With the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, Nintendo propelled itself into the console market, and a new era of video gaming was born. Since then Nintendo controllers have gone through drastic transformations to evolve into the controller we see in-stores today. This is the Evolution of Nintendo Controllers! Nintendo was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889 and it took them almost a century before they released their first gaming console in 1976, the Color TV-Game 6. Two years later the Color TV-Game 15 was launched and with it came the first Nintendo controllers. These were extremely simple, and players could only turn the dial to control the screen paddles in game. Just like the controllers, the games were also very simple. But then Nintendo released the Famicom in 1983. It was a controller that revolutionized console gaming. It had an A, B, Start and select button, and it had a D-Pad. This controller allowed for many more options and this led to a series of amazing franchises, including the Legend of Zelda Final Fantasy Castlevania and of course Mario. The original Famicom model featured two game controllers, with the second controller lacking the “Start” and “Select” button, but weirdly enough it added a microphone. The microphone was meant for games to use as a fun feature, but only very few used it. One of the few was the Legend of Zelda where some enemies could be killed by using the microphone. Nintendo adjusted the controller slightly by changing the “A” and “B” buttons from soft squared to round hard buttons, because of wear issues and glitches in hardware which occasionally led to games freezing. While the Famicom was targeted towards the Japanese market, a differently looking version was made for the American market, known as the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES. While the design was changed, the controllers were basically the same. Nintendo released a cost-reduced version of the NES in 1993. The controller wasn’t bricklike shaped like the original, but more rounded and thus looked more like it’s successor. Fun Fact The D-Pad was revolutionary for video game controllers. Nintendo had patented their D-pad design and later achieved a Emmy Award for it. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1990. The controller added a rounded shape which was more comfortable. It also added “X” and “Y” buttons and two shoulder buttons. This gave players more options when playing games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Super Metroid And Super Mario World. While the SNES replaced the NES, the Famicom was replaced by the Super Famicom. Yet again these controllers were the same except for the design. The SNES controller created a blueprint for many controllers we see today. Several later consoles derive design elements from the SNES, including the PlayStation Controller, which is almost identical except it added
two handles and shoulder buttons. But also the Xbox and the Dreamcast controller were clearly inspired by the SNES controller. However, along with Nintendo’s massive wins
in the world of console gaming, came a catastrophic loss in 1995 when Nintendo released the Virtual Boy. The Virtual boy was a 32-bit video game console with a head mounted display. The controller has a very different design compared to its predecessor. It had 4 surface buttons, two D-pads, two shoulder buttons and it added two handles. This controller had more buttons to be able to play games in a 3D space. Nintendo boasted that the Virtual Boy was the first video-game console to display stereoscopic 3D graphics. The console only displayed games in Black and Red, rather than all the colorful games in previous Nintendo consoles. The unattractive black and red games, among other reasons already discussed in the Evolution of Nintendo, led to the Virtual Boy becoming a huge commercial failure. Fun Fact Nintendo’s website has a history section, that includes information about each console… Well… except for the Virtual Boy. I guess they try to forget this console. In 1996 the Nintendo 64 was released, and with it came the fifth generation Nintendo controller. This has to be one of the weirdest designs ever made for a controller. It featured ten buttons, a D-pad and it was one of the first controllers to have an analog stick. The analog stick was an important feature of the controller, especially for 3D games. At the time Nintendo was working on Mario 64. A Nintendo programmer stated that: The M-shape of the controller
was designed to be held in different positions. Nintendo of America’s lead designer, Lance Barr, said that design studies revealed that This led to a controller that had to be held in 3 different positions. First there was the conventional way. Players could use the D-pad, right face buttons and the shoulder buttons. This style was intended to optimize play in 2D games, like Yoshi’s Story And Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards The second way could be used to use the control stick, the right hand buttons and shoulder button and the Z trigger on the rear. This style was the most common way to hold an N64 controller, since it was intended for 3D games, including Super Mario 64 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Kazooie. And finally, users could hold the control stick, D-pad, left shoulder button and Z trigger. This is by far the least common way to hold an N64 controller. This setup could be used in GoldenEye 007 or first person shooters such as Perfect Dark. Generally speaking though games required
