This $20 gamepad solves the biggest problem with Nintendo's new $60 console

Remember the Nintendo Entertainment System? Sure you do! It's the gorgeous little grey box that plays all your favorite Nintendo classics, from "Super Mario Bros." to "The Legend of Zelda."

Wikimedia Commons

Well that console, over 30 years old, just got miniaturized.

This is the NES Classic Edition, a $60, a version of the original NES that fits in your hand and comes with 30 games built-in:

Nintendo

Did we mention it's very small? Because yeah, it's very small.

Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? You snag this little guy, plug it into your TV, and you're off to the races. And unlike the original NES, the NES Classic Edition is built to work with modern TVs. Good so far!

Where issues arise is with the gamepad. You know the one we're talking about - this rectangular anachronism right here:

Nintendo

The new one that comes with the NES Classic Edition is pretty much identical to the original that shipped in the 1980s. Sure, it connects with a different wire - no, your original NES gamepad doesn't work with the new console - but it's otherwise functionally identical. How it functions isn't the problem.

The problem is the length of the wire.

The new NES gamepad that comes with the NES Classic Edition console has a 2.5-foot cable. And we don't know about you, but we certainly don't like sitting that close to our TVs.

For comparison, the original NES controller cable was a whopping 7.5-feet long - just look at this incredible photo comparison from Polygon. And hey, we'd be okay with a wireless controller, even if that breaks the retro feel a bit; Literally every other game console has wireless controllers at this point.

Thankfully, there's a cheap, easy solution: Nyko's "Miniboss" gamepad, which costs just $20:

Nyko

Slap that little plug into the NES Classic Edition and power on the Miniboss - solved! No more short wires, and more importantly no more wires at all.

But perhaps you're more of a fan of the retro feel that wires bring? Maybe you like accidentally tripping into your coffee table? There's another solution from Nyko:

Nyko

Who doesn't love long black cables?!

This is the Nyko "Extend Link" - a cable extension for the NES Classic Edition gamepad that pushes it from 2.5-feet to 8.5-feet (about the same length as the original NES gamepad's wire). It's just $10, so what you lose in wireless-ness you'll make up for in price.

Both the Miniboss and the Extend Link are available on November 11, the same day the NES Classic Edition arrives in stores.