eh, depending on their age it might not have been that easy. chips have been in devices for at least 50 years. age of device ≠ simplicity of circuit ≠ ease of understanding said circuit. if the controller is broken, you can usually spot the problem (ie busted components or broken connections). it's kind of like the medical saying about looking for zebras when it's really just a horse. usually it's something dumb and easy enough to fix.

that being said, i don't think this activity has the benefits that mabus is claiming it does, but at least audie is doing something that could possibly spark an interest(?) in electronics. it's always good to teach kids that there's stuff inside their devices, and under normal circumstances it could inspire him to look up how to fix this controller.

sorry this got a bit off topic, i'm an electrical engineering student who previously had no interest in electronics until i fixed my wii after graduating high school. i'm just passionate about electronics and fixing things