While Gamenova may not be invincible in the field of gamepads, it has certainly accumulated a lot of unique technological expertise.
Take wireless communication, for example.
Keep in mind that this is only 1992.
A wireless controller from 1992—what does that even mean?
Well... okay, wireless controllers actually came about very early on.
With that in mind, Lin Lixin left everyone inside and went to the sample room to look around.
Before long, they found what they wanted.
The Atari 2700 game console.
It took them quite a bit of Kung-Fu Master to find this thing; they had to dig through the archives of prototype collectors and Atari arcade machines for a long time before they unearthed this valuable archaeological data.
The Atari 2700 has a name very similar to Atari's best-selling and dominant game console of its time Atari 2600.
It's immediately obvious that this is a follow-up product in the same series.
Americans have always had this habit of naming their product models. Unfortunately, due to research and development issues and various other reasons, only a dozen or so prototypes of the Atari 2700 were produced, and it never achieved commercial mass production.
This product is a targeted upgrade based on the 2600 system.
The controller has been upgraded to a wireless version by using RF radio frequency signals.
In a sense, this should be the earliest attempt at using wireless controllers in home video game consoles.
" Atari is a prime example of how industrial design can't keep up."
Lin Lixin shook his head helplessly, fiddling with the remote control in his hand that felt extremely strange.
To be honest, Atari at its peak was actually quite capable in terms of research and development.
But they always seem to manage to step right on consumers' sore spots.
These engineers are truly the epitome of stereotypical, hardcore STEM guys; everything they do is for the sake of parameters and technology.
As for the user experience? That's something that can be addressed later.
The Atari 2700 is like this, and so is the Atari Americas Leopard.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Lin Lixin insists on focusing on optimizing the player experience in the fifth generation. Atari is indeed a perfect example of a mistake.
"Our wireless controllers have been on the market for quite some time now, and we've collected pretty much all the test data."
Lin Lixin fiddled with the receiver antenna on the handle.
Gamenova's current path is, in fact, built upon Atari's legacy in wireless technology.
Wireless implementation based on radio frequency (RF).
This technology cannot be said to be unreliable.
In fact, theoretically speaking, even today, the mainstream wireless technology, namely the 2.4G mode, is essentially RF radio frequency.
However, in terms of details, it's no longer on the same level as Atari's RF technology back then.
Upon hearing this, Cerny quickly responded and retrieved a report from the table.
The wireless controller was originally created in conjunction with the game " Tokimeki Memorial ".
In essence, it was a purely experimental product designed to verify lithium battery technology.
But the "wireless" gimmick was so powerful that sales were surprisingly good. However, that was about it.
Its usage has always been met with mixed reviews.
If it weren't for the fact that this thing was produced by Gamenova, it would most likely have become part of historical relics, just like those Atari products.
"Uh... According to market research, over 40% of users have encountered 'occasional high latency issues that affect normal gameplay.' Wireless controllers perform poorly in environments with high interference and multiple players."
The controller performed flawlessly during use; the stable latency, while slightly higher than wired, did not affect gameplay at all.
After all, video games at that time didn't have very high response times, so this slight delay could be easily mitigated.
With its charging and vibration pack design, the entire controller can be considered an industrial gem.
But that's where the problem lies.
Its performance immediately drops significantly once a second controller is available.
Interference between the controllers of two players is a very common phenomenon.
In some extreme cases, the microwave oven handle might even malfunction and become uncontrollable when turned on.
As a result, the media even published several special reports on urban legends. "I guess so... this problem still needs to be solved."
Lin Lixin pondered.
This is a problem that can be big or small, depending entirely on the players' mood.
"Once it's on the scale, it'll be a problem that even a thousand pounds wouldn't be enough..."
Why don't we try infrared? Like a remote control?
Sam, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.
"Infrared technology is much cheaper than RF, doesn't require complex electronic circuits, and its signals are more reliable and less susceptible to interference."
This idea is understandable.
After all, infrared technology has long been developed and matured by now.
The most extravagant products can even achieve infrared communication distances exceeding 30 feet.
In addition, due to its low cost and ease of production, infrared has long since replaced RF as the mainstream choice for remote control products such as TV remote controls.
"No, no, no, Sam, you can't use the controller as a TV remote."
Lin Lixin waved his hand and rejected the proposal.
"It's actually more like... a remote control for a remote-controlled car."
