The GameCube Controllers You've NEVER Heard Of... | The Prehistory of the GameCube Controller

[Music] you're here [Music] let me introduce you to our new baby black little babies it will make a lot of noise [Applause] thank you the Nintendo GameCube my personal favorite console of all time aside from the fact that I have a fun attachment to the GameCube is a long time competitive melee player as my favorite console due to the Nostalgia and fond memories that I associate with it and it's been hours playing my GameCube as a kid so believe it or not Nostalgia aside the GameCube did not sell well compared to Nintendo's other consoles and it's sold poorly compared to its competitors at the time the PS2 is easier to hack and also served as a DVD player but people actually use at the time also the game keeps online capabilities Latin comparison to the other two consoles as it didn't have built-in internet support you could connect an internet adapter for very few games eight in total could take advantage of this thus making it difficult for the GameCube to compete in an era when the Xbox had multiplayer Halo online and the PS2 served as a DVD player aside from the hardware the GameCube was thought of as a childless console with this purple Cube shaped comparison to the sleek black and silver consoles of PlayStation and Microsoft but regardless as always they were Nintendo fans who adored the GameCube myself being one of them in fact it's insane to think that the GameCube was considered a flop given all of his legendary titles that the console has and along with every console it comes as controllers in the game is actually my favorite video game control of all time so with a long intro out of the way what's good YouTube Cody here and today we're gonna be taking a look at the history of the game he controlled prototypes what I like to call it the prehistory of the GameCube controller if you see how Nintendo came all the way from this to the classic GameCube each other that we know and love today I was actually doing research for a history of game controls video but during my research I Came Upon a lot of new info that I've never heard regarding these prototype controllers and I thought they'd love to video of their own so with all that out of the way the sources that I use can be found in the description and now onto the first prototype controller ever made for the GameCube this thing the dolphin controller test L1 and we'll get to why it's called dolphin in a second but first it's important to note that Nintendo is very secretive about its development history and its prototypes regardless betting controllers have serviced over the years so technically it could be Hardware that is still unknown to the public but this is a list of all known prototype Gaming controllers as of February 2023 almost 22 years after the official release of the GameCube which occurred on September 14th 2001 in Japan and November 18 2001 in the US again I plan on making a follow-up video the history of the games and controller which will cover all the after the official release of the GameCube compared to this video which looks at all the prototypes subscribe if you're interested in more County content as I'm on the road to 500 subscribers but before we get back to the dolphin controller test so one we must talk about the name and content of project dolphins dolphin was the development code name for the GameCube and yes that's why the Gamecube Emulator you can run a computer today is named dolphin the official name for the console GameCube wasn't made public until space World 2000 which we'll see later in this video there are also prototype consoles and Hardware with the dolphin name that were used in conjunction with the Prototype controllers from game development and I'll present those throughout the video in their chronological order with their corresponding prototype controllers so now with all the information out of the way back to the dolphin controller test out one the first controller prototype ever made through the GameCube or as we know as it was called at the time project dolphin manufactured in 1999 roughly two years before the game keeps released in late 2001 the dolphin controller test out one is the only one of its kind ever made making it extremely rare so fun fact it was last seen on eBay in early 2018 and it was sold through 1500 US dollars in my opinion a steel compared to would probably go for nowadays given that it's a 101 prototype but yeah as you can see it's just a test PCB with a detachable rj11 plug more on that in a second to plug into prototype dolphin console so developers could test their games this prototype would have been used on the early version of the ddh or dolphin development Hardware because I have the compatible rj11 port for Nintendo eventually up here to the prototypes to the standard gamep plug that we know today but we're getting ahead of ourselves back to the PCB it features two analog sticks two analog sliders 10 digital switches and one on and off switch it also has an unused analog stick slot and script is unknown and also has unused connection traces on the top left of the board as you can see there's the copyright 1999 Nintendo dolphin controller test.1 written on the top left of the board and lastly the hash speed refers to the hardware that is used on not that it's one of two version produced as it was one of one for reference the speed refers to the hardware that was used on early development Hardware brand on half speed but was quickly upgraded to 