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A very important component to any videogame console nowadays is the design of its control pad.
It’s amazing to see how far games have gone in the last decade or so, but control pad innovation has also moved along at a steady pace to keep up with the games.
A few years ago, the design of a control pad might have taken a back seat to the design of the actual hardware, but now, the controller is just as instrumental in the success of a console.
Atari showed such little attention to the design of its Jaguar controller, that they actually let monkeys design it using paper and crayons and look how badly that console turned out.
The control pads for the newer systems have hundreds of prototypes and design plans. Shigeru Miyamoto was still redesigning and tinkering with the GC controller up until the last possible time before it had to go into mass production.
So a good controller is very important.
I still remember ‘back in the old days’, playing with the Atari 2600 joysticks. They were clunky rubber sticks together with a single orange button, needless to say, the stick sensitivity wasn’t too precise, and you’d end up with severe arm ache if you played for over half an hour because the sticks were so stiff.
I also had (and have still got in the cupboard somewhere…) one of those old Pong consoles, where you had to use the ‘button’, ‘knob’ type thingy (not sure what the correct term for that controller was!).
Then there were the days of playing the old Spectrum games using only a keyboard; gamers now have it easy in controlling games with the brilliant selection of pads to use. (Do I sound like an old fart or what!!)
It wasn’t till I got the NES that I first experienced an actual control pad. The cross key, the A & B buttons, and Start & Select buttons were a very strange concept to me as I’d only been used to keyboards or crappy joysticks in the years previous.
Though I still have fond memories of the NES controller, it was a fairly angular product, with no smooth edges, but I guess it was all we had at the time.
Then I got the SNES. Classic games combined with a great control pad to make the SNES years a truly wondrous time for gaming. We had new shoulder buttons, and X & Y buttons, giving games a slightly more complex nature as having more button functions allowed for more special moves etc in games, rather than the basic two button NES set-up.
Although the technical innovations weren’t a great leap from the NES pad, it did have smoother edges making it sit more comfortably in the player’s hand.
The PSOne controller didn’t really add much more onto control pad innovation, Sony just decided to add a couple of extra shoulder buttons and hoped nobody would notice the amazing similarity between their pad and the SNES one.
The N64 pad is without a doubt the best controller in videogame history so far.
It fitted perfectly into the hand, had an easily reachable Z-Trigger situated at the bottom ideal for a shoot attack in FPS games, and had an absolutely PERFECT analogue stick.
Playing Mario 64 for the first time was an amazing experience, partly because the game was so darn good, but also because the stick was so great to use. Touch the stick lightly applying slight pressure and Mario would slowly creep and tiptoe, push the stick harder and his tubby butt would run quicker.
However, the N64 pad didn’t have a great D-pad, it was slightly clunky, causing the console to lack some decent beat ‘em ups, but it didn’t really matter as 3D games were all the rage now using the analogue stick and the D-pad was a thing of the past.
Sony, again at the forefront of innovation (after Nintendo;)) decided to incorporate an analogue feature on its new PSOne controller, only they decided that the more the better, and added two.
However, the twin analogue sticks of the PSOne & PS2 pads were and still are absolutely ATROCIOUS.
The sticks just don’t work as they move too easily and are not ‘stiff’ enough. Though the PSOne & PS2 pads lacked good analogue precision, they did feature an excellent rumble feature.
Again, following on form Nintendo’s lead; Sony incorporated the rumble feature in its pad. The N64 rumble pack wasn’t too great as it was fairly heavy and constantly required more battery power.
Sony’s rumble feature didn’t use batteries, and proved a great success in many games.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, Silent Hill 1 & 2 and many other games just wouldn’t have been the same without this excellent feature.
Oh and don’t forget the analogue buttons on the PS2 pad…all talk and no trousers, as there really isn’t much of a difference how hard you press the buttons.
The Dreamcast was a great machine, which sadly didn’t last as long as it should have done. Despite not previously being a big fan of Sega (which is why I haven’t written about the Master System & Megadrive pads as I didn’t have them) I did like the Dreamcast.
I actually think the DC pad was almost as good as the N64 one; the stick was pretty good, the D-pad was ok, but it was the analogue triggers that were a big success.
Using those triggers to accelerate and break in MSR was perfect, and allowed for amazing precision.
Though (again) it was Nintendo who first introduced the idea of memory cards fitting into the control pad, it was Sega’s VMU which improved the idea.