Infrared emission is ideal for almost static scenarios like television sets.
But under normal circumstances, no one would use infrared technology on remote-controlled cars and small remote-controlled airplanes.
Because of this thing...
It has to be aimed correctly!
Indeed, its signal is stable and robust, and there is no need to worry about electromagnetic interference.
But this thing is afraid of damn physical interference!
The signal is blocked if even one person walks by.
Any medium can rapidly absorb infrared signals, leading to control malfunction.
"But... when players are playing games, shouldn't the controller be naturally pointed at the TV? Otherwise, how are they supposed to see the screen?" Looking at it this way, playing with a controller is theoretically a similar scenario to watching TV.
They were all sitting in front of the TV, holding devices and sending commands.
"The operation frequency is different."
Without Lin Lixin needing to explain himself, Cerny and the others had already figured it out.
For a moment, they actually thought Sam's idea made sense.
However, upon closer examination, many problems can be found.
"We find the remote control very convenient because we only use it to change channels and adjust the volume, and we don't press it more than a few times a day."
And what about the controller?
Even playing a casual game requires a lot of input.
If players have to point the camera at the TV all the time, like using a remote control...
I'm exhausted.
I can only imagine how sore my wrist must be. " Sam, do you remember when we were playing Street Fighter on consoles, you got so worked up you almost smashed my head in with the controller?"
Lin Lixin picked up the handle and gestured with it.
When players are emotionally agitated, they may even sway their bodies in sync with the game's environment.
For example, when playing racing games, if you get really into it, you might subconsciously turn the controller like you're turning a steering wheel.
It's as if this would give you greater steering power.
If it were infrared, the connection would have been lost by now.
"That's... really discouraging."
Sam pursed his lips, then, following Lin Lixin's suggestion, imagined the scene—a scene so vivid it was almost unbearable—and immediately felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
"What can we do then? Radio frequency isn't reliable, infrared isn't reliable either. We can't just develop some alien technology right now, like quantum resonance or something like that, can we?"
"The RF frequency still works, but we need to put a processor in the controller to encode data packets, and... modulate the 2.4GHz RF."
After much deliberation, Lin Lixin finally gave a definite answer.
RF (Radio Frequency) is actually a very broad field. It's not just gamepads; wireless mice, various remote control devices, and wireless devices can all communicate via RF.
Or rather... 2.4GHz radio frequency.
However, the technologies that are truly important to the electronics industry along this route are not these "side projects".
In the history of science and technology, 2.4 GHz has two most important applications.
First, there's the Bluetooth Protocol, which solves all the peripheral device problems.
Secondly, it solves the communication problem for handheld devices... Wi-Fi.
"It will definitely be complicated, but even so, we have to do it."
In the world of semiconductors, no technology exists in isolation.
As the saying goes, "One can understand things by analogy."
Starting to accumulate wireless communication-related technologies now is definitely a long-term, beneficial, and harmless thing for Gamenova.
Having explained the basic R&D matters, Lin Lixin temporarily bid farewell to the hardware department. The work that followed was extremely tedious, mainly involving continuing to verify the form factor design and attempting to advance the miniaturization of radio frequency chips.
There wasn't much Lin Lixin could actually help with here.
Instead of wasting time here, we might as well do something else.
"Speaking of which, Lin, Carmack and Linus reported multiple cyberattacks yesterday."
Upon arriving at the office, Sam glanced at the emails on his computer, peeked over, and said something to Lin Lixin.
"Nexus has been quite active lately, I guess it's because we announced the fifth generation."
Ever since the media leaked the news that Gamenova had started developing its fifth-generation game, its servers have been under constant attack from hackers.
From the very day the Internet was born, hackers have actually existed on its dark side.
Ultimately, Linus is a typical teenage hacker.
During his university years, he frequently hacked into his own university's servers.
It wasn't to do anything bad; it was purely out of a geek mentality—to test the technology and have some fun.
But others are a different story. These experts can easily hack into the mainframes of large companies or government agencies with just a phone line and a modem.
Once they steal important information, they can use it to blackmail or extort money, or even sell it directly on the black market.
However, internet technology is Gamenova's core business, and although the pressure of cybersecurity is not small, there have been no major problems so far.
Now that Linus has joined the fray, things will only get easier.
"With Carmack and the others around, we don't need to worry too much, but... making a hacker-themed game... seems like a good idea?"