3 4 speed full speed was the fastest but was not to be seen for a couple more iterations and prototypes but moving on next was the dev cake controller version a a huge upgrade from the simple PCB that was the dolphin controller test step one as this controller finally begins to resemble the official game controller featuring a plastic exterior buttons analog and control sticks and triggers though with obvious differences as well dressed in a moment it was manufactured between 1999 and 2000 with a few hundred made in total and it came in two known colors gray and indigo which both featured a clear back shell though forgive me for the lack of pictures as there's like no other pictures of these controls in the internet as for the differences there is no d-pad instead and his place was a red menu button which served as the star button next and slide spoilers the next prototype actually has similar Dimensions there was a lot of you some footage of the devkin controller B but I'll blur out the differing parts so nothing to spoil so yeah the dimensions are different the controller handles are longer and the analog stick is significantly larger than the final gaming controller most notably the the buns are a different color than the final game you can tell it and the B button is shaped in the same kidney bean shape as the X and Y buttons instead of the Standalone circular B button in fact you can argue that the red menu button inspired the final B button the Z button was just a simple bluish purple switch instead of the longer flat Indigo button that eventually became lastly I didn't see this anywhere else online but the colors of these controls buttons clearly resemble the N64 controller is the a b and start buttons are the same color similar to the dolphin controller test Step 1 the dev kit also had an rj11 plug this also meant that it was incompatible with the GameCube that it was displayed next to you but Nintendo displayed it to the public and similar to the dolphin controller test so 1 the controllers were used with hasbdhs at first before Nintendo quickly recalled and upgraded those kids to 3-4 speed and following the depth controller version a itching one step closer to the final gaming controller design they released the dev kit controller B unlike the two colors of version a gray and indigo version B only came in an indigo color with the same clear back shells before though four different variants were made which we'll get into in a second unlike the version a this controller was never shown to the public though there were a couple thousand of these controllers made compared to the few hundreds of version a as developers using controllers in various ddh is to build and test their games all four variants have the same controller build excluding the labeling in the center so we'll review the general cosmetic changes first the dimensions are identical to the prior version the controller's handles are longer and analog 6 is much bigger than the final game view controller but as you can see they finally introduced the d-pad and changed the menu button from his previous place to where it would eventually end up as a star button retaining the same red color though and a different shape and texture than its final version the Z button is unchanged identical division a before we go over the four variants really models man on 3 4 speed were later upgraded to full speed leaving half speed in the pass with the prior prototypes we'll go in order the first two controllers the DS4 34 speed and ds5 to 4 speed use an rj11 plug for the old ddh kits while the ds5 full speed and NR disk which have different purposes both made at full speed and they both had a standard GameCube plug as this is the Prototype where the gamep plugs introduced the ds5 full speed were most likely used on late Dev kits like the mpdpg dev or the late ddhs that were full speed for the retail controller was finalized and shipping to developers the NR disk for solo used on what was called nr-readed units to boot special software the contact pads for b x y l and R buttons in all four directions on the d-pad which showed it with conductive paint so it could input a normally impossible combination of buttons when the controller was plugged into the device which would then boot the special software as a result some NR disk controllers would intentionally set to developers with some of the buttons missing as you see here there's a Nintendo logo hidden underneath the sticker on the NR desk controller's front shell while the sticker on the back controller reads version B ird back and I'm standing for integrated research and development the division Nintendo which produces console hardware and Associated items such as all these consoles I did bring it up earlier but the version a also had a sticker on the back representing the same legendary research and development team the serial numbers for these units are ran between the low 1000s to the high five thousands making it a much more common than the version a the DS4 34 speed might be the rarest of the devkey controllers lastly some variants may have a white or clear chord sheet instead of the standard black cord however it's inconsistent lastly some people play into the game controllers inspired by the Virtual Boy Controller as you can see here but this is the last part of the type controller that Nintendo would make in this elongated shape is now run to my favorite of all the Prototype controllers the space World 2000 foreign [Music] space world was an annual video game