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Nintendo's original controller idea for the NES used a joystick instead of a d-pad

Take control!
by rawmeatcowboy
03 March 2020
GN Version 5.0

The NES revolutionized the game industry in countless ways, and gaming is still feeling the effects of Nintendo's early success. One of the many decisions that still reverberates through the industry was the decision to use a d-pad as the directional input method on the NES controller. A d-pad has since become a standard feature of almost all controllers, no matter what company makes the hardware. That's what makes it so odd to think the d-pad almost didn't happen!

In an interview with Nintendo Life, NES creator Masayuki Uemura said the original prototype for the NES controller used a joystick instead of a d-pad. Read below to see why Uemura decided to move away from this input method.

I started with the famous joystick type. We developed a lot, all kinds. One of the crucial points that we realised is that after kids might step on the joystick, then the knob will break. I tried to use a material which is not breakable, and that is very expensive.

One of the reasons we could get into the directional pad like a Game & Watch was because the Game & Watch division was right next to us, so it was easy to have them bring over the device and then check it. For a while, we worked on a joystick type of controller, but it didn’t work. But we only had this pad type of design for the Game & Watch, so we just put it onto our device just as a test, and it worked well, so we decided to use it.

While Nintendo went with a d-pad as the input method of choice on the NES, the company also released the NES Advantage, which you can see above. It was an official first party joystick controller for the NES for those who wanted a more arcade-style experience. You have to wonder if they released the Advantage to realize their original idea for the NES controller!

[Link]