Hey, this used Hip Gear Gamecube controller sucks!

[Jorpho]

I finally scored a cheap second (wired) controller for my GC a while ago, but never got around to trying it until now.

I don't know what it is, exactly, but waggling the controller ever so slightly while the GC is trying to load data causes it to lose power completely! It's even possible to wave it around in such a way that I can watch the power light flicker in time to the movement.

Is this a common problem with third-party GC controllers, or is it just Hip Gear?

[Flashback2012]

I finally scored a cheap second (wired) controller for my GC a while ago, but never got around to trying it until now.

I don't know what it is, exactly, but waggling the controller ever so slightly while the GC is trying to load data causes it to lose power completely! It's even possible to wave it around in such a way that I can watch the power light flicker in time to the movement.

Is this a common problem with third-party GC controllers, or is it just Hip Gear?

I honestly don't know. If I had to guess, I would imagine it's isolated to the brand itself. You mentioned that you scored it cheap, I have to wonder how cheap that was to consider going with it over a used Nintendo brand one.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Hip Gear killed my puppy.

True facts.

Seriously though, all the stuff of theirs I've used is crappier than anything Mad Catz ever put out, so...

[Jorpho]

I honestly don't know. If I had to guess, I would imagine it's isolated to the brand itself. You mentioned that you scored it cheap, I have to wonder how cheap that was to consider going with it over a used Nintendo brand one.I actually bought it used. (I have edited my topic title appropriately.)

[DigitalSpace]

It's probably just the company. I usually avoid standard third-party controllers, but I wound up acquiring an Innovation controller for the Gamecube a few years back. It's seen a good share of action in multiplayer and I've never had a problem with it.

[kedawa]

You should probably stop using it before it damages the console.

[skaar]

Oh don't worry. It sucked when it was new, too.

[Jorpho]

I could understand if this thing simply didn't respond well or had cracked buttons or even a wonky cord. But what I don't get is, how exactly does it kill the power to the whole console? Is this a common result of using third-party accesories these days?

[RP2A03]

I never heard of a controller killing power before but my guess is that moving the controller is creating a short somewhere causing it to draw too much power resulting in power loss to the console. Unless this controller shows signs of incredible abuse or severe trauma to the cord/plug I would put it off to exceptionally poor build quality.

[Flashback2012]

I could understand if this thing simply didn't respond well or had cracked buttons or even a wonky cord. But what I don't get is, how exactly does it kill the power to the whole console? Is this a common result of using third-party accesories these days?

I don't know how it is now, but it used to be that the companies who made these 3rd party controllers reverse-engineered an official controller to see how it worked and then made their own versions with cheaper materials to sell as a lower cost alternative to the name brand products. I don't know how it all worked but I've heard of instances where a customer purchased a 3rd party controller and it konked out their system. I don't know how it did or why, just that it did.

I've personally always been skeptical of any unlicensed 3rd party products. More often than not, the build on them is shoddy and they feel cheaper and more flimsy than their officially licensed and 1st party counterparts. That's not to say I've never bought unlicensed 3rd party peripherals, I have plenty of Game Sharks floating around here. ;)

Oh yeah, any particular reason this thread and a few others were locked for a little bit? :?

[Jorpho]

Ugh. I tried this controller with a Wii today, and while it was actually detected, even the Wii lost power completely. And you can imagine this went over reeeeal well considering it wasn't my Wii. :yipes: I'd hoped that the Wii might be a little more robust than the Gamecube, but no.

Mind you, I have another third party controller (a completely brandless affair from DealExtreme nearly indistinguishable from an official controller, except for the lack of branding and tri-wing screws) that works fine with my GC and was also detected by the Wii.

Does anyone want this piece of crap? I'm sure it has potential for use in some hiLARious party pranks. (I'm reminded of that story from the Acts of Gord about the violently defective PSX Game Genie left out for a shoplifter, and the pleasant uptick in parallel-port repair business he subsequently experienced.)

[duffmanth]

I finally scored a cheap second (wired) controller for my GC a while ago, but never got around to trying it until now.

I don't know what it is, exactly, but waggling the controller ever so slightly while the GC is trying to load data causes it to lose power completely! It's even possible to wave it around in such a way that I can watch the power light flicker in time to the movement.

Is this a common problem with third-party GC controllers, or is it just Hip Gear?

The gaming store that I use to work at carried stuff by Hip Gear, complete garbage. Just spend the extra money and buy real Nintendo controllers.

[BetaWolf47]

Ugh. I tried this controller with a Wii today, and while it was actually detected, even the Wii lost power completely. And you can imagine this went over reeeeal well considering it wasn't my Wii. :yipes: I'd hoped that the Wii might be a little more robust than the Gamecube, but no.

I don't think it's the console's fault. I've had a third-party GBA transfer cable do the same thing to my GameCube.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

only thing hip gear i've ever purchased as far as i know was a brand new 3rd party ps1 memory card which fucking sucks because it doesnt work for shit, ps2, ps3 and psx desr cant read, as far as i know it only works on original ps1 and even then i only tested it on a ps1 slim, cant say for sure it'll work on the fat original ones, wouldnt be surprised if they didnt

[jdc]

Hip Gear is the house brand of a Canadian company called Microplay. Think of it as hardware shovelware, targeting people who were too cheap to buy first party accessories. It was better to sell these junk items at a lower-than-Walmart price and make margin on them, rather than see the customer go elsewhere to buy something else.

