GoKawiilNintendo's 2002 WaveBird marked the start of mainstream wireless gaming controllers
Nintendo released the WaveBird controller for the GameCube in 2002, using 2.4GHz radio frequency technology to offer wireless play with a range of about 20 feet. It lacked rumble support to conserve battery life but ran for up to 100 hours on two AA batteries, and required a receiver plugged into the console paired via matching channel sliders.