Editing Gamepad (section)

===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"/>