Ballistics Report

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.

No wires, no mess - that's the life!

Resident Evil gets scary, ok??!

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.