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Here’s An Explanation For Why The NES Classic Edition Controller’s Cable Is So Short

The recently-released NES Classic Edition has garnered praise from all corners, but many users have pointed out and criticized the very-short length of its controller’s cable. A likely reason for this has to do with the controller using the same communication protocol as the Wii Remote, which was apparently not designed for long distances. Read on below for a more in-depth explanation:

The communication protocol used is I2C , this protocol was designed in 1982 by Phillips (now NXP) and was designed for “high speed” chip to chip communication, it does have some limit for the actual standards , first is the speed, second is the length, according to this the length of the NES mini/Nunchuck is right 50pF , which is the maximum you can get from a yet-flexible cable.

So, why they didn’t make a thicker cable? Because would have been more expensive and less practical.

And what about the extension cables? The probably works but are pushing the limit of the protocol, you probably get some communication errors but you don’t notice them while you are playing.

Why Nintendo didn’t use another communication protocol? Because otherwise they would had to make a new set of controllers just for the mini, not compatible with the wii and wii u which is an expensive procedure, design and manufacture the connector itself is really expensive and the NES mini is a small product for Nintendo.

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43 thoughts on “Here’s An Explanation For Why The NES Classic Edition Controller’s Cable Is So Short”

  1. High speed my ass, there’s noticeable input lag that makes precise platforming damn near impossible. Seriously, the delay is as bad if not worse than the delay on Simon Belmont’s Whip on Castlevania 1 for the NES.

    1. thats then hd tv lag YOU UNEDUCATED BUFFOON

      nintendo desnt make lagy controls industry fact you are comparing the reaction times of a hdtv vs a old crt

      NOT THE CONTROLLER its a high speed protocol IDIOT

      1. It was set to game mode which reduces and at times removes lag .A normal WII was working without lag on the same TV prior to trying out the classic edition. Also, lag from an HD TV is more likely to actually happen on an older console like the gamecube and further back. On a technical level, it’s actually better than the WII for the sake of emulator it’s using.

        You were saying something about being uneducated. By the way, even gamexplain reported lag and used Punch out to compare between that, the original NES, and an arcade version of the same exact game.

      2. Bro. Get the fuck out of this comment section. Not sure how many times I need to say it (probably around 100 more times) before you get it through your thick skull, but your an asshole. I wont speak for the other people in here but your rude as fuck to the people on this board and we dont want your shitty, negative energy in here. Happy Thanksgiving, get the fuck out.

    1. It’s just a limited supplied collectors piece. The hype is exaggerated by Nintendo. If they had these things on store shelves (Walmart/Dollar General/Gamestop) and were made readily available you wouldn’t have the big fuss you have now. It’s not really a false sense of desirability, it’s just amplified because they are so limited that only a small percentage of people actually got their hands on one. It’s equivalent to a hard to find Amiibo.

  2. I always thought it was so you’d have to sit on the floor right in front of your tv as I assume 90% of lil’ kids did back in the day with their NES.

      1. But thats old tech. If Nintendo used the old adapter to the original NES it would have cost alot of money in development. The whole point of the Mini NES and the whole point for almost anything Nintendo does is to reuse assets that are readily available. The adapter from the Nunchuk to the Wiimote was perfect as they hardly had to do any modifications to it. Well, perfect except it being way too short…lol

    1. They are basically saying they didn’t have the funds or didn’t want to spend the funds to give this thing it’s own unique controller. Instead they reused assets as always and rigged a controller to the best of thier ability, using the Wii nunchuck adapter. The communication from the rigged controller to the reciever is very short, ie nunchuk to the wii mote.

      It’s basically Nintendo being Nintendo. It’s like they said, “what do we have lying around the warehouse we can reuse and make money on?” Hey, look we could make a short little mini nes controller out of the Wii Nunchuk!”

          1. If Quadarixs likes to roleplay as his charcter leave him too it’s not a bad thing to have roleplayers ii play D&D every 2 moths and I roleplay si what Quadarixs is doing is harmless stop being an ass.

  3. I got two but modded one of mine so i can have 100 games and my controller is wireless, I did the mod in my class at college wasn’t hard to do if you got the know how. and it makes it a lot more fun with the bigger amount of games to play.

      1. I am capable of the feet but i personally picked the 100 games i know i’d play. Plus I have already been paid to do the same for a friend of mine with the games he wants, The first Mother game is very popular when I finished the project it had the wii u fully translated version on there so pretty popular at college I may do commissions for the nes classic but i’ll see how i feel after doing the one for my friend.

          1. I’ll let you know if i decide to do it. After this one i’m doing for a friend I’m making a region free Nes portable which loads games from roms as my next project.

          2. I got my electronics qualification for the wireless controller. Funny thing is My tutor wanted to buy my modded nes mini for 4oo pounds but i said sorry but if you get one i’ll mod one for you but i’d need to charge for the extra parts

      1. if you good with soldering and basic know how of retro consoles it’s pretty easy to do.And yes I can do that took me about a 10 days to do but if i didn’t rest or take a break i could do it in about 8 days. but i like my work to be flawless.

  4. Pingback: Walmart Is “Working Hard” To Fulfill The High Demands For The NES Classic Edition – My Nintendo News

  5. Pingback: Woman Claims She Was Attacked At Target Over An NES Classic Edition – My Nintendo News

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