Development
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Nintendo had been attempting to create a reliable wireless controller since the early Famicom era. Its first attempt was for the AVS (Advanced Video System), the precursor to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which included two wireless controllers but was never released. The next attempt was an infrared (IR) adapter called the NES Satellite, for the NES. Released in 1989, it used the aforementioned IR to extend the length of up to four wired controllers, which would plug themselves into the base of the unit. The base could then be positioned anywhere within a certain range of the NES without the need for a cable. However, the extension base still needed a direct line of sight with the NES console, a problem also present on third-party wireless IR controllers. Infrared has significant limitations; one being that it is line of sight only; there had to be a clear space between the IR port and the controller. Radio Frequency controllers were not possible in the late 1980s as the early digital RF links were bulky and used too much power to be useful in battery-powered devices.
Only a decade later, advancements in integrated circuits made radio controllers for game consoles commercially viable. The WaveBird, released in 2002, solved previous usability problems of wireless controllers by relying on radio frequency communication instead of infrared, allowing the controller to be used anywhere within twenty feet of the console without a need for a direct line of sight.
Read more about this topic: WaveBird Wireless Controller
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