The GameCube may have been ribbed for being dainty and blue (remember the purse comparisons?), but it was the Fisher-Price looking controller that really seemed to polarize gamers. Admittedly, it was the least liked part of an otherwise kick-ass gaming console. Yes, the Xbox’s Duke controller wasn’t exactly all that attractive either, but Microsoft remedied that big problem once they got a hold of some feedback. Wish we could have said the same about Nintendo.
That generation of consoles may have been left behind for the current one, but it’s still good to hear people reminisce about the past. It gives us new insight as to what they were thinking in the first place, and how those ideas played into the end product. Take for instance Miyamoto’s recent comments to Famitsu about the Gamecube’s controller, and how it factored into the way Nintendo developed the Wiimote:
“We made it as a culmination of everything leading up to it, but it really underwhelmed. This line of thinking doesn’t give us anything else to shoot for, does it? The GameCube controller is a product of us feeling that, without this or that, people wouldn’t be able to play the games we make. But then we realized that was a problem, that we were thinking based on that controller as the premise.”
Having the utmost respect for Miyamoto, even I had to chuckle over that one. Building games around the controller seemed like a problem, yet they went out and developed the Wii, which is the pinnacle of that sort of thinking? It’s a good thing that it worked out so well for them. Talk about turning a weakness into a strength! Guess the GameCube was just a trial run for greater things to come. That flawed way of thinking is sure making Nintendo quite a bit of money. As far as we’re concerned, you can keep going down that path — it obviously works for you.
[1up, Via CVG]