Expo hosted by Nintendo which had demonstrated and announced their new consoles and games in space World 2000 during August 2000 they hosted their three-day event roughly a year before the official release of the GameCube and here they debuted the newest prototypes of the GameCube and its controllers as you can see there are five GameCubes and they go along with each one of them there was a corresponding controller some of the sickest controllers I've ever seen in my life in fact I haven't talked about it yet but as a tryhard competitive melee player I would have loved this kitten shape B button for multi-shining and just ergonomics General unfortunately five of the six of these controllers were non-functional display units that did not contain any hardware while the gray prototype control of the meme motor used during the reveal the GameCube did function in fact Miyamoto did a full gaming controller demo where he used the Prototype controller to control an interactive 3D model of the controller on the big screen strangely one difference between this gray controller and the display unit is that the plastic gate surrounding the analog stick was flat instead of elevated like the display units as you can see during the presentation similar to all the previous Deputy controllers the back shelf is great controller was clear but the other five controller's back shell maps in the front similar to the first official the release controls that we could eventually see in November 2001 but back to the controllers five non-functioning controllers were displayed on the convention floor for the public fun fact given that these controls did not contain Hardware the black controller had a C6 broken for the staff handling displays as it was unconventionally held together these controls also all had a clear cord sheath unlike the black or white ones that have been officially released out of these five controllers shown at the convention the pink game controller is the only color that's not seen a bishop release which I think is a tragedy this is the hardest toilet I've ever seen and we haven't even talked about the shape of these controllers yet compared to the devkin B the shape of this controller with the addition and Improvement of certain buttons looks for like the final game controller to shortened the analog stick was made smaller they added the Z button in his near final but not yet final form huge improvement from the placeholder sub of the past and the start button was replaced as well pertaining that same red star button from the menu button on the first step kit and this is the last time we'll see the buttons in the same colors team as the N64 now there are two controllers from space world's display and miyamoto's demo that I skipped over for the time being is they deserve their own section the Wafers during miyamoto's controller demo after he displayed the wired prototype he introduced the wavebird which he gave to a Nintendo employee to displaying use of the same demo an identical prototype was shown on the floor of the convention so it is unnoted this prototype had Hardware we're actually unsure if this is the same waiver that mimo to use or if it's a separate one of its own it also has a square extension in between the d-pad and C6 to hold more Hardware similar to the expansion packs of the N64 though this idea is obviously scrapped interestingly around the time of the event the same picture of a prototype wafer that doesn't match the one shot of the convention was released to the press this wave rid more closely resembled the shape of the depth key controllers than the shape of the pictured prototypes though ironically this controller looks more like the final wave red design so it's interesting that they decided to display this prototype after they had moved on from the shape this pictured controller is almost identical to the spaceworld 2000 wired prototypes although it has a Webroot logo printed on it and has no cord it shares the same receiver prototype as the one shot in the convention and it's unknown why this controller wasn't showing the this model seems to be newer than the one displayed in miyamoto's demo though it's not known at the Whiteboard shown to the Press was actually ever made or if it exists in physical form hypothetically it could just be a render also the display wave version receiver has an extra air display on the top right of the plastic casing that ended up being removed in the final version continue with the Whiteboard following space World 2000 this prototype wyvern receiver was developed the PCB was constructed for a modified Indigo shell and was made by misumi the same manufacturer that made the retail controllers the top of the controller was shaped to fit the wireless components and the battery compartment is held with velcro to the top shell believe it or not this killer works and is compatible with retail receivers again shout out to Carlson the owner of the gaming controller Library website because I wasn't exactly sure how rare these were the main formula that they're knowledgeable of at least four of these prototypes and it's likely that there's not too many more of these out there if any at all so yeah real quick before moving on to the next event feel free to drop a like on the video If you enjoyed it so far and subscribe if you're interested in more cloning content as I'm on the road to 500 subscribers that will make a follow-up video to this one the history of the gaming controller also if you'd like to support me monetarily I have