The tiny VMU, together with its mini screen, was a great little device. Although needing batteries like the N64 rumble pack, it was a great feature for a pad. Being able to look down at the unit whilst playing a game was cool, and seeing things like punches landed & hit percentage in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, or tactics screens in American Football games, was a really original feature.
I haven’t had an extensive enough test on the Xbox or Gamecube controllers yet, so I can’t really give my humble verdict on them, but they both look great.
We’ve has some pretty lame control pads in the past, the Powerglove was naff and many other third party pads have not been great.
There’s even a third party GC pad with a built in keyboard specifically designed for Phantasy Star Online, which looks rather interesting.
So what’s the future for the humble control pad?
More buttons.....maybe six shoulder buttons or four analogue sticks?
Better wireless features like the Gamecube’s Wavebird, eliminating the need for those REALLY annoying wires (they always manage to tie themselves in knots don’t they!)
Maybe some sort of cerebral/brain add on thingy that plugs directly into the brain?
Only time will tell, but I bet Miyamoto san already has a few designs drawn up for the next Nintendo consoles control pad.......
It’s amazing to see how far games have gone in the last decade or so, but control pad innovation has also moved along at a steady pace to keep up with the games.
A few years ago, the design of a control pad might have taken a back seat to the design of the actual hardware, but now, the controller is just as instrumental in the success of a console.
Atari showed such little attention to the design of its Jaguar controller, that they actually let monkeys design it using paper and crayons and look how badly that console turned out.
The control pads for the newer systems have hundreds of prototypes and design plans. Shigeru Miyamoto was still redesigning and tinkering with the GC controller up until the last possible time before it had to go into mass production.
So a good controller is very important.
I still remember ‘back in the old days’, playing with the Atari 2600 joysticks. They were clunky rubber sticks together with a single orange button, needless to say, the stick sensitivity wasn’t too precise, and you’d end up with severe arm ache if you played for over half an hour because the sticks were so stiff.
I also had (and have still got in the cupboard somewhere…) one of those old Pong consoles, where you had to use the ‘button’, ‘knob’ type thingy (not sure what the correct term for that controller was!).
Then there were the days of playing the old Spectrum games using only a keyboard; gamers now have it easy in controlling games with the brilliant selection of pads to use. (Do I sound like an old fart or what!!)
It wasn’t till I got the NES that I first experienced an actual control pad. The cross key, the A & B buttons, and Start & Select buttons were a very strange concept to me as I’d only been used to keyboards or crappy joysticks in the years previous.
Though I still have fond memories of the NES controller, it was a fairly angular product, with no smooth edges, but I guess it was all we had at the time.
Then I got the SNES. Classic games combined with a great control pad to make the SNES years a truly wondrous time for gaming. We had new shoulder buttons, and X & Y buttons, giving games a slightly more complex nature as having more button functions allowed for more special moves etc in games, rather than the basic two button NES set-up.
Although the technical innovations weren’t a great leap from the NES pad, it did have smoother edges making it sit more comfortably in the player’s hand.
The PSOne controller didn’t really add much more onto control pad innovation, Sony just decided to add a couple of extra shoulder buttons and hoped nobody would notice the amazing similarity between their pad and the SNES one.
The N64 pad is without a doubt the best controller in videogame history so far.
It fitted perfectly into the hand, had an easily reachable Z-Trigger situated at the bottom ideal for a shoot attack in FPS games, and had an absolutely PERFECT analogue stick.
Playing Mario 64 for the first time was an amazing experience, partly because the game was so darn good, but also because the stick was so great to use. Touch the stick lightly applying slight pressure and Mario would slowly creep and tiptoe, push the stick harder and his tubby butt would run quicker.
However, the N64 pad didn’t have a great D-pad, it was slightly clunky, causing the console to lack some decent beat ‘em ups, but it didn’t really matter as 3D games were all the rage now using the analogue stick and the D-pad was a thing of the past.
Sony, again at the forefront of innovation (after Nintendo;)) decided to incorporate an analogue feature on its new PSOne controller, only they decided that the more the better, and added two.
However, the twin analogue sticks of the PSOne & PS2 pads were and still are absolutely ATROCIOUS.
The sticks just don’t work as they move too easily and are not ‘stiff’ enough. Though the PSOne & PS2 pads lacked good analogue precision, they did feature an excellent rumble feature.
