Advanced Video System: The Nintendo Computer That Never Was
This is the Nintendo "Advanced Video System," a Famicom-era concept for a home computer shown at CES in 1985. (Aw, look at the cassette drive!)
If you don't see any wires at all, it's because the entire prototype was designed to communicate via infrared. With all the hassles we have with modern radio-based wireless peripherals, I can only imagine trying to build a system around infrared would have been much more frustrating for designers and end-users both.
I really like the look of the AVS—and not just because it looks like a NES. The abundance of right angles broken up only by the 45° cursor keys looks modern still. (In perhaps a retro-modern way!)
TechEBlog has a small gallery of images.
Feature: The Game Console Nintendo Never Released [Techeblog]
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Has every videogame to computer expander been vaporware or sucked? Atari and NES's were vaporware, Colecovision's was buggy to the point of unusability, I think Intellivision had a vaporware keyboard/console.
Were there ever any for later-generation systems? It seems like the best efforts have been by hackers, like the various XBOX mods.
I can only imagine trying to build a system around infrared would have been much more frustrating for designers and end-users both.
Not to mention extremely slow. I don't even want to guess what the bandwidth was.
I remember that the PCjr had and infrared keyboard and there were always alignment issues (it did run Turbo Pascal though).
Think about the number of batteries needed...
Cassette Drive in 1985!
Good lord what were they thinking? Did they not do any research? Heck all they had to do was talk to any Vic20 owner and they would have never let it go out on display without a floppy drive