Editing Gamepad (section)

===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>