A New Wavebird for '22! Retro Fighters Announces BladeGC for Gamecube

In this episode, we share the news from Retro Fighters as they are launching an all-new wireless controller for the Nintendo Gamecube in the BladeGC!

The Nintendo Gamecube controller is still one of the most popular controllers of all time, even now some 20-years later. The Wavebird took the Gamecube controller to the next level by cutting the cord, and it is still sought after, however they can be crazy expensive. The Wavevbird also sacrifices rumble for wireless compatibility. The folks at Retro Fighters have a history of bringing great, updated controllers to retro systems, and the latest system they're focusing on is the Nintendo Gamecube with the new BladeGC wireless controller.

While the focus is on the Gamecube, Retro Fighters has built in PC and Switch compatibility into the the BladeGC. Additionally, Retro Fighters have gone to town building in a ton of awesome features, and improvements over the Wavebird, into the Blade GC. First of all, the BladeGC's ergonomics are completely updated over the original Wavebird, giving it a comfortable and updated look and feel. The triggers and shoulder buttons are pressure sensitive, giving you enhanced control in games that need it. The position of the left analog stick and D-Pad have been swapped, and the D-Pad has been optimized to be accurate and responsive. The analog sticks look to be placed similarly to a Sony controller's analog sticks.

To communicate with the system, the BladeGC utilizes 2.4GHz wireless technology. It appears that 2 separate dongles will be included, one for the Gamecube port, and one to plug into a USB port. Each BladeGC features a 4-LED player indicator on them, making it easy to identify player and controller at just a glance. Other features include a Turbo Button, Home Button for use with the Switch or Emulators, 10-hour battery and a 30-foot range.

When playing on the Gamecube itself, the BladeGC will be compatible with all the games that the system can play. In addition to the Gamecube's awesome library, that also means you can play the full library of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games via the Game Boy Player attachment. I see this as a big advantage of the BladeGC, as the D-Pad's position promises to make wireless Game Boy Game playing even more comfortable.

When playing with an OEM Wavebird, one of the features I miss most is the rumble function. Retro Fighters is addressing this with the BladeGC, as we have confirmed with them that this new controller does indeed feature rumble. That means you'll have full immersion in your games, full support for all the controller features, while enjoying a completely wireless experience.

The BladeGC is a limited edition controller, with pre-orders only open for 20-days starting on September 14th, 2021. The release date is scheduled for April 25th, 2022, but things could shift depending on world-wide shipping issues. I, for one, and very excited about this and cannot wait to try these out. I'd love to see a more, non-limited release follow these up with even more color options, but we'll have to see how well these are received by the community before getting our hopes up. I am super excited to see this announcement and cannot wait to get my hands on them.

Is it April yet?

#RetroFighters #BladeGC #WaveBird #GameCube #Nintendo #Switch

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