Wii puzzler drops GCN controller support

Mercury Meltdown Revolution, the only Wii title so far to hint at its former nickname, has dropped support for the GameCube controller as previously planned; however, using the classic controller is still just fine and dandy.

Ed Bradley, studio manager for MMR developer Ignition Entertainment, told Eurogamer that "we've had to drop support for the GameCube controller as it's a very much 'at developers own risk' proposition and we're not masochists!" The context is not entirely clear, but our best guess is that, while a library of code for the classic controller may be provided by Nintendo, the burden of programming for GCN ports is on the developer and Bradley didn't feel like expending the resources.

Here's our worry: remember when Smash Bros. Brawl producer Masahiro Sakurai revealed that GameCube controllers would be compatible, so as not to alienate those who prefer the traditional -- dare we say classic -- control scheme? What if Nintendo's beat-em-up only supports the classic controller attachment? The cynic in us fears Nintendo would nix GCN controller support in order to sell a few more attachments. Not that it's a bad attachment, mind you, but we already have so many GCN controllers lying around that we don't want them to go to waste.

Reader Comments (23)

"What if Nintendo's beat-em-up only supports the classic controller attachment?"
Simple. I won't buy the game. I'm not going to use Nintendo's profit margin to justify me buying a $20 classic controller instead of a cheaper GCN controller.
BTW, I have a Wii and love it.

umm its twenty bucks. 80 if I buy four. big deal. Ill probably get them just so I can say I have everything! ( american consumerism at its best)

If I can't use my Gamecube controller on Smash Brothers, I won't buy it.

A whole bundle of games already out for the Wii support GameCube controllers, so I don't really see a problem with Smash Bros. not supporting it, especially because Nintendo should know better than anyone how bitchy people would get about that.

I'd only be annoyed if new Wii games -only- supported the GCN controller. I'd much rather use the classic controller with the Wii for new games. And yes, I have three GCN controllers.

To be completely honest, I hope Smash Bros supports the Remote+Nunchuk. One of the main reasons I bought the Wii is because of the Remote+Nunchuk setup. If Nintendo can't figure out how to use it in games like Smash Bros, that's a little disappointing.

I highly doubt that Nintendo would try to screw over its gamers by making them get new controllers for "classic" controlling. Right now, Nintendo is still the underdog, and they need all the players they can get - and they especially need a way to keep the casual/non-gamers that they've picked up since launch.

For that segment, SSBB might be a great games - a light-hearted fighting game that doesn't take much more than button mashing.

That sounds cool. The classic controller is pretty much a gamecube controller without the rumble. But I bet it'll still be a little bit more fun with the motion sensors.

Why would Nintendo have a problem programming their own games with their own hardware..?

It's not like the programmers working on SSBM couldn't like, ask someone else at Nintendo.

Not only do I fully expect the Gamecube and Classic controllers to work with SSBB, but I expect the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo to work as well. It just makes sense.

Why in the world would Nintendo push developers towards not using the GCN controller? They have an entire side of the Wii dedicated to GCN. That doesn't make logical sense.

Perhaps it's just considered lost development time trying to re-map buttons, or implementation seemed longer than could be afforded.

Why can't I use a Wiimote for Smash Bros? Who makes a game that can't be played with the system's native controller?

This is officially the first time ANYONE has ever complained about having too many of a previous generation's controllers lying around useless on a new console.

You guys are getting spoiled by the backwards compatability.

Sakurai got it right. I was very happy to find out Smash would use the original scheme (as opposed to the wiimote). I believe Smash is a more than a light hearted button masher where the wiimote would not fit well with. I think Melee was a nearly perfect game (500+ hours logged) only missing online play. Classic or gamecube ports, bring them on!

Umm... I don't want it to work with the GC controller. OR the classic controller. I want all Wii games to work with and *only* work with the Wii Remote (and nunchuck). Apart from the controller, why have a Wii? I have a 360 and a Wii and they are both great, but if I want to press buttons I'll just get a 360 game that is the same price (yes, at least around here they are about the same) and has good graphics and sound.

If they make Super Smash Brothers or any other games compatible with other controllers, even optionally, I won't be buying them. That's just getting lazy.

I vote with the remote/nunchuk crowd. I already have SSBM for GCN.

"If they make Super Smash Brothers or any other games compatible with other controllers, even optionally, I won't be buying them. That's just getting lazy."

Lazy? Taking the time to program extra options for the consumers benefit is lazy? Man...you have some mixed up logic.

actually the wiimote/nunchuck combo would work perfectly for a ssb game. if you think about it, the set up has the right amount of buttons to make it work just fine: on the wiimote a for normal attacks and b trigger for specials; on the nunchuck z for shield, c for grab/throw.

sure i would miss being able to use r or l depending on which side im dodging, but thats not too hard to get used to. plus do we really need two buttons (x and y) to do alternative jumps? you can easily replace that same functionality with any direction on the d-pad, or if they want to get tricky they can program it to a flick on the wiimote.

still cube controllers wouldnt be bad to use at all, though a little lazy on their part in my opinion to not try to add the functionality. we'll see what they come up with, but i really dont want to buy four new classic controllers.

"...our best guess is that, while a library of code for the classic controller may be provided by Nintendo, the burden of programming for GCN ports is on the developer and Bradley didn't feel like expending the resources."

BS. Didn't Nintendo fanboys rave that the Wii dev kit is just a tuned-up version of the GC dev kit? Are you suggesting a developer is so damn cheap and lazy that they can't program a gameport? God forbid anyone should put effort into making a game. Dev costs for these puzzle games are raging out of control, you know.

It must be related to programming guidelines.

It would be easy to make SSBB with the Wii Remote

A: regular attack
B trigger: Special attacks
C: grab/throw
Z: Block
Analog Stick: Move
Shake Remote: Jump
D-pad (any direction): Taunt
+ or -: pause
1 or 2: Brawl attack

I think that would feel pretty natural

I think there's never anything wrong with offering more options. I have several GC controllers but only two wii remotes, and one chuck. I would be pretty mad if they made me buy more for some game where motion controls are probably not a good fit anyway.

Yes, because what everyone wants in a fighter is slight control lag while the system determines whether or not you made a gesture.

"Mercury Meltdown Revolution, the only Wii title so far to hint at its former nickname..."

A CHALLENGER APPEARS!!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/wii/data/934033.html

The classic controller is a bad addon, it's a complete waste of money. The classic controller cost $20 and can only be used on NES, SNES, and N64 games, while the GC controler (also $20) can be used for all previous Nintendo consoles. So what is the better deal? If you have to buy a Wiimote and it's two addons thats $80, plus another $20 for GameCube games. That's $100 for remotes/controlers. $250 plus $300 for the other controlers is the cost of a damn PS3. Family friendly my ass.

Wii puzzler drops GCN controller support

Reader Comments (23)

Posted: Jan 12th 2007 9:33PM thethirdmoose said

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