my patreon where I post updates as well as various extra content link below if you're interested in checking it out [Music] moving on next was E3 2001 E3 2001 was held in Los Angeles California for May 17th to 19 2001 around five months before the game's official release and it's here to the final shape of the wired game controller was shown for the first time Miyamoto also presented a functional prototype Wayne Bridge as well as a prototype Indigo controller it was also here with the famously recorded reveal Super Smash Bros melee took place oh my God hey I've always agree with this guy every day really does for that one the Woodbridge has an extra Nintendo logo as well as some extra markings around the on and off switch they're not hidden in the final version of the controlling and then to go control is shown and used during the presentation is very similar to the retail unit although the shell looks shiny rough and untextured the wavered Prototype controller was used to play a demo of Pikmin during the presentation because we can see here with this near final shape lastly there was a third prototype controller displayed the Panasonic cube games eventually which accompanied the Panasonic GameCube and Infinity's official release the controller is missing the white riding under the Panasonic logo and lastly back over to Japan for a final event space World 2001 helpless between August 24th and 26 2001. here the final versions of the game control is finally shown four different covers Indigo jet black spice orange and indigoclear these controls all contain Hardware unlike the previous year and are all basically the same as the retail versions the mass production they gave him controls began in July 2001 so these are not necessarily pre-production units but they're still notable again they most likely couldn't have been differentiated from retail units and with that that marks the end of this video in the Prototype controllers is the Indigo games you can tell that was officially released less than a month later on September 14th in Japan both as a standalone controller and bundled with the same colored console while the North American release occurred on November 18 2001 where all four controllers were sold with Standalone items while the Indigo and jet black controllers were also binded for the same College console three days later on November 21st all three other controllers were available for purchased in Japan as well as a jet black GameCube and Japan exclusive spice orange GameCube and yeah as you can see here are the release dates for Europe Australia and Korea real quick a huge shout out to carlsonet the creator of the gaming controller Library website this is where I got the majority of my information for this video as though I'm knowledgeable on the game controller I hadn't previously heard of these prototype controllers links to the websites will be found in the description a quick aside I mailed the created the game p controller Library website with some questions on the prototypes confirming that the dolphin controller Tesla one was in fact a 101 piece but along with this they filmed me into some deep flow regarding this lost control the informants the original owner of this unit had originally contacted them and they'd own the Prototype controller for around 10 to 15 years he originally bought it around 2004-5 on the digitpress.com forums and some guy in the US 500 for the short description that was something along the lines of the GameCube borders and switches this is where it gets interesting but then sold it on eBay in 2018 and ironically the pictures Carl used on his game controller Library website were taken by this original owner because they were the pictures he used on his Ebay listing unfortunately the buyer flame didn't receive the package the online tracking show the package had been delivered but the post office could not give information about how or to whom it is delivered the buyer could obviously be lined though the buyer was in Canada and the Canadian Post Office was undergoing a strike of source at the time which caused difficulties in getting information about the door so is the original owner claims it's either lost forever or maybe it will resurface in the future but I could see a scenario where the buyers just trying to finesse their money back and claim it was lost but either way as Carl says it's unfortunately considered lost ironically Carl planned on going all in on that option but they unfortunately broke their foot that week this is the craziest part of the Lord to me because of Carl purchased the controller we'd have much more information on the earliest known gaming controller prototype it's for all the other sources I've created a huge board document with the links to all the videos and websites that I used to create this video link to that also in the description and now that was the end of the video If you enjoyed feel free to drop a like below or sub to the channel because I'm on the road to 500 subscribers and so you can be notified when I release my history of GameCube controllers video again if you want to support me monetarily the link to my patreon with this varying tiers can be found below and with all that out of the way I hope you enjoyed the video and now iconi is live in three two times [Music]

Channel: Kony 20XX

Views: 6,854

Keywords: gamecube, controller, history, nintendo, gaming, kony, 20xx, prototype, gcc

Id: Q4h2ppu_FjQ

Length: 16min 46sec (1006 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 11 2023