I've got an interesting story about that.
In the late '90s I recall finding a UK website with plans for an N64 to USB adapter. I'm pretty sure I was linked there from vg-network.com, an emulation newsblog from a time before the word "blog" existed. As I recall, it was very expensive to order the parts or assembly from that site, especially with the exchange rate at the time..
Anyway, I posted on an electronics newsgroup (yes, "newsgroup;" remember: this was still the '90s) asking if someone could build one for a fee. I don't recall hearing anything back in regards to my request, but I may not have ever even checked back. I dunno. Anyway, when David Stam of WishTech started Adaptoid.com, I was one of the first in line! I sent an email with some questions and ideas and was blown away when he referenced my earlier newsgroup post. I don't know if he happened to see that during his research for making the Adaptoid or if my demonstrated demand prompted him to start that research in the first place. It was not an N64 or gaming-related newsgroup, so I always assumed the latter, as if I might be responsible for it existing in a way.
The Adaptoid ended up being far better than I could have imagined. I didn't even care about that other project from the UK anymore because the Adaptoid allowed the emulators direct communication with the controller and the real-world accessories, just like a real N64! I know we emailed back and forth discussing things like making a Controller Pak manager with DexDrive support, Bio-Tetris Bio-clip support, GB Transfer Pak support for dumping games and using the accelerometer from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble for motion-sensing, etc. He seemed very open to these ideas. Unfortunately, no one realized just what the Adaptoid was capable of until it was too late, so we never got to see cool stuff like motion-sensing. Most PC gamers just thought it was like any other controller adapter.
It isn't just about supporting I/O through the Controller Pak slot either: Try playing Zelda Ocarina of Time using the standard USB HID gamepad support (without the Adaptoid plugin) and you will find it VERY difficult to circle the stick and perform the sword spin maneuver (not the kind that uses magic where you simply charge the button). Enable Adaptoid support and it will work flawlessly! This is because the range of a PC analog joystick is square and the range of an N64 thumb stick is circular. Converting the circular range to square for the operating system and back to circular for the emulator is, in a way, lossy.
It made me the input snob I am today and it's why I desperately want the official Nintendo Gamecube USB adapter for Wii U today. Word is, it works similarly to the Adaptoid for Wii and Gamecube emulation on Dolphin. I'd love to see what people can do with a Gamecube to GBA cable (load GBA games, second screen data, use GBA cart slot as expansion port like the old Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble Gamecube demo Nintendo showed so long ago, etc). If it really works like the Adaptoid then a GBA + eReader for Animal Crossing should work!
When I play Virtual Console titles on the Wii, I'm not just sad about emulation glitches (the swinging vines keep moving while paused in DKC even though they are invisible, the parts of the castle falling away during the ending of Ninja Gaiden duplicate and never disappear, etc). I'm also worried about controller conversion. For example, Blast Corps woulld cause your character to walk backwards with some 3rd-party controllers, Nintendo designed Mario Kart 64 to cause the player to seemingly randomly spin out and lose control when you play with 3rd party controllers that allow you to oversteer. Sure enough, it happens far more often on the Wii VC version. I even found a glitch with the Classic Controller Pro where I couldn't hold certain combinations of buttons when using the analog stick! It's like they just don't care as much as their fans/players.
The Adaptoid is where it's at. I own three from the WishTech days before Zophar's Domain or whoever started producing them. One of them had part of the metal USB port ground away by hanging out a car door but that is very easy to repair (I haven't needed too anyway since it still fits in a USB port and works).
My only complaint is that he didn't make a 4-port version and there are no 64-bit drivers. A guy on Assembler said he could make a 64-bit driver if I send him one but my twin brother is VERY hesitant about that.
As for the price, I know I paid $30 for the first two of mine and $50 to get the third off my friend when they were no longer available (he originally bought it on my recommendation). I suspect it went a lot higher than that though.
Edited: 02/02/2015
at 11:45 PM
by CZroe
