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Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: 02silvercelica on February 18, 2003, 12:44:41 PM

Title: wavebird?
Post by: 02silvercelica on February 18, 2003, 12:44:41 PM: is the wavebird a reliable/good quality controller? i know that most aftermarket controllers always have flaws that interfere w/ the game system/games, is this officially licensed by nintendo?
Title: wavebird?
Post by: RickPowers on February 18, 2003, 12:48:55 PM: The WaveBird is made by Nintendo, and is the highest-quality wireless controller you can get for the GameCube. The third-party controllers are crap, by comparison. I don't use my GameCube without them anymore.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Sean on February 18, 2003, 12:54:36 PM: The WaveBird really does change things. A friend of mine has a child, and he loves, as kids do, attention. Naturally, when we're all playing TimeSplitters 2, the little tyke likes to run where our eyes are pointed, which is normally where four wires would be dangling dangerously, waiting to bring the whole of his gaming rig down on the poor lad's head.

In short, not only do we NOT have to sit side by side, we can all sit and play without worry of a Nintendo homicide.

I'll never go back to wires. For the children. ;-)
Title: wavebird?
Post by: 02silvercelica on February 18, 2003, 01:27:46 PM: sounds good. so exactly how far away can you play? could i be, say, 10 yards away and still have a signal?
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Sean on February 18, 2003, 01:32:03 PM: Reviews when it came out said 100+ feet. This is believable, of course. I have an upstairs room where I keep my GameCube, and I went downstairs, through a large living room, and far into our kitchen on the complete opposite side of our house, and it worked fine, according to reports from those who were there. That was quite a distance. There is literally no drawback to the controller, unless you don't like the GCN controller, are in mad love with the rumble feature, or hate the very idea of batteries. Okay, maybe there are drawbacks for some people, but there are none for me.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: dalmation10k on February 18, 2003, 02:06:09 PM: The wavebird uses radio frequencies to transmit to the GC.
Before the wavebird, all wireless controllers used infrared, just like a TV remote does. So you had to be in line-of-sight with your console, and pointing right at the damn thing.
With the wavebird you can have a bag of chips, a table or even a freakin brick wall between you and the console, and it will respond just as quickly as if there were a wire connecting the controller and the console.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: ShockingAlberto on February 18, 2003, 02:12:44 PM: The only flaws are the horrible appearance (needs to be large for the batteries) and the lack of a rumble. If you enjoy that nice little *shake*, then mayhaps a WB is not for you.

-- ShockingAlberto
Title: wavebird?
Post by: aoi tsuki on February 18, 2003, 03:42:52 PM: When i worked at Gamestop, i bought the Wavebird when it was released and put it in the Gamecube kiosk. i played a friend in Legends of Wrestling while several customers looked on. i continue to play with the Wavebird outside our store, then several stores down, up the escalator and to the third floor, where i got a latte at Starbucks. i was just button mashing, but evidentally i had almost won the match doing it. i don't know the actual distance, but i'd say it was at least 90 feet, maybe even over the 100 foot distance that IGN reported.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Gamer Donkey on February 18, 2003, 03:55:19 PM: To comment on the batteries, I got mine for Christmas and have played it daily and still have no problems with distance or interference. A week ago my buddy took it to his first floor garage and set up an NFS race on his downstairs tv.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Sean on February 18, 2003, 04:01:54 PM: I read that a Russian cosmonaut was playing Robotech on his GameCube in Jersey from the moon. I'm guessing that's 100+ feet. Could be wrong.

Cuts RIGHT THROUGH those darn solar flares, too! Good to know Nintendo's big on forward-thinking.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Gamer Donkey on February 18, 2003, 04:13:26 PM: Jeez, Nintendo is modest. It offers on the back of the Wavebird package 20 feet of wireless gameplay.

P.S. Humor noted
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Calibretto on February 18, 2003, 04:23:33 PM: The Wavebird is excellent. By all means, buy one. On average, the batteries last for 100 hours of use; so the fact it needs batteries is not very much of a problem or money drain. As most people have said in the above posts, the thing responds perfectly, and works from much further away than you could possibly still see the tv from. The only "downside" is the lack of rumble feature (which was removed to extend battery life and keep the size from getting any bigger.) This is a very minor downside; even though rumble feature is cool, after palying with a Wavebird, I bet you won't even miss the rumble feature.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: CreedDBZ on February 18, 2003, 05:41:42 PM: The WaveBird is probably the single greatest controller ever. The way my entertainment center is setup people walk in front of the tv all the time. I never have issues with wires or people stepping on them and pulling my Cube out of its resting place and onto the ground. I have had it since its initial release and now I can't play with anything else. Wires are so restricting its horrible. Now all we need is a platinum colored one like they got in Japan, that would be hella sweet!!!
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Odin on February 18, 2003, 06:08:12 PM: The Wavebird is the best controller I've ever held in my hands. I don't know how I ever played without it. No wires, no restrictions. My batteries have lasted a long time, and I play frequently. I've used the Wavebird from about 40 feet away and it works flawlessly. If you can get over the lack of rumble (which I don't even miss anymore), go out and immediately buy this controller.

