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.  

I find the diamond formation of the four main buttons on SNES/PSX/Xbox to be superior to the radial formation of the gamecube controller. I also find the buttons highly raised, which makes pressing them feel like more work than other buttons.

I also find the C-stick to be the most awkward thumbstick design ever. One thing I like about both thumbsticks though is that they don't pretend to be clickable buttons like thumbsticks on other controllers. Thumbstick input is too important to be degraded by acting as a crappy button.

Despite these criticisms, it's a perfectly serviceable controller.

The D Pad is way too small. Also there should have been 2 Z buttons. Otherwise I am a big fan

Well to sum it up : It sucked. i realized this when i was playing mgs: the twin snakes. It was good for a couple of games but my hate for the xbox1 controller and gamecube controller is over 9000.

I always like the Cube pads. The button layout being my favorite thing about it. They way it's set-up meant games would usually be set-up for certain buttons to correspond to certain overlying actions. Like A for confirm and B for cancel like you mentioned. With a lot of Playstation titles I find myself trying one button for confirm only for it to be cancel, like in the MGS, which use O instead of X for confirming stuff. The different shapes make it easy to know what's what without even looking at them or bothering to memorize them.

Shoulder buttons would probably be my biggest complaint. The two triggers on one button thing was interesting, but I felt it didn’t work. Was hard to squeeze it just enough to get an L1/R1 command without going to far. Made the ground levels in Star Fox Assault kind of a pain since I couldn’t strafe easily. Then you’ve got the oddly placed and size Z-button which just said to me they’ should of just gone with a Dual shoulder buttons design.

C-Stick was a little awkward to use for a shooter set-up, but it was doable. I mostly beat XIII on the Cube, cept the final boss, (had to turn it down to easy) but that was mostly because of the obscene amount of hit points he had, and the ridiculous damage he did. =P

I never understand why people didn’t like it either. =P

I couldn't stand it, but it had nothing to do with the functionality. I didn't like any o' last gens controllers. Give me the N64 Trident any day of the week (or, now that I've used it, the Wiimote is my new favorite. But back then, I heartted the trident)

Props to the Cube.

I only really use it for Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart, and I must say, it's the best feeling controller I've ever used. It's thicker than the sixaxis, which is good, because I feel like I'm gonna break the sixaxis most of the time :-/

The thickness gives it good grip, and that helps you pull off some insane combos in melee. The positioning of the buttons is such that you really can't mistake one for the other (save for X and Y if you're not used to it) I like the size difference in the A and B buttons. I remember with the SNES controller, I had a hard time remembering which was which without looking at them first, and that made stuff like Earthworm Jim hard to play.

Overall, I absolutely love it.

The D-pad is useless, the L and R buttons are too clunky, and the c-stick is too small. Other than that it was really good. I like the layout of the a/b/x/y buttons as opposed to the more common diamond placement. (b button could've used a bigger size though) The wiimote is currently my favorite controller.

I also agree on the "needing a left and right Z button" comment.

Personally, I thought the L and R buttons are absolutely superb, though there are few games that actually take advantage of their pressure sensitivity. Smash Bros melee was one of the best examples of how it could be used.

the A button with the radial sub button layout really was a good feature. I can understand how people who are more used to the diamond pattern of teh PS2 would want to stick to it. But if you actually take a moment to adjust to the new button layout, it really is far more comfortable and allows faster movement through the buttons.

I would have liked for the C stick to be just a Teeeeeensy bit bigger, I didn't have that big of an issue with it.

I think one thing that really sets it above the other controllers is the ergonomics of it. Maybe it wasn't perfect for everyone else, but for me, it was fantastic. I have never had a controller fit into my hand as comfortably as the gamecube controller. I swear, it just molds right to my hands. PS2, Xbox, even N64 and other nintendo consoles have never been this good.
Pelican had a wireless PS2 controller that came close to being as comfortable, but the controls were crap. the joysticks would start drifting after a day or two of play. The Wii remote and Nunchuck are actually just a smidge less comfortable in the hand, but being able to stretch my arms out and move around makes up the difference.