Gamecube/Dolphin Prototype pad set.

[grayrobertos]

*update, ive put one on ebay to test the worth

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8153741718

feel free to bid :)


I just recieved the set of gamecube pads that I won of ebay, and they are genuin nintendo prototypes, its a set of 5. They all have numbers, ie 1/5, 3/5 etc and all have slight differances. The little red button where the d-pad should be actually reads menu. Which would have been nice.

The font on the buttons and pad is also different, not as bubely, more sharper italic.

The Analog sticks are also larger, more dreamcast style. Also the fins you hold it by are also an inch bigger.

The Pad itself is allso bigger in general. Which would probably please more people who say there small.

On the back of the controller it says

Dolphin Controller
Ver.A R&D3
No 10

There are also different versions A or B.

My favorite bit of the pads is the back is clear perspex and you can c all the insides, ive allways loved this myself lol.

http://www.instigators.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/scaled6pads.JPG
The link below is for the picture above in better quality. All of the 5 pads have see threw backs, and ive threw a final cube pad in the mix for a comparison. Can any body spot any more differences?
http://www.instigators.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Better.JPG
http://www.instigators.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/purples.JPG

The Above pic says something about 3/4 Speed any body have any idea what this relates to? Id also love to know what the DS5 means? Id love it to be able to plug into the DS lol well a man can dream can't he

[Querjek]

Those sound super-cool... if you ever want to sell them, please give me a ring :)

[Promophile]

Hope you still wanna go through with our deal! If anyone else asks remeber I asked first :) .

[Kejoriv]

I cant wait to see pics. Also, I am really glad Nintendo decided not to call it the Dolphin

[TRM]

I cant wait to see pics. Also, I am really glad Nintendo decided not to call it the Dolphin

I wish they did call it Dolphin (inside joke among one of rings of friends)

[MarioAllStar2600]

Hope you still wanna go through with out deal! If anyone else asks remeber I asked first :) .
I thought I asked first, but its all cool. ;) Maybe we both have deals pending with him.

They are super neat controllers. I think the coolest part is the non-circle B button. It looks pretty hideous, mayeb im just not used to it.

[EnemyZero]

i think i seen the auction, if its what im thinking of i wanted those, they are a nice addition to any collection

[grayrobertos]

added pics

[whoisKeel]

lol, no d-pad? what the hell would that little red button do? and people complain about the z button being unreachable...i can only imagine the insanity.

a wider analog stick would've been nice tho. (and a wider d-pad, and i'll just stop now)

[grayrobertos]

The little b button says menu on it, and with the bads with it there is no z or start button, I personaly can't imagin wat they wer thinking with the Z button, they should have at least put 1 on each side surely. Also the L and R buttons don't click on some of the pads.

The D-Pad is also slightly bigger, but wer talking mm.

[Algol]

Nice haul! Have you tried holding them? How comfortable do they feel?

[grayrobertos]

The extra long stalk is the exact size of my palm so it fits so comfortably inside. this means you can hold it tighter so it feels more comfortable when your holding it. But I dunno if I could press the buttons as comfortably because of the way it fits into my hands, its hard to explain. On the current pad I seem to get more leverage, I think its set at a slightly different angle. But its really hard to explain, without feeling one yourself.

I thought it was a good hord, all 5 For £12 inc delivery from ebay lol.

[grayrobertos]

Thanks for all the PMS on this, im considering a few offers. But I have zero idea what they are worth, as I have nothing to compare them with. Does anybody have any idea? Or no any sites selling prototype things that I could check out?

[Ed Oscuro]

Did the seller give you any indication as to his affiliation with Nintendo, or whomever it was who got these to him?

It always sort of bothers me that you can buy anything off eBay, but even former employees selling stuff don't seem to care about giving you the story behind an item... :(

[Kejoriv]

It always sort of bothers me that you can buy anything off eBay, but even former employees selling stuff don't seem to care about giving you the story behind an item... :(

I agree with this. This happens to me all the time when I buy Mad Magazine items. I ask people thru email the story behind the item. 90% of the people dont respond.

