Editing Gamepad (section)

== History ==
The 1962 video game ''[[Spacewar!]]'' initially used toggle switches built into the computer readout display to control the game. These switches were awkward and uncomfortable to use, so [[Alan Kotok]] and Bob Saunders built and wired in a detached control device for the game. This device has been called the earliest gamepad.<ref name="NGen17">{{cite magazine|date=May 1996|title=Get a Grip!!!: Joysticks Past, Present & Future|url=https://archive.org/details/Next-Generation-1996-05/page/n39|format=[[PDF]]|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=17|pages=34–42|access-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref>

===Entry into the mass market===
[[File:Nintendo-Entertainment-System-NES-Controller-FL.jpg|thumb|right|The [[NES controller]]]]It would take many years for the gamepad to rise to prominence, as during the 1970s and the early 1980s [[joystick]]s and [[paddle (game controller)|paddle]]s were the dominant video game controllers,<ref name="NGen17"/> though several [[Atari joystick port]]-compatible pushbutton controllers were also available.<ref>{{Citation | first1 = David H. | last1 = Ahl | author-link = David H. Ahl | first2 = Randi J. | last2 = Rost | author2-link = Randi J. Rost | title = Blisters And Frustration: Joysticks, Paddles, Buttons and Game Port Extenders for Apple, Atari and VIC | journal = Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 106ff | year = 1983 | url = http://www.atarimagazines.com/cva/v1n1/joysticks.php }}</ref> The [[third generation of video game consoles|third generation of video games]] saw many major changes, and the eminence of gamepads in the video game market.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

[[Nintendo]] developed a gamepad device for directional inputs, a D-pad with a "cross" design for their ''[[Donkey Kong (1981 video game)|Donkey Kong]]'' handheld game. This design would be incorporated into their "[[Game & Watch]]" series and console controllers such as the standard [[NES controller]]. Though developed because they were more compact than joysticks, and thus more appropriate for handheld games, D-pads were soon found by developers to be more comfortable to use than joysticks.<ref name="NGen17"/> The D-pad soon became a ubiquitous element on console gamepads, though to avoid infringing on Nintendo's patent, most controller manufacturers use a cross in a circle shape for the D-pad instead of a simple cross.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 1996|title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Joypad|url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-015/page/n35|format=[[PDF]]|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=15|page=35|access-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref>

===Continued refinements===
[[File:Sega-Genesis-6But-Cont.jpg|thumb|left|Six-button Genesis/Mega Drive controller that was released later]]The original [[Sega Genesis|Sega Genesis/Mega Drive]] control pad has three face buttons,<ref name="playstation's [https://www.gematsu.com/2010/08/playstations-iconic-face-buttons-explained face buttons] explained">{{cite web |title=face buttons |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2010/08/playstations-iconic-face-buttons-explained |website=Gematsu |date=26 August 2010 |publisher=sal romano |access-date=26 August 2010}}</ref> but a six-button pad was later released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.segagagadomain.com/hardware-mega/megadrive-6button.htm|title=6 Button Controller|publisher=segagagadomain.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170435/http://www.segagagadomain.com/hardware-mega/megadrive-6button.htm|archive-date=March 3, 2016|access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> The [[SNES controller]] also featured six action buttons, with four face buttons arranged in a diamond formation, and two shoulder buttons positioned to be used with the index fingers, a design which has been imitated by most controllers since. The inclusion of six action buttons was influenced by the popularity of the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' arcade series, which utilized six buttons.<ref>{{cite book| last=Ashcraft| first=Brian|title=Arcade Mania!: The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers|publisher=[[Kodansha]]|year=2008|page=192|isbn=978-4-7700-3078-8}}</ref>[[File:Super-Famicom-Controller.jpg|thumb|The [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES/Super Famicom]] gamepad (Japanese Super Famicom version is shown), which popularized the layout used by most modern gamepads]]For most of the 1980s and early 1990s, [[Analog stick|analog joysticks]] were the predominant form of gaming controller for PCs, while console gaming controllers were mostly digital.<ref name="NGen17"/> This changed in 1996 when all three major consoles introduced an optional analog control. The Sony [[Dual Analog Controller]] had twin convex analog thumbsticks, the [[Sega Saturn]] 3D Control Pad had a single analog thumbstick, and the [[Nintendo 64 controller]] combined digital and analog controllers in a single body, starting a trend to have both an analog stick and a d-pad.

Despite these changes, gamepads essentially continued to follow the template set by the NES controller (a horizontally-oriented controller with two or more action buttons positioned for use with the right thumb, and a directional pad positioned for use with the left thumb).<ref name="NGen17"/>

===Three-dimensional control===
[[File:Wii Remote Image.jpg|thumb|[[Wii Remote]] can also be played with two hands like a gamepad controller.]]Though three-dimensional games rose to prominence in the mid-1990s, controllers continued to mostly operate on two-dimensional principles. Players would have to hold down a button to change the axes along which the controls operate rather than being able to control movement along all three axes at once. One of the first gaming consoles, the [[Fairchild Channel F]], did have a controller which provided [[six degrees of freedom]], but the processing limitations of the console itself prevented there from being any software to take advantage of this ability.<ref name="NGen17" /> In 1994, [[Logitech]] introduced the CyberMan, the first practical six-degrees-of-freedom controller; however, it sold poorly due to its high price, poor build quality, and limited software support. Industry insiders blame the CyberMan's high profile and costly failure for the gaming industry's lack of interest in developing 3D control over the next several years.<ref name="NGen17" />

The [[Wii Remote]] is shaped like a [[television]] [[remote control]] and contains [[tilt sensor]]s and three-[[dimension]]al pointing which the system uses to understand all [[Degrees of freedom (mechanics)|directions of movement]] and rotation (back and forth around the [[Flight dynamics|pitch, roll, and yaw axes]]). The controller is also multifunctional and has an expansion port which can be used for a variety of peripherals. An analog stick peripheral, called "Nunchuk," also contains an [[accelerometer]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://revolution.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6601|title=Nintendo Revolution ::: Advanced Media Network - Mario, Zelda, Revolution Controller, Innovation|last=Levin|first=Phillip|date=April 25, 2006|website=Revolution Advanced|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427212400/http://revolution.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6601|archive-date=April 27, 2006|access-date=2019-11-20}}</ref> but unlike the Wii Remote, it lacks any pointer functionality.{{clear}}