Again, following on form Nintendo’s lead; Sony incorporated the rumble feature in its pad. The N64 rumble pack wasn’t too great as it was fairly heavy and constantly required more battery power.
Sony’s rumble feature didn’t use batteries, and proved a great success in many games.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, Silent Hill 1 & 2 and many other games just wouldn’t have been the same without this excellent feature.
Oh and don’t forget the analogue buttons on the PS2 pad…all talk and no trousers, as there really isn’t much of a difference how hard you press the buttons.
The Dreamcast was a great machine, which sadly didn’t last as long as it should have done. Despite not previously being a big fan of Sega (which is why I haven’t written about the Master System & Megadrive pads as I didn’t have them) I did like the Dreamcast.
I actually think the DC pad was almost as good as the N64 one; the stick was pretty good, the D-pad was ok, but it was the analogue triggers that were a big success.
Using those triggers to accelerate and break in MSR was perfect, and allowed for amazing precision.
Though (again) it was Nintendo who first introduced the idea of memory cards fitting into the control pad, it was Sega’s VMU which improved the idea.
The tiny VMU, together with its mini screen, was a great little device. Although needing batteries like the N64 rumble pack, it was a great feature for a pad. Being able to look down at the unit whilst playing a game was cool, and seeing things like punches landed & hit percentage in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, or tactics screens in American Football games, was a really original feature.
I haven’t had an extensive enough test on the Xbox or Gamecube controllers yet, so I can’t really give my humble verdict on them, but they both look great.
We’ve has some pretty lame control pads in the past, the Powerglove was naff and many other third party pads have not been great.
There’s even a third party GC pad with a built in keyboard specifically designed for Phantasy Star Online, which looks rather interesting.
So what’s the future for the humble control pad?
More buttons.....maybe six shoulder buttons or four analogue sticks?
Better wireless features like the Gamecube’s Wavebird, eliminating the need for those REALLY annoying wires (they always manage to tie themselves in knots don’t they!)
Maybe some sort of cerebral/brain add on thingy that plugs directly into the brain?
Only time will tell, but I bet Miyamoto san already has a few designs drawn up for the next Nintendo consoles control pad.......
*Hands tissue to Protoss and tells him to get the F!ck off of his knees*
My two favorite controllers are the N64 controller and the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro.
My two favorite controllers are the N64 controller and the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro.
DAMN YOU TO HELL!
I was going to do a topic on controllers!
Yesterday I though ''right, a topic on controllers! No one done that yet!'' but how I was wrong.
*sob*
I was going to do a topic on controllers!
Yesterday I though ''right, a topic on controllers! No one done that yet!'' but how I was wrong.
*sob*
Monkey_With_Attitude wrote:
> Thing is, that damn stick kept going all crusty with white powder and
> sometimes, when used alot, felt a tad 'broken'.
Yes, I too experienced the crusty white muck. I think it's a mixture of sweat & dirt that mixes together to form that little mucky concoction.
I also get it alot on the PSOne & PS2 controllers in the little crack/groove at the side of the pad.
I guess my hands just sweat too much when playing games :)
> Thing is, that damn stick kept going all crusty with white powder and
> sometimes, when used alot, felt a tad 'broken'.
Yes, I too experienced the crusty white muck. I think it's a mixture of sweat & dirt that mixes together to form that little mucky concoction.
I also get it alot on the PSOne & PS2 controllers in the little crack/groove at the side of the pad.
I guess my hands just sweat too much when playing games :)
I personally prefer the more-realistic controllers, like light guns and dance mats. But, the N64 controller is the best I've ever used, followed closely by PS2s controller. The only downfall about PS2s controller is the fact that it is too small for my hands.
I've always found that D-Pads work brilliant for beat-'em-up's. How many PC Beat-'em-up's do you see? Not many.
The directional arrows on keyboards gives you very little chance of properly using them for beat-'em-up's. The problem is how they're positioned. There's a row of three directions; left, down and right. Then at the top above down is the up direction. Try playing a Killer Instinct ROM on a PC, it proves damn difficult. It because you can't seem to pull off quarter-circle's and half-circles. On D-Pads you could slide you finger across from down to right or left to down to right, but that was because they were positioned in a circle formation, whereas on a PC it's more like a triangle, that's why consoles of the 90's have been a lot more popular with beat-'em-up's.
