I want your opinions on the Gamecube controller!

[Final-Fan]

OK people, listen up: 

I've been hearing some disturbing things recently about people not liking the Gamecube controller.  Personally I think it's one of the best controllers ever created. 



As usual, Nintendo provided the best D-pad of the generation.  [edit:  I agree that it's kinda small but I still prefer an honest D-pad to Sony's four D-buttons and especially to the Xbox's ridiculous disk.]  The analog stick and C-stick are different from each other, but just as good as the competition AFAIK.  [edit:  Rol says better sensitivity than the Dual Shock, and I have heard that before now that I think of it.  I didn't play the PS2 nearly as extensively.]  [edit2:  The 8 positions molded into the controller are just different IMO -- I couldn't say better or worse overall.  Some types of games (fighting) would be a little better, some (SHMUP) probably not quite as good.]  The triggers were very different from each of the competing consoles' variants; the Gamecube's had more play but I don't know if this could be called any better or worse.  [edit:  The separate "full-down" position could be called the Gamecube's L2 and R2.]

What made the Gamecube controller really stand out -- the first and last thing you notice -- is the button layout.  The big green "A" button right smack dab in the middle, under your thumb's neutral position: obviously the default button for "action" or "select".  Small red "B" button, down nearer the C-stick:  obviously "cancel".  Grey "X" and "Y" buttons hugging the big green "A", for secondary functions and whatnot.  Note that you don't have to move your thumb very much from the neutral position over "A" to hit any of these.  The PS2 and Xbox were both content to go with the old diamond layout pioneered by the SNES. 

BUT there is one thing, one crowning achievement that you cannot see in the above photo, one thing that moved the Gamecube controller from simple excellence to being a GOD among gaming pads*: 

THE WAVEBIRD!

Yes, although we had to give up rumble to get it, the Wavebird gave us freedom no other controller had given us.  Sure, there were some feeble attempts in the past, but this controller blew them all away with insane signal range and ridiculous battery life.  Would we even have wireless standard controllers today if not for the Wavebird?  We'd need a time machine and an incredibly cruel person to find out for sure, but the point is that this controller is ten kinds of awesome. 

Now I want everyone else to weigh in.  I expect people to add to my analysis, since I am NOT an expert here.  See RolStoppable's post below for the opinion of a true expert. 

*Yes, I went over the top deliberately.