Nintendo's most-failingest peripherals

Each and every one will (not) change the way we play games

Words: GamesRadarBrettElston on July 8, 2009

GameCube Broadband Adapter

What it was supposed to do: Finally bring online gaming to Nintendo fans all over the world.

Above: One of three games that used the damn thing

What it actually did: The Broadband Adapter was nothing more than a Phantasy Star Online adapter, as they were the only games you could play across the internet. No Mario Kart, no Star Fox, no F-Zero GX – just Phantasy Star. At this point the PS2 had several games that supported online play, and Microsoft had initiated Xbox Live, so Nintendo’s total lack of internet support was baffling to say the least.

Number of games that used it: Three in the US, plus one more in Japan. Granted, there were ways to trick the GameCube into playing online (coughWarpPipecough) but the average gamer had no clue that was even possible. Today, Friend Codes still make Nintendo-sanctioned online play a nightmarish headache when compared to 360 and PS3. At least it’s free, right?

Wii Speak

What it was supposed to do: Allow players to friggin’ talk to each other seven years after Xbox and PS2 had already done it.

Above: Oh hai, 2002 is on the phone

What it actually did: Allow players of Animal Crossing: City Folk to talk to each other. So far the only other game that’s bothered to support Wii Speak is The Conduit, which came out seven months later. That’s about 210 days of NO new voice-enabled online games, something that any PC, 360 or PS3 player should find laughable at best and out of touch at the worst. There’s also a dedicated chat channel, but um, you could just pick up the phone for that.

Number of games that use it: Two, with two more coming between now and mid-2010. A year and a half after voice chat is introduced, there’ll be four games that support it. If that’s not a telling sign of Wii’s online state, we don’t know what is.

We’d like to think that Nintendo’s going to calm down with the constant stream of extra (and unneeded) tech, but before we step out let’s remember that one just hit shelves and will allegedly be the next big thing… again.

Above: The next Rumble Pak… or the next Wii Speak?

Jul 8, 2009

Top 7… Nintendo mistakes
Our incendiary article from 2007 – where do you stand?

The ever-changing sizes of Ganon and Link
Watch Nintendo’s most intense rivalry shift and change with the ages

Box art that got it all wrong
It’s not just bad, it completely misses the point

Platforms:

Wii, DS, GameCube

82 comments

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poothurdur32 - March 22, 2011 7:02 p.m.

Uuuh... You're forgetting the Balance Board. It isn't nearly as responsive as people wanted it to be, with about 20 games released for it in America, with only 3 of them worth actually playing (It's Launch Games, WiiFit, Rabbids TV Party, and WiiFit Plus). The other 15-odd games are just Unresponsive Shovel Ware Crap, like Super Monkey Ball and Shaun White Snowboarding (well, OK, they're just crappy WITH the balance board. They're perfectly fine without it.)
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BellaKazza - January 12, 2011 4:33 a.m.

Lets see you were wrong about, the N64 Transfer Pak, the N64 DD, the e-Reader, the GameCube and N64 microphones, the DK Bongo Controller, the GameCube Broadband Adapter and the Wii Speak. You sir are an idiot, you are not a Nintendo fan at all. You fail at making reviews or saying how these "fail", which they don't, they win.
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wiigamer024 - November 24, 2010 7:03 p.m.

lol i loved Hey You, Pikachu! when i was little. I even got the special edition Pikachu N64 that came with the game for Christmas back a good decade ago. :) i always thought that game was the shit. man, i miss that game so damn much... Another thing i though was awesome when it first came out was Wii Speak. haha i got it bundled with AC:CF also. sadly, i never used it. at all. lol its just collecting dust now :)
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theintellectual - November 24, 2010 5:25 a.m.

@doomdoomdoom: exactly. the only thing keeping Nintendo afloat is the spectacular Mario games it pumps out once or twice a generation. the rest is kiddy crap, or just plain retarded. its time to stop treating Nintendo like a legitimate contender in the games buissness.
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AuthorityFigure - February 9, 2010 12:15 p.m.

Well you can't blame Nintendo for not trying out ideas! If you wish to support their experiments and are left with plastic junk, I think you've helped the industry in some way anyhow. It's not a total loss.
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NottaFanboY - September 8, 2009 10:48 p.m.

Sorry to say in a number of years the whole lot of wii everything will be on this list...
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linkganon - August 29, 2009 4 a.m.

i remember using that n64 transfer pack, but i know why they forgot about it. the damned thing wouldn't stay in the controller! it kept falling out and sliding out of reach for the controller to read it. it was really frustrating, and was guaranteed to happen. on a side note, you may know rob now by playing ssbb. if you forgot the n64 transfer pack came with stadium. you could add the ones that were dropped, like the nintendo, ps port before nintendo declined the deal with sony, which in turn created nintendo's rival the playstation.
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Thequestion 121 - July 17, 2009 2:13 a.m.

Wow. I didn't know that Nintendo had so many failed products! And I have Wii Speak!!
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thezombieofjustice - July 14, 2009 1:15 a.m.

hahaha that transfer pack brings back some good memories lol and a gameboy printer didnt know they made one. lol learn something new everyday
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Xeacons - July 12, 2009 3:21 p.m.

Although, I wouldn't call Wii Speak a failure just yet. Not until the Wii's cycle is completely finished (which won't be for another couple years). Now that Conduit's using it, we can expect more High Voltage titles to carry it, and if Conduit really inspires 3rd parties to get on the Wii ball, WS might just prove a success in the end.
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mastersword369 - July 11, 2009 9:13 p.m.

Just add the Vitality Sensor already! We all know it's gonna fail!
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dmaster225 - July 11, 2009 1:02 a.m.

i had the transfer pack. i thought it was pretty fun since I was a 7 year old when that was out. I remember the feature in the Pokemon G&S games that it had a print option, and I, as a little ignorant 7 year old, was like crazy trying to look for a computer printer that I could connect my GBC link cable to. When I think back, I laugh at my ignorance.
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Buga15 - July 10, 2009 7:37 p.m.

DK Bongos were like guitars in guitar hero, but GH isn't as stupid and children stuff
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Red - July 10, 2009 3:52 a.m.

I had the gameboy camera when I was in middle school. Some girl swore up and down to the teachers that if I took a picture of her with it, that I could edit it so I could see her naked. They took the camera away from me despite the fact that I never took her picture.
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richomak27 - July 9, 2009 8:41 p.m.

awesome article Brett didn't know about a few of these
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DoctorFruitbat - July 9, 2009 5:56 p.m.

The crown of ultimate peripheral fail goes to Sega. Check out the Sega Mega-CD 32X for the only three-console balls-up ever attempted. At least they did a good online service with the Dreamcast, which a decade later Nintendo aren't even close to matching. Pretty sad.
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Meoff118 - July 9, 2009 5:18 p.m.

Surprised nobody said FIRST
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SuperGoomba64 - July 9, 2009 4:52 p.m.

I thought Mario Kart:Double Dash used the GCN online adapter, but no one used it D: I have the N64 Transfer Pak. It works about half the time, It only works for Pokemon Stadiuam.
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sadisticgrizzz - July 9, 2009 3:35 p.m.

i actually had that rob. but i traded a school buddy 4 contra like 3 days after i had it. lets just say we're not buddies anymore
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Harmon20 - July 9, 2009 2:37 p.m.

Gamecube, and ONLINE!? No way. It could never happen. AND it didn't.
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