Great post Totoro, nice subject to tackle ;-)
The directional arrows on keyboards gives you very little chance of properly using them for beat-'em-up's. The problem is how they're positioned. There's a row of three directions; left, down and right. Then at the top above down is the up direction. Try playing a Killer Instinct ROM on a PC, it proves damn difficult. It because you can't seem to pull off quarter-circle's and half-circles. On D-Pads you could slide you finger across from down to right or left to down to right, but that was because they were positioned in a circle formation, whereas on a PC it's more like a triangle, that's why consoles of the 90's have been a lot more popular with beat-'em-up's.
Great post Totoro, nice subject to tackle ;-)
Hold on, I hated the N64 pad.
Actually, in a sense I loved it as I seemed to be the only one who held it dementedly but it was a cool pad. Simple aswell :-)
Thing is, that damn stick kept going all crusty with white powder and sometimes, when used alot, felt a tad 'broken'. Esspically when you were expected to whack it around like a maniac trying to throw Bowser in Mario 64.
The way I held it was like the way you would hold it if you were using the D-Pad but actually using the stick. I'd then use one of my back fingers on my right hand for the Z Trigger. Wierd. I felt like the only one who held it like that. Everyone else was normal and gripped around the two right handles.
I still ruled the N64 though.
Actually, in a sense I loved it as I seemed to be the only one who held it dementedly but it was a cool pad. Simple aswell :-)
Thing is, that damn stick kept going all crusty with white powder and sometimes, when used alot, felt a tad 'broken'. Esspically when you were expected to whack it around like a maniac trying to throw Bowser in Mario 64.
The way I held it was like the way you would hold it if you were using the D-Pad but actually using the stick. I'd then use one of my back fingers on my right hand for the Z Trigger. Wierd. I felt like the only one who held it like that. Everyone else was normal and gripped around the two right handles.
I still ruled the N64 though.
Small Frog wrote:
> *cough* keyboard and mouse combination *cough*
Yes, the keyboard and mouse combo works great for FPS games on the PC. Having recently played Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Medal Of Honor Allied Assault, Jedi Knight 2 etc, I might find it difficult to go back and play a FPS on a console without the keyboard & mouse.
> *cough* keyboard and mouse combination *cough*
Yes, the keyboard and mouse combo works great for FPS games on the PC. Having recently played Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Medal Of Honor Allied Assault, Jedi Knight 2 etc, I might find it difficult to go back and play a FPS on a console without the keyboard & mouse.
*cough* keyboard and mouse combination *cough*
A very important component to any videogame console nowadays is the design of its control pad.
It’s amazing to see how far games have gone in the last decade or so, but control pad innovation has also moved along at a steady pace to keep up with the games.
A few years ago, the design of a control pad might have taken a back seat to the design of the actual hardware, but now, the controller is just as instrumental in the success of a console.
Atari showed such little attention to the design of its Jaguar controller, that they actually let monkeys design it using paper and crayons and look how badly that console turned out.
The control pads for the newer systems have hundreds of prototypes and design plans. Shigeru Miyamoto was still redesigning and tinkering with the GC controller up until the last possible time before it had to go into mass production.
So a good controller is very important.
I still remember ‘back in the old days’, playing with the Atari 2600 joysticks. They were clunky rubber sticks together with a single orange button, needless to say, the stick sensitivity wasn’t too precise, and you’d end up with severe arm ache if you played for over half an hour because the sticks were so stiff.
I also had (and have still got in the cupboard somewhere…) one of those old Pong consoles, where you had to use the ‘button’, ‘knob’ type thingy (not sure what the correct term for that controller was!).
Then there were the days of playing the old Spectrum games using only a keyboard; gamers now have it easy in controlling games with the brilliant selection of pads to use. (Do I sound like an old fart or what!!)
It wasn’t till I got the NES that I first experienced an actual control pad. The cross key, the A & B buttons, and Start & Select buttons were a very strange concept to me as I’d only been used to keyboards or crappy joysticks in the years previous.
Though I still have fond memories of the NES controller, it was a fairly angular product, with no smooth edges, but I guess it was all we had at the time.
Then I got the SNES. Classic games combined with a great control pad to make the SNES years a truly wondrous time for gaming. We had new shoulder buttons, and X & Y buttons, giving games a slightly more complex nature as having more button functions allowed for more special moves etc in games, rather than the basic two button NES set-up.
Although the technical innovations weren’t a great leap from the NES pad, it did have smoother edges making it sit more comfortably in the player’s hand.