[grayrobertos]

yeh when I emailed for more info, they sed a friend was clearing out there place and found them, the seller had no idea what they where and thought they where moded cube controllers or something.

this is the reply I got when I originaly enquired

Hi Graham. cannot really tell you much more. they were passed over to me with some other computer stuff by a friend who is moving and was turfing out his garage. All five have a modem style plug unlike the hand comtroller on my sons gamecube which is more like a PS2 plug. Writing on thetwo of the purple controllers reads. NINTENDO GAMECUBE DS5 3/4 Speed. The other three just have Nintendo written on them. Hope this helps. Mike

[Kejoriv]

Wow! That is a good find. Those seem like they would go for a good amt of money.

[importaku]

What you have are actually quite rare. You have my envy :D

Nintendo dosent normally make a habit of letting proto hardware leave their hands.

Even though you got them for a cheap price you shouldnt let them go for cheap as they will be worth a lot in years to come.

[grayrobertos]

thanks for the advice mate.

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, I really would'nt know what to advise how much those controllers are worth. Anyone want to make a guess? I would say that you could start by looking at other prototype controllers to see what they have gone for, and maybe some other GC proto stuff if you can find it, and compare the two.

You also could do a test -- put one up for sale on EBay. Set a opening bid of like $10 -- something low -- and put in a reserve, the min that you would feel confertable in parting with it. That way, if it does'nt get to the reserve you don't have to sell it. And you can look at the bids to guage how much people think it's worth. I know EBay is'nt the best indicator, but for uncharted waters like this one it's not bad.

[Redlog]

I think this post belongs in the proto forum. Comon mods LOL .

[Habeeb Hamusta]

Yea those are really neat. I'm glad they chose to stick with the model they did. It's gotta be the most comfortable controller I've ever used.

[maxlords]

Yeah, they're worth way more than you paid for em. I wouldn't even blink at dropping $50 on one.

[grayrobertos]

Habeeb Hamusta: Id say if these controllers had the correct z and b buttons then they would be even more comfortable, the added length on the handle bits really helps, I also think that they should have had enother button like z on the other side.

SoulBlazer: Ive checked out a few proto sites and theres not really any mention. I think that the best plan would be to put one on ebay, let people who are interested know and see how much it reises to as you say.

http://www.instigators.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Desktop.zip

uploaded a video and some more pics there. 6mb

[grayrobertos]

updated

[Promophile]

I wonder what happened to these controllers? I bought the one that got thrown on ebay, but I haven't seen any of the others get sold.

[grayrobertos]

there in a box under my bed, I couldnt find any information on them to do anything else with.

[Promophile]

ah i see. nice to know :)

[CYRiX]

Thats so cool. Would be even cooler if those different button arrangements were BETTER than they are now.

[JLukas]

there in a box under my bed, I couldnt find any information on them to do anything else with.

On the Assembler forum (I think) there was one of those giant Dolphin GDEV dev boxes that had some modem style plugs on the front, probably for those controllers.

[grayrobertos]

yeh thats the conclusion that I came to, I would probably still sell these to anyone who is interested.

[specialmove]

Hey man. Nice protos. 8-) I wasn't around at the time when you initially posted this. Do these actually work 100% with a GC?

[grayrobertos]

no, the don't have the game cube connection they have like a phone connector lead on them. I wanted to try and convert them so they wer useable, but it seemed out of my league.

[Kejoriv]

I wonder what happened to these controllers? I bought the one that got thrown on ebay, but I haven't seen any of the others get sold.

How much did they end up going for? I forget, I remember I was watching the auction..

[Promophile]

erm I think it came out to like 50 something US?

[dbiersdorf]

Anyone have pics from this thread??

[izarate]

Anyone have pics from this thread??

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2538/scaled6pads.jpg

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/93/purpleso.jpg

[Baloo]

Interesting controller design there.