Customer Reviews

Gamecube Microcon Wireless Controller (Colors May Vary)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I bought this as a Gamecube and Virtual Console controller for my Wii, with which it works very well. The controller functions right out of the box, is nicely responsive, and just works. Most of the buttons are solid enough, the thumb stick works very well, and the price was certainly right. The grips are hard plastic and the controller itself is lightweight.

After using it for a few weeks (and through two games, the excellent 'Beyond Good and Evil' and 'Metroid Prime'), I have two criticisms, both of which have been mentioned in Amazon reviews.

First, it is very small for an adult. While I don't worry too much about it being hard to reach the 'start' button (I'd rather not accidentally hit it, so I consider this a 'feature'), the A/B/X/Y buttons are very close together for my big thumb, and I'm always accidentally hitting the X button instead of the Y. The Left and Right shoulder buttons feel cheap, but they work well.

Second, after the beating I've given it with 'Metroid Prime', The analog sticks are (reasonably enough) starting to drift a bit.. (ED. After a bit of playing, I found if you unplug the wireless plug from the Wii, and then plug it back in, the controller recalibrates. Putting the Wii in standby mode doesn't do it, since the gamecube ports are still powered. Also, you must make sure the controller is switched on before you start the gamecube game, or the sticks will be off..)

All and all, it seems to be a decent product and unless the stick problem gets worse (ED. It's fine..) I'd definitely buy it for a younger child to beat up. Or if an extra $10 makes a big difference.

Edit, 4 months later: As time goes on, the joystick portion becomes less and less accurate and drifts badly.I'd drop my rating down to a 2 if I could. Good price, but not very rugged at all.

I'm a 16 year old male, but I have hands the size of a 7 year old. I can't really hold the bigger controllers comfortably, I'm ashamed to admit. I first played with one of these at a tournament for Super Smash Brothers Melee... I loved it. It was definately more comfortable. I went out a week later and bought one. Two days later, I discovered that the L button, was sticking. I'd sheild, and then I couldn't stop. Being my most used button, I couldn't get away with not using it. So, I returned it. My second one, lasted two weeks before my L button died.<_< I am now on my third(I returned the first two for a new one) controller. It's an ok controller, but I hit the L button two hard in Soul Caliber, and SSBM. I also noticed that the timing seemed a bit off(maybe just in my head, but I don't think so). Because I don't want to kill my controller again, I now only use it for RPG's... slower games, where I can be nice to my buttons.:) I use my older, bigger controller for SSBM and Soul Caliber. So, if you're playing games where timing, or precision are important, and you like to really slam on one button, I don't recomend this controller... big disapointment awaits you... but, if you're more of a, harvest moon, and fire emblem person(rpgs), then this would be a great controller.

For children, smaller children, I'd definately recomend this one. Like I said, it's a lot more comfortable and easy to use for smaller hands. So, it has it's pros, and cons<_< I hope this review was helpful.

There is just so much you can enjoy within a wireless controller. Mad Catz, has created some very well received controllers that have worked very well, but their wireless controller doesn't have the appeal I thought it was going to be. Although the controller is convient and smaller than the traditional Gamecube controller, but there are some problems this controller has. One of them is that there is no rumble feedback in the controller, and another one is that you have to reset the controller to neutral at times which is more often than should be. This isn't that bad, but if you want to go wireless, try gtting the wireless wavebird controller for the Gamecube instead.

Price: B-

Convience: C 1/2-

Overall: C

Ok, so I only bought this (well a set of 2) yesterday after MUCH stressing about which controllers to buy for my Wii to play VC and gamecube games. Plugged in two of them and my roommate and I played Street Fighter II: World Warrior and had a blast. I was taken right back to high school sitting in front of my SuperNintendo. :) The controllers feel great, I like the smaller size of them. The buttons are easy to reach and work with. I can see how people have said it feels "cheap" but it WAS inexpensive (I found them cheaper retail after a couple store hops). And they feel like they'll hold up a while, I'll get my money's worth out of them for sure.

Most importantly, they were very responsive, I felt no delay, and there was no interference in having 2 of them plugged in right next to each other.

This would work fine for a game that does not demand real-time input, but for any type of action game, it's a terrible choice.
Every minute or so, it stops sending the signal to the receiver for a few seconds. That's no fun in a fighting game, or any action or fast puzzle game.

I bought 2 of these this past Christmas, and they worked fine from the get-go. (I did miss the rumble feature not available on these models, however.) Now after nearly 4 months, 1 of the controllers rarely works. I have changed out the batteries many times with no success. It has been frustrating, to say the least. Now I am looking to buy a new wireless controller, but I am leery to buy the same model.

First of all I think that people who are planning on buying this controller should know that, at least in my case, I believe that Madcatz has begun to "remake" their wireless microcon gamecube controllers in hopes that people will buy them to use for their Wii. There are a couple of reasons why I say this. One, the packaging for the controller says "Wii Compatible" on it, and since this controller originally came out for the gamecube (before the Wii had even come out) they must have redesigned the controller. Two, in the product description and picture, it shows the controller with "Rubberized Grips", the controller that I received just had plastic ridges that came out, no rubber. I have some of the original wired Madcatz Gamecube microcon controllers and they have rubberized grips as well as rubber on the top of the joysticks, however, the wireless one that I received had nothing of the sort. This isn't a huge deal to me because, sure, the rubber features were nice, but you can still enjoy yourself without them.

