The WaveBird and I go way back - I had two back when I was a teenager, but it still meant it was a trade to grab them when four of us were playing on the GameCube. It's one of the greatest controllers of all time and has paved the way for gamepads like the Retro Fighters BattlerGC Pro. I liked the weight of the original WaveBird too, and considering it ran off AA batteries, it seemed to last forever. Yes, it was annoying that my friends would dive onto the ground and turn the wheel so the RF signal was disrupted, but apart from that, it was brilliant.
As you know, Nintendo stopped making the GameCube back in 2007, and they haven't produced WaveBirds for years. I've still got two controllers, but I couldn't tell you where my receivers have gone. There's definitely a shortage of receivers in the world, with old stock breaking or going missing, which is why creator James Smith has taken it upon himself to create the blueprints for people to make their own from scratch. And now, he's working to build an N64 version of his technology.
Yes, and yes! This is an upcoming N64 version of this https://t.co/X78fKJjPnf
— James Smith (@loopj) May 1, 2025
While the N64 variant is still in the designing process, the plans for the GameCube receiver are available over on GitHub with implementation of the WaveBird Protocol, implementation of the SI protocol, reference implementation of firmware for a receiver, and a bootloader for updating application firmware via Bluetooth.
James doesn't make and sell these receivers, opting for making the plans free for people to use to build their own. You can follow him on X and keep up to date with his GitHub page for more information!
