In a move people may or may not have seen coming, Nintendo has announced that the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. 4 will be playable via Gamecube controller adapter, revealed at the end of a trailer detailing the Smash Bros. Invitational tournament. Let’s talk about that first. The tournament will take place on June 10 in the Nokia Theatre and will go from 4:00PM – 6:30PM PST (7:00PM – 9:30PM EST). They’ll be streaming the tournament live through Twitch. The announcers for the tournament will be Wynton “Prog” Smith, Bobby “Scar” Scarnewman, and D’ron “D1” Maingrette. Geoff Keighley will be the host of the show. As for the rules, the character a player chooses will be the character they stick with for the whole tournament. Not all the characters revealed so far will be playable at the tournament. The matches will be a 4-player free-for-all, 4 stock, will run for 5 minutes, with top 2 advancing. For the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round, the items will be on. But for the grand finale, the items will be off. The last battle will take place on Battlefield and will be 1-on-1.
Now lets talk about that Gamecube controller adapter. The adapter will connect to the front of the Wii U console. Just like the Gamecube, up to 4 controllers can be connected. While you can connect your trusty old Gamecube controller (and maybe even the Wavebird!), judging by the Smash Bros. logo on the controller, it looks like Nintendo will be making new Gamecube controllers. While it may not surprise anyone, this won’t be available for the 3DS version of the game.
Shortly after SSB4‘s reveal last year, some had wondered how exactly they’ll play the game. Control wise, many prefer to play Smash on a GC controller thanks to the face button layout. The Wii U Gamepad’s face buttons are the standard diamond shape. On top of this, only two gamepads could be connected at a time, which can cause some latency. However, this could be remedied by connecting 4 Wii U pro controllers (still using that diamond shape), or using a third party option with the GC layout. But a new conundrum: they’re all wireless. While it’s fine and dandy with a group of your friends, using them in a tournament situation with that many people can lead to wireless interference. So tournament wise, this might’ve been unplayable. But it looks like that won’t be an issue anymore.
But now that GC controllers can be used on a Wii U, that opens the doors for even more controller possibilities for the Wii U. Some VC N64 games pretty pretty well with GC Controller, and some modern games might to. And who knows, maybe we’ll see Gamecube games on the Virtual Console soon.
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via Nintendo of America’s Official Twitter
The Wired Fish Network 