The Offender: Fairchild Semiconductor The Console: Fairchild Channel F Worst Component: The baseless joystick that must be pushed down as a button. RSI ahoy! Redeeming Feature:Perhaps it gave Nintendo ideas on what not to do for the Wii's nunchuk attachment? In terms of sheer discomfort, the Fairchild Channel F controller is near the top of the scale. Some genius decided it would be a neat idea to put a joystick on top of a handheld device, which is then controlled by the player's thumb. Note that it's a joystick, not a thumbstick. The joystick was stiff, oversized, and imprecise. Add to that the fact that players were also required to push in the joystick as a button, also using their thumb, and you're with a controller that really should've come with a health hazard warning against repetitive strain injury. It's a shame, because the Fairchild Channel F was a promising console at the time, and the first to make use of a microprocessor. Unfortunately, it was quickly overtaken in the market by its competitors, presumably in large part to its sadistic controller design.
