The Nintendo 64 gamepad. The Wiimote. The Joy-Cons. When it comes to controllers, Nintendo has never shied away from devising wild and unique ideas for their devices. That's why it got rather interesting during the latest shareholder's meeting, where Nintendo was asked about their thoughts for the future of gaming controllers.

Looking at this year's E3, it seems like the mainstream for video games is the same as it has been for the past 30 years, namely, looking at the screen and playing with controller in hand. How do developers regard this, and do they think it will continue?

Nintendo's supervisor of business development, Shinya Takahashi, responded by saying Nintendo has been innovating how people play games, with titles like 1-2-Switch, and the Nintendo Labo VR kits.

We are always dreaming up new things. For example, for 1-2-Switch, the first game released for Nintendo Switch, we suggested that people play by looking at each other and not at the screen. And for VR, we thought about how we could change not just the controller but also the gameplay itself, and came up with the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. The software exhibited at this year's E3 just happened to be mostly the type that is played with controller in hand, looking at the screen. However, I think you can see from the software we've created that we are always trying out new ideas.

Shigeru Miyamoto then took the opportunity to reply, stating that Nintendo has set industry trends for decades, with the advent of the original D-pad and analog stick for the NES and N64 respectively. He also says that Nintendo is in the process of creating a controller that surpasses the current design of the Joy-Cons, and can be used with ease, making for something to set the standard for the next generation of systems.

Nintendo was the first to create the style of playing video games with a plus-shaped directional pad and additional buttons, which has now become the industry standard. It was also Nintendo that changed the original plus-shaped directional pad, which operated digitally in eight directions, into the first analog input device that moves freely in all directions for Nintendo 64. This, too, is now common. We are proud to have created a variety of user interfaces that have now become industry standards.

And, as of now, in terms of accuracy and reliability, I believe this style is the clear winner. At the same time, I also believe that we should quickly graduate from the current controller, and we are attempting all kinds of things. Our objective is to achieve an interface that surpasses the current controller, where what the player does is directly reflected on the screen, and the user can clearly feel the result. This has not been achieved yet. We have tried all kinds of motion controllers, but none seem to work for all people. As the company that knows the most about controllers, we have been striving to create a controller that can be used with ease, and that will become the standard for the next generation.

Source (Q13)

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook Nintendo, I'm sure you will, just like allll your other controllers in the last 20 years have totally become the "standard".

Oh wait...

Only controllers Nintendo has made that's been remotely good the last decade have been their Pro controllers...which they basically just copy-pasted from the 360's design, and even those have their issues (c'mon Nintendo, digital triggers? Really?).

 

[Spider_Man]

Woah, someone's salty... Well first of all, the GCN controller. The octagon shape was actually pretty nice. You always knew which direction you were going. It was very handy on some games. The Wiimote. I don't see why you're calling it bad when it was designed for motion in mind. That's why there's the classic controller or using the GCN controllers for games that didn't require the Wiimote. The Wii U Gamepad. Yeah, that was... Meh. Didn't mind it much but they could've done better. The Switch Joycons. Nothing is wrong with them. Are you looking after them properly? I always put them in my Switch once I'm done with them. You could've saved a lot of money just by getting the parts that are faulty. (Analog sticks mostly being the culprit.) I'm still using the joy-cons that came with the console. Which was on launch day. March 3rd 2017 and I've only had to replace my analog sticks once. Never had a problem with attaching them.

loyal fans, do i look after my shit, yes, i have consoles dating back to dawn of man in mint condition.

the joycons are dirty cheap and dont even attach to the console securely, as for the GC yes if your playing a game where you ping and pong from one to the other, but sorry its a 3d game, you run in smooth motion not jaggy like the cube would.

my analogues on the switch are what always fuck up, i dont even need to touch them and the fucker runs like ape shit.

so yes, back to the point nintendo need to stop fucking about with bull shit controllers, we dont give a fuck, we want a console that can actually perform, we are sick of seeing cheap bullshit just so you can take lead with your same recycled shit and your titles get majority of the market because 3rd party devs see little profit to be made dedicating its shit.

exactly why we see yet again another old port whore and for what, a sodding controller.

sod that.

 

[Bladexdsl]

incoming gimmick...probably a controller made out of cardboard

 

[andyhappypants]

The SNES controller is my favourite controller of all time, Closely followed by the 2nd gen Saturn controller

 

[Hells Malice]

SWITCH: cheap crap, ive gone through 3 pairs of these already because they dont attach to the tablet properly and the control goes haywire.