Others who have bought this wireless Madcatz Microcon Gamecube controller have also stated that the portion of the wireless controller that plugs into the Gamecube (or Wii), had a small wire attached to it. The one that I received had no such wire, but I have seen some that did have the wire.

I also thought that I'd mention, because it was a concern of mine while wondering whether or not to buy this product, that at least with the controller that I received, the portion that plugs into the top of your Wii WILL fit without you having to remove the plate that covers the Gamecube controller ports on the top of your Wii (the plate bulges slightly, but it is no big deal if you ask me, and certainly doesn't seem to be causing any harm. If you want you can always just remove the plate anyways).

VERY IMPORTANT!!: **UPDATE**: I had previously stated that I thought that the controller that I received was just defective, since the joystick didn't work when I played Super Smash Bros. Brawl on my Wii with that controller, but apparently all of the wireless Madcatz Microcon Gamecube controllers seem to have a problem when playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The problem is that the wireless Madcatz Microcon Gamecube controllers main analog joystick won't respond to the left or down movements while on the menus of the game, especially when you tilt it all the way down or all the way left. You can get around this by using the digital pad if you want, but it can get to be quite a nuisance. The weird thing about the joystick is that the problem only occurs while on the menus of Super Smash Bros. Brawl; once you start to play the actual fighting portion of the game, you won't have any problems. I contacted Madcatz about this problem, and they had no solutions to this problem. I know that this is a glitch with the actual controller and not just the one that I received because my replacement that Amazon sent had exactly the same problem and, thanks to a comment by Mr. John Coleman, I have heard from others that have had exactly the same problem with their controllers, making that a total of 4 of these controllers that have had exactly the same problem with the joystick. So, as long as you don't mind having to tilt the joystick very slightly or use the digital pad of this Madcatz controller while on the menus of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you should be fine as the joystick will work fine once you actually start controlling a character on the game, but if you don't want to have to put up with that problem when pressing down or left on the menus of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I recommend getting a different controller (again the problem with the joystick only seems to be a problem when on the menus of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so the joystick should work on all other games without any problems (I have tested that same controller on Super Smash Bros. Melee, and some other Gamecube games and the joystick seemed to work fine in every direction, even when playing those Gamecube games on my Wii (just so you know that my Wii Gamecube controller ports aren't the problem))).

Overall, despite the facts that the newer versions of this controller have no rubber features for better grip and the start button is kind of annoying to have to reach down to press sometimes, the wireless Madcatz Microcon Gamecube controller seems like it would be a great controller if the joystick would work properly when playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii (again, the joystick will work fine on all other games (as far as I know) but it has problem when pressing down or left on the menus of Super Smash Bros. Brawl (the actual game play of Brawl should work fine)). It is a very lightweight controller, and seems to have very good response time, plus, I like the feel of a smaller controller, and it's definitely a lot funner to play on compared to the bulkier original Nintendo brand controllers (although the Nintendo brand controllers are much sturdier). It also doesn't bother me that the wireless version of the Madcatz Microcon Gamecube controller doesn't have the rumble or macro button features that the wired version of the controller does have, since I didn't use those features much anyways. It's definitely worth the small amount of money that it costs, but if you're mainly planning on using this controller for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you may wish to reconsider as this controller seems to have a glitch with the joystick when playing that game.

Nintendo stopped the production of the "Wavebird". Nothing can beat the Wavebird. You can buy the "Classic Controller" that you attach to the "Wiimote", but why would you have a thing dangling on your controller? You can still buy the "Wavebird", but you need to pay for a black market price. And how can you trust a used one?

The "Microcon" is much smaller than Nintendo Wavebird. Good for smaller kids but annoying to larger hands.
Uses 2 AAA's instead of 2 AA's

Pros:
- Responsive. We are using it for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- No channel to set on the receiver and the controller. At times you are baffled why suddenly you lost contact of your "Wavebird" with the videogame machine, realizing you just accidentally nudge the channel selector on the controller.
- The battery cover is attached to the controller. One of our Wavebird battery covers is missing. This is a plus for the Microcon.
- Much cheaper in price

Cons:
- Signal drops off from time to time
- On/Off switch does not have a light compared to the Wavebird. No light to remind you if you forgot to turn it off to save battery.
- No rumble pak.
- Start button is awkwardly positioned. Difficult to reach during the game.
- Made of very cheap plastic.

The controller I received seems to work fine. I just wanted to point out that it does not have rubberized grips. Both the product description and the image show rubberized grips, but mine was not rubberized. The grips are plastic with raised ridges.

Still it was cheaper than I've seen in any local stores.

Since the GameCube is known for have wires which are way too short (like all rooms are dorm rooms), having a wireless controller is a huge benefit. The only complaint that I have is that the controller is too small. If you have kids under 14, then this is a good controller for them. Anyone else will have trouble holding the controller and definitely get frustrated trying to squeeze their thumbs between the joysticks to get to the START button.