Yes, it is made by Nintendo.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: aoi tsuki on February 18, 2003, 06:53:48 PM: A question for those of you who still have the original batteries. What brand are they? i seem to remember them being Panasonic, but for some reason i also seem to remember them being some uber-generic brand (Power King or something).

Just curious because they really lasted a while for packin batteries.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Odin on February 18, 2003, 06:57:54 PM: Extra Heavy Duty Panasonic.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Jollus on February 19, 2003, 04:30:20 PM: The only problem you will have with batties is when you forget to turn the thing off and not play for a week. Which I have done twice now. It is still the best controller I have ever used. An Auto Off thingy would make it near perfect I think.

I am hoping for a WaveBird 2 to come out. Maybe with a rechargable battery and rumble. It could have a base station like a cordless phone does so the battery would never die. It could be a delux model for people who want the biggest bang for their wireless buck. A man can dream can't he?
Title: wavebird?
Post by: vudu on February 20, 2003, 05:20:53 AM: Quote
A friend of mine has a child, and he loves, as kids do, attention. Naturally, when we're all playing TimeSplitters 2, the little tyke likes to run where our eyes are pointed, which is normally where four wires would be dangling dangerously, waiting to bring the whole of his gaming rig down on the poor lad's head.

dude, you play timesplitters2 in front of your friend's little kid? don't ya think think that's a little mature for him? perhaps you should stick with mario party or something more suitable for his age.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Dolphin64X on February 20, 2003, 10:26:44 AM: Jollus, the Wavebird actually shuts off after about five minutes, so no need to worry.
Trust me, Nintendo truly thought of everything with this controller.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Jollus on February 22, 2003, 06:03:34 PM: Quote
Originally posted by: Dolphin64X
Jollus, the Wavebird actually shuts off after about five minutes, so no need to worry.
Trust me, Nintendo truly thought of everything with this controller.

Then why when I leave the switch on I come back to it hours later and the light is still on? All I know is that it will kill the battery if you leave it on. I will take a heck of a long time, but it will happen. Plus I have never heard anything about the Wavebird having an auto-off function.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: yeg0 on February 22, 2003, 09:56:33 PM: The 100 feet+ test was done w/ brand new batteries. Twenty feet is for almost any battery level.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: 02silvercelica on February 23, 2003, 04:41:20 AM: wow thanks a lot for your feedback everyone. it seems this is the perfect controller. after all, who really cares about the rumble feature? now i'm trying to decide if i should spend $30 on that or $30 on super smash bros. or $50 for animal crossing or $50 again for super mario sunshine.. decisions decisions...
Title: wavebird?
Post by: EggyToast on February 23, 2003, 08:02:13 AM: Sounds like you need $160 + tax

And what's wrong with Timesplitters? There's no blood or anything, and the characters are cartoony. It's no worse than Looney Toons
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Gharakh on February 23, 2003, 08:10:56 AM: Quote
I am hoping for a WaveBird 2 to come out. Maybe with a rechargable battery and rumble. It could have a base station like a cordless phone does so the battery would never die. It could be a delux model for people who want the biggest bang for their wireless buck. A man can dream can't he?

yeah that would be cool. i kinda wish that they had an ac power adapter for the wavebird ala gba. that way you can sit pretty much wherever you like and plug it into the wall and not worry about batteries (then it could have rumble pretty easily too). i think thats a good idea, but it would have to be optional ac power or batteries so u could use either one.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Sleepyfoo on February 23, 2003, 09:53:51 AM: has anyone noticed that sometimes the wavebirds will just kinda...start skipping about once every 15 minutes? Like, first the wavebird will be fine, then about 15 minutes in it will start like, say your walking in zelda, he will keep stopping then started again in rapid succession. This seems so annoying to me, because its so bad, and it happens with both my wavebirds. While the actual "skippage" only does it for about 15 seconds, its really annoying in, say, ssbm, where 15 seconds is a long time. Are my wavebirds just bad, or what?
Title: wavebird?
Post by: yeg0 on February 23, 2003, 10:13:19 AM: Nope...never happened to me...maybe your batteries are low.

