.

Re:this isn't a new controller

[jabithew]

It's not. You're confusing the new Nintendo product (or should that be 'new'?) with the existing third-party grip for the classic. The top image is Nintendo's offering, the lower the third-party.

This just in...

[Quarters]

Company makes product, plans to sell it to make money. Seriously, how is this news?

Re:This just in...

[lag10]

Company makes product, plans to sell it to make money.

Seriously, how is this news?

That same reasoning could be applied to any story.

Take "Government mismanages huge sums of taxpayer funds..." for example.

Rinse, repeat. It's the same story, but occurring at a different time. That's why this is news.

Re:This just in...

[grumbel]

New first party controllers happen only once every few years, so this is quite unexpected news. On the other side its of course just a classic controller with hand grips bolted on, so not all that exciting.

Smash TV

[tepples]

[Nintendo] were ahead of the game by offereing 4 ports as standard as well, plus with games like GoldenEye allowing a single player to use 2 controllers at once by holding the analog stick in each hand, giving analog movement and analog aim.

Williams beat Nintendo to that punch a long time ago. Robotron: 2084 (1982) and Smash TV (1990) had a setup with one joystick for movement and one joystick for aiming years before Goldeneye was a film, let alone a game.

Re:Smash TV

[FiloEleven]

Erm...Robotron wasn't analog, it was 8-way, and the move/aim mechanic for Goldeneye (FPS) differs greatly from Robotron (2D shooter). If you are only considering "that punch" to be "two sticks," then you're right of course. In that case, Williams even beat Nintendo on their own console with Smash TV.

Incidentally, if you like Robotron or Smash TV as well as beat-em-ups like Streets of Rage or TMNT, there's a PS2 game worth cheking out called The Red Star. It is, as you can guess, a hybrid beat-em-up and shooter featuring ranked levels (giving you credits to buy upgrades) and a co-op mode. It's $10 new at Gamestop and tons of fun to play with a decent difficulty curve. I must have spent close to 15 hours playing it with buddies since picking it up a few weeks ago--best game buy I've made in a long time.

Re:Smash TV

[ZERO1ZERO]

Fair enough, I was more refering to the GP post who claimed to want to have a controller split down the middle a la wii mote+ nunchuck etc. Golden eye offer this as you had a whole contrller in each hand, rather than '2 halves' as it were. The N64 controller was pretty neat in that it had the three prongs meaning you could hold it in 4 basic configurations using up to 2 hands.

Six to start

[tepples]

Good job on the controller! For your next assignment, expand the library of desirable games to a number greater than 4.

I play Super Mario Galaxy and Animal Crossing: City Folk. Even among only Classic Controller-compatible titles, I play Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Tetris Party, and Dr. Mario Online Rx. My cousin plays Mario Kart Wii, which also compatible with the Classic Controller, even though I think the excessive luck factor makes it less fun. What four titles were you thinking of?

handles

[Bobtree]

I really hope it has the Gamecube style handle grips, and not the PSX style nubs. I have big hands and found the GC to be a supremely comfortable controller.

The PSX derivations still hurt my middle->pinky fingers if I squeeze one for too long, and Sony should be outright embarrassed for not improving the DS3 design. They retreated when their prototype batarang style was ridiculed, and all we got was a wireless DS2 with mushy shoulder triggers.

This released picture only shows a top view, so I have my fingers crossed. Oval pad devices also bug me, especially the PSP (awful analog nub aside), and I've avoided the current Wii classic controller for this reason.

Topical?

[tepples]

You've gotta be kidding. You have a Wii and you haven't bought Super Mario Galaxy?

Topical? Super Mario Galaxy is a Nunchuk game, not a Classic Controller game.

The Wii isn't just a fun system for party games and sports - it's also got a very good shooter interface

For shooters like Ikaruga, what's so much better about the Wii controller than, say, an Xbox/GCN style controller? Sure, Wii Play demonstrates that the Wii Remote's pointer works well for games in the vein of Duck Hunt or Time Crisis. But a 720p TV makes Metroid Prime 3 look chunky, and the companies with money have tended to prefer the output side of the interface over the input side.

I can't help but look at most of the blockbuster games (i.e., the ones that rise to the top on Metacritic) for the Xbox and PS3 and think, "Well, I already beat that on my computer, with a better control setup." And I just got a new laptop, so I don't see much sense in getting one of the other consoles.

At least with consoles, you don't always need to buy four laptops, one for each player, and four copies of each game. Unlike PC titles, console titles are more often designed to show all characters in the same view (e.g. Smash Bros.) or a split screen (e.g. Mario Kart).

Re:Topical?

[75th Trombone]

Topical? Super Mario Galaxy is a Nunchuk game, not a Classic Controller game.

GGP was not talking about games on a specific controller; he was just saying that the Wii needs more good games, period.

For shooters like Ikaruga

Non sequitur. Did you even read your parent post? He said he was talking about first-person shooters.

While it's not news...

[superwendel]

This is great for those wii games that require a wii controller but doesn't allow the use of the gamecube controller. I personally can not stand the wii mote.

Dysfunctional, but Welcomed

[emance]

While the original Wii controller is innovative, it is too simplified to allow certain modes of game play.

I wonder if this addition is meant for Virtual Console gaming, and, if not, would it be too late to breathe new life into the already family oriented console.

Re:Dysfunctional, but Welcomed

[grumbel]

This controller is nothing new, the Classic Controller has existed since day one, this one just changes the form a bit, but doesn't add any extra stuff. It can be used in Virtual Console games and a few Wii games such as SmashBros, just as the original Classic Controller, its not meant to replace the Wiimote and most Wii games will continue to use the Wiimote, just as they have in the past two years.

Wither Wii MotionPlus

[HTH NE1]

Shouldn't they be trying to get the Wii MotionPlus to market?