I personally consider the GameCube controller to be one of the finest gamepads ever made, and I know that sentiment is shared by thousands of Smash Bros players. These hardcore fans were understandably concerned when the Wii U omitted support for GameCube controllers--Smash players would be forced to use the Wii U Pro Controller for the new Smash Bros this year.
PDP (Performance Design Products) to the rescue, apparently. They have a new controller--the Wired Fight Pad--headed to Wii and Wii U this holiday to coincide with the new Smash Bros game. There aren't any pics of the controller yet but PDP promises that it's inspired by the GameCube pad. It will be compatible with both Wii and Wii U, but the tradeoff is that it works like the Wii's classic controller: it plugs into a Wii remote through a wire and communicates with the console that way.
I think I can deal with a Wiimote hanging off my controller if it means using a GameCube pad again. I've always preferred that console's button cluster over any other; the unique shape and size of each button meant you knew exactly what you were pressing by touch alone. This eliminated the confusion caused by, say, switching between the Xbox 360 and Wii U, as each company uses a different button layout (360 has the A button at the bottom, while Wii U has it on the right).
The cool thing is PDP's new controller is officially licensed by Nintendo, so you'll probably be able to buy a pad decked out in Mario, Samus or everybody's favorite Smash Bros character, Star Fox. I'll be a bit skeptical until we get actual images of the thing, but I've been hoping that somebody would step up and make a GameCube-style pad for Wii U and I'm glad it has Nintendo's blessing.
Source: Nintendolife
