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Wow it has been a while since I have done this. Well I am sure many of you out there in video game land have seen these in the wild and probably did not think anything about them. Probably just assumed it was kid bait from the hotels to make it easier for unsupervised minors to order adult programming.
If you have not figured it out by now, that is a modified Nintendo Gamecube controller in the image. I first noticed this controller in a Hampton Inn in Louisiana. Then I saw another in a Town Place Suites in Michigan. Frequent Flier miles baby.
The interesting thing is, though it is a Gamecube controller, the system is running emulated Nintendo 64 games. I noticed titles such as San Francisco Rush and even Mario Kart 64. Reminds me of those kiosks in malls where they are selling the N64 controllers with built in NES emulation. However the Town Place Suites controller only acted as a television remote mimicking same controls making it easier to purchase pay per view.
If you find yourself traveling and see one of these controllers, I say give it a try. The games were free but be very careful, it is easy to mistakenly order pay-per-view with them.
I always felt that the Nintendo Gamecube controller was and maybe still is the best analog controller on the market. Guess Nintendo had to figure out something to do with all those extra Gamecube controllers before that law suit.
Another funny note is if you cross-reference Nintendo and Hotel you will find some pretty interesting tidbits into the company’s history and not just a crappy CD game. People did what they had to do to make money. Just don’t let the money make you.
