Wiimote and Nunchuk Prototypes For Nintendo GameCube Surface For The First Time

The Nintendo Wii's 'Wiimote' and 'Nunchuk' were at the heart of the short-lived motion control [...]

By Tyler Fischer

gamecube (1)
(Photo: spmrp)

The Nintendo Wii's "Wiimote" and "Nunchuk" were at the heart of the short-lived motion control revolution that we saw last-generation. But, apparently, while Nintendo didn't debut and take the world by storm with the Wiimote and Nunchuck until the release of the Wii, it was originally prototyping the two devices for its previous console: the GameCube.

In case you didn't know, back in 2006, Nintendo filed a patent for an "accelerometer-based controller" that was intended to be used for the GameCube. This patent eventually led to the Wiimote and Nunchuk, but the GameCube prototypes never surfaced or leaked, leaving that little part of Nintendo's history to imagination.

But now that has changed, thanks to a Japanese auction site, which earlier this morning listed the never-before-seen GameCube prototypes.

The images were scooped up by GameCube enthusiast Twitter account "spmrp," who shared the following pictures of the retro kit, which at the time was referred to as the "Nintendo Revolution."

Not long after the above images started making the rounds, WayForward game director James Montagna and others confirmed the legitimacy of the images, and provided further insight not only into the prototype, but the evolution of the Wiimote.

The rare retro kit sold for a pretty hefty 74,000 yen (roughly $660 USD). But when you consider just how rare these are, and that's a little piece of unique and forgotten Nintendo history, the price isn't actually that bad at all. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't go for much more.

Thanks, Nintendo Everything.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of