The PSOne controller didn’t really add much more onto control pad innovation, Sony just decided to add a couple of extra shoulder buttons and hoped nobody would notice the amazing similarity between their pad and the SNES one.
The N64 pad is without a doubt the best controller in videogame history so far.
It fitted perfectly into the hand, had an easily reachable Z-Trigger situated at the bottom ideal for a shoot attack in FPS games, and had an absolutely PERFECT analogue stick.
Playing Mario 64 for the first time was an amazing experience, partly because the game was so darn good, but also because the stick was so great to use. Touch the stick lightly applying slight pressure and Mario would slowly creep and tiptoe, push the stick harder and his tubby butt would run quicker.
However, the N64 pad didn’t have a great D-pad, it was slightly clunky, causing the console to lack some decent beat ‘em ups, but it didn’t really matter as 3D games were all the rage now using the analogue stick and the D-pad was a thing of the past.
Sony, again at the forefront of innovation (after Nintendo;)) decided to incorporate an analogue feature on its new PSOne controller, only they decided that the more the better, and added two.
However, the twin analogue sticks of the PSOne & PS2 pads were and still are absolutely ATROCIOUS.
The sticks just don’t work as they move too easily and are not ‘stiff’ enough. Though the PSOne & PS2 pads lacked good analogue precision, they did feature an excellent rumble feature.
Again, following on form Nintendo’s lead; Sony incorporated the rumble feature in its pad. The N64 rumble pack wasn’t too great as it was fairly heavy and constantly required more battery power.
Sony’s rumble feature didn’t use batteries, and proved a great success in many games.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, Silent Hill 1 & 2 and many other games just wouldn’t have been the same without this excellent feature.
Oh and don’t forget the analogue buttons on the PS2 pad…all talk and no trousers, as there really isn’t much of a difference how hard you press the buttons.
The Dreamcast was a great machine, which sadly didn’t last as long as it should have done. Despite not previously being a big fan of Sega (which is why I haven’t written about the Master System & Megadrive pads as I didn’t have them) I did like the Dreamcast.
I actually think the DC pad was almost as good as the N64 one; the stick was pretty good, the D-pad was ok, but it was the analogue triggers that were a big success.
Using those triggers to accelerate and break in MSR was perfect, and allowed for amazing precision.
Though (again) it was Nintendo who first introduced the idea of memory cards fitting into the control pad, it was Sega’s VMU which improved the idea.
The tiny VMU, together with its mini screen, was a great little device. Although needing batteries like the N64 rumble pack, it was a great feature for a pad. Being able to look down at the unit whilst playing a game was cool, and seeing things like punches landed & hit percentage in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, or tactics screens in American Football games, was a really original feature.
I haven’t had an extensive enough test on the Xbox or Gamecube controllers yet, so I can’t really give my humble verdict on them, but they both look great.
We’ve has some pretty lame control pads in the past, the Powerglove was naff and many other third party pads have not been great.
There’s even a third party GC pad with a built in keyboard specifically designed for Phantasy Star Online, which looks rather interesting.
So what’s the future for the humble control pad?
More buttons.....maybe six shoulder buttons or four analogue sticks?
Better wireless features like the Gamecube’s Wavebird, eliminating the need for those REALLY annoying wires (they always manage to tie themselves in knots don’t they!)
Maybe some sort of cerebral/brain add on thingy that plugs directly into the brain?
Only time will tell, but I bet Miyamoto san already has a few designs drawn up for the next Nintendo consoles control pad.......
It’s amazing to see how far games have gone in the last decade or so, but control pad innovation has also moved along at a steady pace to keep up with the games.
A few years ago, the design of a control pad might have taken a back seat to the design of the actual hardware, but now, the controller is just as instrumental in the success of a console.
Atari showed such little attention to the design of its Jaguar controller, that they actually let monkeys design it using paper and crayons and look how badly that console turned out.
The control pads for the newer systems have hundreds of prototypes and design plans. Shigeru Miyamoto was still redesigning and tinkering with the GC controller up until the last possible time before it had to go into mass production.
So a good controller is very important.
I still remember ‘back in the old days’, playing with the Atari 2600 joysticks. They were clunky rubber sticks together with a single orange button, needless to say, the stick sensitivity wasn’t too precise, and you’d end up with severe arm ache if you played for over half an hour because the sticks were so stiff.
I also had (and have still got in the cupboard somewhere…) one of those old Pong consoles, where you had to use the ‘button’, ‘knob’ type thingy (not sure what the correct term for that controller was!).
