Does anyone know if it’s possible to make an adapter that would allow hooking a VB controller to a GameCube? The tricky part is that the VB controller has batteries, so maybe taking apart a wavebird would work because it’s designed for AC power.

Oh, and also, I found this neat article on IGN, but it must have been a rumor because it isn’t true.
Link: http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/503/503361p1.html

If that were real, it would be great!

Well, that special GameBoy Advance (story dated April 1, 2004, of course) never came out, but it is possible (if not likely) that Nintendo is paying homage to the VB with the red/black 3DS XL coming out in a couple of months:

http://www.bestgamesnetwork.net/2012/06/nintendo-reveals-3ds-xl.html

No word on whether all games will play only in red…

Oh, can’t help much with the original question, but it seems likely that you’d be talking about some pretty serious hacking to get something like that to work. Just out of curiosity, why would you want to do this?

Matt Fisher wrote:
Just out of curiosity, why would you want to do this?

Well, right now I’m working on turning my Gamecube into the ultimate gaming hub, and I’ve found emulators for gamecube that emulate almost anything before the cube itself, eg. N64, GBA, SNES. So, I thought it would be cool to use the native controllers with the games too, so I found adapters for N64, and SNES. But, I can’t find an emulator or controller adapter for VB. So, I need help.

in3D wrote:
Does anyone know if it’s possible to make an adapter that would allow hooking a VB controller to a GameCube? The tricky part is that the VB controller has batteries, so maybe taking apart a wavebird would work because it’s designed for AC power.

The battery pack is almost completely separate from the actual controller (except for the battery meter) so it doesn’t need any special consideration.

As far as the actual conversion goes, this guy could make it happen in a few minutes:

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/gc_to_n64/index_en.php

The thing I linked to outputs N64 signals, but the N64 and GC use the same hardware protocol, so conversion would be simple. He also has SNES/NES/VB pad reading down for his USB adapter, so again, trivial to implement. He does sell small microcontroller boards for this purpose, so it would be a simple matter of wiring and firmware.

All you have to do is convince him that it’s worth his time (say, by ordering four of them) and he’d probably whip some up for you. It’s worth a shot, anyway…

OK, cool! I’ll pay $50 if I have to!

I see he does a VB to USB kit, plus a USB to GC cable, could they be used together?

D’oh! Somehow I completely overlooked this:

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/x2wii/index_en.php

It just needs a VB pad socket and a new button mapping (most of which would be similar to the SNES one)!

Sorry if you already contacted him, @in3D…

BTW, @L__E__T, I don’t see the USB to GC one you mentioned. If you mean this one, then no, that wouldn’t work because the direction is wrong.

Yeah, I already did contact him, but if the current adapter needs work before being able to connect a vb controller, then why not just have him do it?

Yeah, but I meant that it would be easier for him to start with one of those than the first thing I linked to. But I’m sure he knows what would be the best place to start, assuming he knows or finds out that the VB pad is essentially an SNES pad with extra buttons.

I took a look at the code for the “x2wii” to see if I could do it, but I have absolutely no experience with AVR assembly. I was able to figure out how the GC data packet was built, but not enough to see how to add conversion of the right D-pad to the C stick directions…

Anyway… I hope he adds it soon, because I would like to get/make one of his “Multiuse tiny 1” boards and use it for Wii Mednafen (among other things).

(Sorry for the double-post).

Did anything ever come of this? I still don’t see any mention of the Virtual Boy on the X2Wii page.

BTW, he’s got a new product that’s kind of interesting (though possibly not useful to the OP): it’s like the X2Wii, but it pretends to be a Classic Controller and connects to the Wiimote.