players to switch hand positions, which made it a very controversial controller. In 1997 the Rumble Pak was released which is an accessory for the Nintendo 64 controller that provides force feedback while playing games. Launched in 2001, the Nintendo GameCube came with an improved controller. Learning from prior mistakes, Nintendo eradicated the 3rd handle and switched to a more classic design. Just like the Xbox and PlayStation controllers it features two analog sticks for more control. This controller made it possible for players to enjoy titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee Mario Kart: Double Dash Super Mario Sunshine And the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The GameCube controller also has a built-in rumble motor that provides haptic feedback. While it isn’t as advanced as the haptic feedback in the PlayStation 5 controller, it was still well received. The controller was sold in different colors, including “Jet Black”, “Platinum”, “spice” and an emerald and white version, the latter two were only available in Japan. There were also some limited editions, like a Mario, Luigi and Wario design. These could only be purchased with points through Club Nintendo, which was a customer loyalty program in Japan. In 2002 Nintendo released their first wireless controller, known as the WaveBird. It took Xbox another 3 years before they launched their first wireless controller for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation even 4 years before they released the wireless controller for the PlayStation 3 known as the Sixaxis. Nintendo went back to the drawing board to develop
something the world had never seen before. The Wii was released in 2006 and with it came the Wii remote. While it still features a few buttons and a D-pad the Wii remote was completely different from
any other controller due to its motion controls. This led to a wide variety of games that used the innovative
and unique technology of the Wii, including Wii Sports Mario Kart Wii The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess And New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The standard iteration of the controller was split into two separate units, the Wii remote and the Nunchuck. The Nunchuck resembles a weapon named the nunchaku, hence the name. The Nunchuck features an analog stick and two trigger buttons. In 2006 Nintendo introduced the Classic Controller, which looks a lot like the SNES controller, but it adds two analog sticks and shoulder buttons. Not all games could be played with the controller, but many games including Castlevania Judgment and GoldenEye 007 could still be enjoyed with the controller. A huge selling-point for the Classic controller was that it could be used with various SNES and N64 titles, making it a must-have for classic video game lovers. The Wii became a massive success and even outsold the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. In late 2012 the Wii U was released. The system’s primary controller is the Wii U GamePad. It features a 6.2 inch touchscreen, directional buttons, analog sticks and action buttons. The screen could be used as a supplement to the main display or as the main screen. Games that could be played on it were Mario Kart 8 Super Mario 3D World And The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker that was rereleased in HD. Nintendo released the Wii-U Pro as an alternative controller in order to appeal to more hardcore gamers. The design resembles the Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Despite best attempts, the Wii U was a commercial failure. Nintendo went back to the drawing board, and yet again designed an unique console, the Nintendo Switch in 2017. The switch could be played as a handheld or as a home console. The joycons are the controllers of the Switch, and have motion controls, which could be used in games like Arms Splatoon 2 Or Ringfit by attaching the joycons to a wheel. The controllers can also be attached onto a charging grip. This makes it more like a conventional controller. For players that wanted an even more conventional controller there was also the Pro Controller. The Switch allowed players to enjoy many great titles, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Pokémon Sword and Shield and of course The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo also announced the Nintendo Switch OLED model. As the name suggests it features a 7 inch OLED display, which is larger than the original. The joycons are the same except they’re in white. So there it is, from the Color TV-Game 15 all the way to the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo sure had its fair share of hits and misses over the years. Nonetheless the company keeps improving and innovating their controllers, so I’m very curious to see how their controllers will continue to evolve. How do you think they could be improved even further? Let us know in the comments. Special thanks to all the Patreon supporters!
