Nintendohas always been interested in the ways that usersinterfacewith the worlds inside games. They see games as being more about the player’s physical presence than an effort to make the player disappear into the game, and their controller designs reflect this philosophy.
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Nintendo has contributed a number ofgreat innovationsto player control over the decades, from direction controls to button inputs. The company is so bent on innovation that almost all of its controllers are different from one another, each one a bizarre and sometimes grotesque mutation, but each alsotelling its own story. But which controller rules them all? Let’s examine each console’s main controller hardware and find out. We are counting only thecontrollersbundled asstandardwith eachNintendo system, and each one will be examined with the corresponding era in mind.
Miyamoto indicated thatthe Wii U Gamepad would have added an additional $100 to the retail price. Unfortunately, even Nintendo couldn’t come up with a use for theGamePadthat made the RRP appealing.The games that center most around the gimmick—likeNintendo Land,Game & Wario, andStar FoxZero—received mediocre reviews. One of the best uses of the GamePad wasZombie U, and even that was because the developers recognized that shifting one’s gaze was inherently a detriment and used it as a challenge in the gameplay.ZeldaproducerEiji Aonuma similarly later admitted the feature was abandoned for Breath of the Wild because it proved during development to be distracting.
While the GamePad successfullyminimized lagto its screen, second screen mechanics were already viable enough through widely available smart devices. And even so, the functionality hasn’t been put to much use on PlayStation or Xbox consoles, and the Switch doesn’t support the feature at all.Hardly the gamechangerit was hoped to be.
6. Nintendo GameCube Controller: Reincarnating Electronics
A disadvantage of the GC controller is that it wasn’t on par with its competition in terms of number of inputs. It lacked a left shoulder button, only featuring one on the right calledZ. Its two sticks weren’t clickable, and it hadno Selectbutton next toStart/Pause. Having four less buttons was one of the aspects that madecross-platform titles difficultto port over. Sometimes strangeness is a strength of Nintendo, but sometimes it’s a weakness.
In 2001, however, pressure-sensitive analog triggers, such as L2 and R2 on the DualShock 2, were relatively new. TheGameCube’s controller prominently sported this feature, which proved useful inprecisionandfunctionality. Strangely, after the GameCube, Nintendo abandoned detection of multiple degrees of pressure in its consoles’ controllers, and the company hasn’t looked back since.
5. Wii Remote: Looks Like A Channel Changer, Plays Like A Gamechanger
The shape of aTV remotecombined with the simplicity ofone big buttonwas so intuitive that anyone with any techno-literacy could grasp it.Reggie Fils-Aime’s successful campaign for Wii Sports to be packed inwith the console provided a definitive proof of concept, and anew fadwas in full force.
However, the comparative lack of inputs caused a shoehorning in of motion controls where digital input was more practical, andthird-party titles were absent or compromised—partially due to theunconventional natureof the controllers.
4. Nintendo 64 Controller:Hard Mode For Holding Things
Named theControl Stick, the Nintendo 64’s thumbstick allowed 360 degrees of character/cursor movement.Miyamoto originally considered the first 3D Super Mario game for release on the SNES, but he moved it to theN64primarily because of its controller. Launching with the system,SuperMario64came to define what the N64 was all about—multidirectional freedomin fully3D environments. Without such an appropriate input method, it is doubtful that the console would have claimed its codename ofProject Reality. The importance of analog control right at your thumb tip still remains king. When it comes to thecounterintuitive three-pronged design, that’s a different story.
3. NES Controller: Making Rectangles Fun
More than just a stick with a single button, theNEScontroller came todefine every console madesince its inception. The + Control Pad, often called the directional pad or d-pad, was popularized on home consoles by theNES. Some Game & Watch units previously integrated it, but the NES truly illustrated its versatility. As far as digital movement in games was concerned, theD-pad was the future. The controller’s Start and Select buttons were handy enough to have remained in some form for over three decades, andthe classic A and B face buttonshave featured on all of Nintendo’s consoles since. However, the design wasoverly geometric. Thesharp cornersweren’t a good idea then and they aren’t a good idea now.
2. Joy-Con: Drifting Redefined
TheNintendo Switch’sJoy-Con controllersare essentially a full realization of the two-handed concept innovated for the Wii. The important difference, however, issymmetry, both between Joy-Con-L and Joy-Con-R and with other platforms’ controllers.Nothing is compromisedin number of inputs. Motion control is still present but not required, providingthe best of both worlds.
The Joy-Con’s trueUSP(unique selling point) comes in the form of theirversatility: they can be usedverticallyorhorizontally, byoneormultiple players, and independent from each other or connected together in the same grip. The fact that two-player support is granted out of the box with the standard Switch didn’t hurt either. Theirsmall sizeandpoor reliability, however, prevent the Joy-Con from taking the crown.
1. Super NES Controller: Curvy Perfection
While manufacturers still struggle to create the ideal controller for 3D gaming, the Super Nintendo controller represents theGolden Age of 2D. TheSNEScontroller didn’t even innovate as much as itrefined, but its design is the mostenduringof any Nintendo controller. Squint at any modern controller and you will see the SNES pad. Its shoulder buttons andfour-button diamond-shaped layouthave been with us since the SNES first brought them in. We didn’t have analogue input, vibration, or microphones back then, but as far as the 2D era is concerned, the Super Nintendo’s controller was theultimate archetype.
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