Then there were the days of playing the old Spectrum games using only a keyboard; gamers now have it easy in controlling games with the brilliant selection of pads to use. (Do I sound like an old fart or what!!)
It wasn’t till I got the NES that I first experienced an actual control pad. The cross key, the A & B buttons, and Start & Select buttons were a very strange concept to me as I’d only been used to keyboards or crappy joysticks in the years previous.
Though I still have fond memories of the NES controller, it was a fairly angular product, with no smooth edges, but I guess it was all we had at the time.
Then I got the SNES. Classic games combined with a great control pad to make the SNES years a truly wondrous time for gaming. We had new shoulder buttons, and X & Y buttons, giving games a slightly more complex nature as having more button functions allowed for more special moves etc in games, rather than the basic two button NES set-up.
Although the technical innovations weren’t a great leap from the NES pad, it did have smoother edges making it sit more comfortably in the player’s hand.
The PSOne controller didn’t really add much more onto control pad innovation, Sony just decided to add a couple of extra shoulder buttons and hoped nobody would notice the amazing similarity between their pad and the SNES one.
The N64 pad is without a doubt the best controller in videogame history so far.
It fitted perfectly into the hand, had an easily reachable Z-Trigger situated at the bottom ideal for a shoot attack in FPS games, and had an absolutely PERFECT analogue stick.
Playing Mario 64 for the first time was an amazing experience, partly because the game was so darn good, but also because the stick was so great to use. Touch the stick lightly applying slight pressure and Mario would slowly creep and tiptoe, push the stick harder and his tubby butt would run quicker.
However, the N64 pad didn’t have a great D-pad, it was slightly clunky, causing the console to lack some decent beat ‘em ups, but it didn’t really matter as 3D games were all the rage now using the analogue stick and the D-pad was a thing of the past.
Sony, again at the forefront of innovation (after Nintendo;)) decided to incorporate an analogue feature on its new PSOne controller, only they decided that the more the better, and added two.
However, the twin analogue sticks of the PSOne & PS2 pads were and still are absolutely ATROCIOUS.
The sticks just don’t work as they move too easily and are not ‘stiff’ enough. Though the PSOne & PS2 pads lacked good analogue precision, they did feature an excellent rumble feature.
Again, following on form Nintendo’s lead; Sony incorporated the rumble feature in its pad. The N64 rumble pack wasn’t too great as it was fairly heavy and constantly required more battery power.
Sony’s rumble feature didn’t use batteries, and proved a great success in many games.
Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, Silent Hill 1 & 2 and many other games just wouldn’t have been the same without this excellent feature.
Oh and don’t forget the analogue buttons on the PS2 pad…all talk and no trousers, as there really isn’t much of a difference how hard you press the buttons.
The Dreamcast was a great machine, which sadly didn’t last as long as it should have done. Despite not previously being a big fan of Sega (which is why I haven’t written about the Master System & Megadrive pads as I didn’t have them) I did like the Dreamcast.
I actually think the DC pad was almost as good as the N64 one; the stick was pretty good, the D-pad was ok, but it was the analogue triggers that were a big success.
Using those triggers to accelerate and break in MSR was perfect, and allowed for amazing precision.
Though (again) it was Nintendo who first introduced the idea of memory cards fitting into the control pad, it was Sega’s VMU which improved the idea.
The tiny VMU, together with its mini screen, was a great little device. Although needing batteries like the N64 rumble pack, it was a great feature for a pad. Being able to look down at the unit whilst playing a game was cool, and seeing things like punches landed & hit percentage in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, or tactics screens in American Football games, was a really original feature.
I haven’t had an extensive enough test on the Xbox or Gamecube controllers yet, so I can’t really give my humble verdict on them, but they both look great.
We’ve has some pretty lame control pads in the past, the Powerglove was naff and many other third party pads have not been great.
There’s even a third party GC pad with a built in keyboard specifically designed for Phantasy Star Online, which looks rather interesting.
So what’s the future for the humble control pad?
More buttons.....maybe six shoulder buttons or four analogue sticks?
Better wireless features like the Gamecube’s Wavebird, eliminating the need for those REALLY annoying wires (they always manage to tie themselves in knots don’t they!)
Maybe some sort of cerebral/brain add on thingy that plugs directly into the brain?
Only time will tell, but I bet Miyamoto san already has a few designs drawn up for the next Nintendo consoles control pad.......