Sometimes, when I put in the reciever when the GC is on, it takes a little while to restore the connection with the wavebird.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: thesos21 on February 23, 2003, 11:03:06 AM: Sleepyfoo--my Wavebird did the exact same thing. I sent it back to Nintendo and got a new one back and the problem still occured. I've asked a lot about this but no-one has said the have the same problem until now. I don't know what's wrong, I hope someone can help.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Gamer Donkey on February 23, 2003, 11:07:19 AM: Maybe its the Cube.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Bice on February 26, 2003, 03:27:00 AM: Yes, Wavebirds are truly awesome...

No problems with mine...YET....except one:

I only have one, and it's obviously the favored controller between my friends and I when we play. So i need 3 more. But I refuse to buy 3 more grey Wavebirds. Nintendo needs to release more colors! I heard they are in Japan, but geez, it's taking forever.

Also, how about a wireless Gameboy Advance link, and a wireless Gameboy-to-Gamecube link? Eh? Ehh??
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Gamer Donkey on February 28, 2003, 03:52:20 PM: About the different colors, you could narrow down the choice with 2 platinums and 2 greys, or take the cheap route and use a sharpie to number controller with reciever. I doubt people will care if/when you resell it(hopefully not).
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Sleepyfoo on February 28, 2003, 04:10:33 PM: Well, the thing that really sucks for me is I have TWO that do this. And it really doesnt effect anything, it just means you might miss a face off or two a game in nhl 2003 or something to that effect.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: RickPowers on February 28, 2003, 04:32:03 PM: Sleepyfoo ... that's a classic sign of radio interference. If you're using a 900MHz portable phone, or some microwaves, they can cause interference, as well as a number of other things. Even a NEIGHBOR with a 900MHz portable phone can cause interference.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: NickNiteQ93 on February 28, 2003, 04:47:52 PM: I love the WaveBird. Most people bitched because there wouldn't be a rumble, but after I got used to not having to worry about my girl's 3 year old neice pulling the wires, or having to pause and lift the wires for someone to pass, plus the fact I can lay down in my bed and play my Cube, I'm hooked. I don't even remeber what the rumble felt like, and don't really care. I'd rather be able to play with my Cube way out of harm's way. And honestly, I did test my Cube, but dunno how far I got. But it doesn't really matter. Nintendo makes it, and they made it with plenty of working distance in mind. And without IR, it's a dream. I've got 3, going for 4.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: jarob on February 28, 2003, 05:53:57 PM: This might be a dumb question, but can the GB Advance - GameCube hookup using a wavebird? With many new and future games utilizing GAmeCube- GB connectivity...
Title: wavebird?
Post by: EggyToast on February 28, 2003, 06:44:52 PM: Nope, that's a different type of connection. If they come out with a GBA/GC Wireless link cable, it would be wireless, but how would you ever work out using a wavebird with a GBA anyway? Is that what you're asking?

And yeah, the stuttery movement is from radio signal interference. It happens to be quite a bit because I'm in an apartment building. Try changing the channel (you got 16 of 'em, after all).
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Kuchakor on March 01, 2003, 04:31:46 AM: I've always wanted a wireless GBA-GCN cord, but like the wavebird, it doesnt receive information (rumble) so that would be near-impossible unless you want your batteries dying REAL fast.
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Mad Xenomorph on March 01, 2003, 08:47:18 AM: In here I read about a rechargable battery pack.

Hasn't anyone ever heard of rechargable AA NiMh batteries? I see these rechargable battery packs for the GBA and other things and I just laugh at the price when compared to the price of MiMH batteries!
Title: wavebird?
Post by: StRaNgE on March 01, 2003, 10:12:07 AM: so they do or do not have other colors?

in japan if you have one shipped over will it work on a U.S. cube?

if so is there a good online order site? or do i gotta wait for my friend to go to japan next month and pick one up there?
Title: wavebird?
Post by: Cerberus on March 01, 2003, 10:57:47 AM: Quote
Originally posted by: StRaNgE
so they do or do not have other colors?

in japan if you have one shipped over will it work on a U.S. cube?

if so is there a good online order site? or do i gotta wait for my friend to go to japan next month and pick one up there?

Any accessory works with any Cube and there's only one other color besides gray for the Wavebird and that's platinum. But you'll it need to import it (it's not made in US) so go to Video Game Depot.