[CRTGAMER]

Ugh. I tried this controller with a Wii today, and while it was actually detected, even the Wii lost power completely. And you can imagine this went over reeeeal well considering it wasn't my Wii. :yipes: I'd hoped that the Wii might be a little more robust than the Gamecube, but no.
Good God what is wrong with you? The Gamecube losing power should have already warned you! Very likely something internal in the controller caused the short. Maybe the previous owner spilled a soda on it or something. 3rd party controllers in good condition should never short out a console and they do have a great feature.

Why do only 3rd party controllers have TURBO RAPID FIRE?
.

[Jorpho]

Hip Gear is the house brand of a Canadian company called Microplay.Really? Are you sure?


Good God what is wrong with you? The Gamecube losing power should have already warned you! Very likely something internal in the controller caused the short. Maybe the previous owner spilled a soda on it or something. 3rd party controllers in good condition should never short out a console and they do have a great feature.The question that still hasn't been answered here is why a controller should be able to "short out" a console at all. It's not like it has its own independent power source inside or anything.


Why do only 3rd party controllers have TURBO RAPID FIRE?It seems to me that if it is a feature that the original developers of a game did not intend to implement in their software, then to make this option available would be to interfere with their vision. It's like asking why doesn't every game have a menu option for unlimited lives or God Mode or something.

[kedawa]

The question that still hasn't been answered here is why a controller should be able to "short out" a console at all. It's not like it has its own independent power source inside or anything.A short circuit has nothing to do with having an external power supply. All you need is one poorly soldered connection or a tattered cable to cause a short.
Even without such a fault, accessories can still cause damage if they exceed the maximum current that the port can handle. It happens a lot with 3rd party Dreamcast controllers.

[Jorpho]

Even without such a fault, accessories can still cause damage if they exceed the maximum current that the port can handle.But that's the thing: why shouldn't the port be able to handle at least as much current as it puts out?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

The question that still hasn't been answered here is why a controller should be able to "short out" a console at all. It's not like it has its own independent power source inside or anything.

Well, a fork isn't it's own independent source of power, but if you stick it in an electrical socket it will very likely cause a short, blow a fuse or trip a breaker.

A manufacture defect or a bad solder spot on the controller may be responsible for sending current in the wrong path/direction and blowing out the system in question.

I've seen controller ports on consoles blown out to the point of non-functionality from a simple static electric shock generated from shuffling across a living room carpet, so the base power generated by the console itself should be enough to do some damage if routed incorrectly.

Something equivalent to taking a copper wire, finding a spot on the power supply to pick up some flowing current and then jamming that wire into the control port.

Even if your controller isn't doing exactly that, it's proven itself to be capable of damage, so something of the sort is going on there.

I'd kill it with fire before it takes the life of any other unsuspecting system.

[skaar]

So are you going to keep doing this until you actually fry something or just throw the thing away?

[BlastProcessing402]

Why do only 3rd party controllers have TURBO RAPID FIRE?
.

First party TurboGrafx pads had the right idea, TURBOFIRE FOR ALL! Hey, TurboGrafx, turbofire... hmmm... the conspiracy begins!

Also, there've been some other first party stuff. I think Sega had some "rapid fire adapter" for the SMS that you could plug normal controllers into, Nintendo of course had the Advantage on the NES (my first experience with turbofire), etc.

Of course, these days, way games are, most don't even benefit from something like turbofire. I've got a Hori 360 pad with turbofire, and haven't ever had any reason to use it.

[kedawa]

But that's the thing: why shouldn't the port be able to handle at least as much current as it puts out?
That's just how electricity works. When there's a voltage difference, electrons move along the path of least resistance, whether that's harmful for the conducting material or not. This is why we have fuses.

[Jorpho]

So are you going to keep doing this until you actually fry something or just throw the thing away?Oh, someone's expressed an interest.


But that's the thing: why shouldn't the port be able to handle at least as much current as it puts out?That's just how electricity works. When there's a voltage difference, electrons move along the path of least resistance, whether that's harmful for the conducting material or not. This is why we have fuses.That doesn't really answer the question.
I've seen controller ports on consoles blown out to the point of non-functionality from a simple static electric shock generated from shuffling across a living room carpet, so the base power generated by the console itself should be enough to do some damage if routed incorrectly.But the voltage involved in an electrostatic discharge is considerably greater than than the "base power" generated by the console, is it not?


Something equivalent to taking a copper wire, finding a spot on the power supply to pick up some flowing current and then jamming that wire into the control port.And wouldn't current flowing at some point in the power supply likely be much greater than current flowing out of of the controller port?


I'd kill it with fire before it takes the life of any other unsuspecting system.Oh, nothing has died, to be sure – both my Gamecube and the Wii bounced back perfectly with no apparent ill effects. (Fire would not have been nearly enough to express my fury otherwise.) There's clearly some kind of failsafe built into both systems. It suddenly occurs to me that a more elaborate failsafe that would just disable the controller port and not take the whole system down might just be too costly to implement.

[RP2A03]

But that's the thing: why shouldn't the port be able to handle at least as much current as it puts out?


Because the controller port isn't pushing out current. The controller is pulling current from the port. The path of the current through the short in your controller is one of significantly less resistance than the intended path, causing the controller to pull more current from the port than the system can adequately provide and have enough left over for the other components.

[Jorpho]

Now that makes more sense, I guess. It prompts the question as to why there isn't something that limits the amount of current the controller can pull – but the obvious answer is that such a thing would cost money to implement.