GameCube controller

The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller design in numerous ways. The M-shaped design of its predecessor was replaced with a more conventional handlebar style controller shape; a second analog stick was added, replacing the C buttons with a C stick and the X and Y face buttons, last seen on the Super Nintendo controller, were reintroduced; the shoulder buttons were changed to hybrid analog triggers. A wireless variant of the GameCube controller known as the WaveBird was released in 2002.

Though many elements of the GameCube controller's unique design were not embraced by many future twin-stick gamepads (such as the pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons and a face button layout that emphasizes one button over three others), some controllers adopted its staggered analog stick layout. The GameCube controller continued to endure even beyond its system's launch cycle, gaining varying levels of support from its subsequent successor consoles. GameCube controllers are natively backward-compatible on most models of the Wii console, which feature dedicated ports for connecting said gamepads for use in either GameCube or supported Wii games.

Years after the GameCube's discontinuation, the controller was first re-released in Japan in 2008 for the Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo officially re-issued the controller and produced dedicated adapters, coinciding with the releases of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in 2014 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch in 2018, honoring the enduring popularity of the GameCube controller in the Super Smash Bros. community after the release of the critically acclaimed Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001, which made the controller desirable for competitive play. A redesigned iteration of the controller for use with the Nintendo Classics service on Nintendo Switch 2 released with the console in June 2025.