If you’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of your Nintendo NES Classic Edition, you should probably brace yourself for one disappointment — the controllers have very short cables. Fortunately, there will be something you can do to stop that ruining your day, as some third-party companies are already working on wireless alternatives.
To give you some context for how short the controller cables are, they measure 31-inches long — less than three feet. In comparison, the original NES controllers gave you around seven feet to play with. What this means is that you are either huddled near the console, or the system is dragged half way across your living room with a long HDMI cable connecting it to your TV.
Neither situation is ideal of course, which is why there is already much discussion about what to do about it. Some have suggested controller extension cables, but a more elegant — if perhaps, a little less traditional — approach, could be wireless third-party controllers.
Nyko will offer a solution for either of the above methods and has already opened up pre-orders. The Miniboss for NES Classic Edition is a wireless NES-style controller with a range up to 30 feet. We do not have much information on how long the battery will last, but we do know it charges using a micro-USB connection and connects to the NES classic using a small dongle.
Priced at $20, you can pre-order one now, or order directly on November 11.
Alternatively, Nyko is also offering a $10 extension cord known as the Extend Link. It adds an additional six feet to the NES Classic’s controller cable, increasing its total to over eight feet, which is more than most people will ever need. As an added bonus, the cable is also compatible with official Wii and Wii U wired controllers too.
If Nyko’s offerings are not up your alley though, My Arcade also has some alternatives that fix the wiring issue. It offers the GamePad Retro, a $10 NES controller clone with a 10-foot wired cable, the GamePad Classic, which is available for pre-order for $15 and provides up to 75 hours of wireless gamepad interaction on two AA batteries, and the MyArcade Pro, which gives you a wireless controller and a 10-foot extension in one, so you can augment your base controller and add a secondary wireless one into the mix.
The only downside is that the latter two are not out until the end of November and the former will not be available until December 30.
If a two-foot cable isn’t enough for you, which third-party alternative would you opt for?