The fuck do you do to your poor controllers? Mine rocks? The joycons are just fine, my launch ones still work like brand new.
I used to have a friend who would have fits of salty baby rage and slam his controllers repeatedly on the ground. I assume that's why yours break so "easily".

 

[kumikochan]

People complaining about the N64 controller and analog stick without remembering that there was no precedent for a layout with analog sticks and nintendo wanted a SNES style grip is it failed to catch on, that's why it's very comfortable to use it for 2D games. Of course NOW it seems dumb because you have been playing with modern controllers.

I for one find as bulky as it was the 3D controller the saturn made way better for 3D + 2D games. The original xbox controller was more based on the 3D controller sega did as it's almost entirely the same layout and shape and size as the duke.

 

[MK73DS]

Honestly, as long as the Dualshock is the only controller with symmetric joysticks it's going to be the standard for me.

*Thumb collision intensifies*

 

[Rahkeesh]

This is absolutely about finding the next Wiimote if you can't read between the lines. They see the absurd numbers mobile is putting up now and want those casuals back badly. It's not about placating most of us here that grew up with "real" controllers.

 

[guily6669]

People complaining about the N64 controller and analog stick without remembering that there was no precedent for a layout with analog sticks and nintendo wanted a SNES style grip is it failed to catch on, that's why it's very comfortable to use it for 2D games. Of course NOW it seems dumb because you have been playing with modern controllers.

And like a year later Sony did the perfect controller with 2 amazing analogue sticks that "sticked" up to PS3 Dual Shock 3 . The Dual Shock 4 changed quite a bit their design that it no longer looks the same as the other dual shock family...

But still my favourite controllers are all the Xbox controllers and Dreamcast controller...

 

[mightymuffy]

Yeah the SNES pad was amazing at the time, and still holds up well now! The GC pad was not designed for larger hands, and the dpad has to be one of the worst placements ever (I refuse to play Smash with anything else though!). The N64 like has been said just worked at the time, gets more flak than it deserves.

...But this news.... I'll put a tenner on us all unanimously pissing ourselves laughing when we see the first shot of it.

 

[diggeloid]

loyal fans, do i look after my shit, yes, i have consoles dating back to dawn of man in mint condition.

the joycons are dirty cheap and dont even attach to the console securely, as for the GC yes if your playing a game where you ping and pong from one to the other, but sorry its a 3d game, you run in smooth motion not jaggy like the cube would.

my analogues on the switch are what always fuck up, i dont even need to touch them and the fucker runs like ape shit.

so yes, back to the point nintendo need to stop fucking about with bull shit controllers, we dont give a fuck, we want a console that can actually perform, we are sick of seeing cheap bullshit just so you can take lead with your same recycled shit and your titles get majority of the market because 3rd party devs see little profit to be made dedicating its shit.

exactly why we see yet again another old port whore and for what, a sodding controller.

sod that.

Lay off the salt man. It's not healthy.

What would you need full 360 degree motion on the GCN c-stick? It's tiny, and there are only two triggers with no bumpers, which limits what you can do while you have your thumb on the c-stick. The controller clearly wasn't designed for playing Call of Duty, but it works great for a lot of games that used it properly.

And if you want a "powerful" console, why not get a PS4, Xbox, or even better a PC? I get Nintendo consoles for the Nintendo games, which work perfectly fine with Nintendo hardware.

 

[Kraken_X]

The N64 controller is actually the best controller for 2d games, with almost the exact same full-sized d-pad as the SNES controller, but slightly recessed for added comfort. Few people know that because the N64 itself only had one game where you held the controller with your left hand on the d-pad and your right hand on the buttons (Miscief Makers). If you plug it into a PC though, you can freely remap buttons and see the controller's true power.

The third prong on the bottom rests gently on your stomach if you recline and holds the controller for you. The c-buttons can easily function as the standard ABXY face buttons, but the actual A and B can also be used if it's a game with primary two input buttons, which is many of them. Few 2D games require as many buttons as the N64 controller has, so it's easy to map special functions like state save to the remaining buttons. I'm currently playing Bloodstained with it, and it's such a treat compared to the Xbone controller. I wish I could play Mario Maker with it because the Switch classic controller has one of the worst D-pads Nintendo has made, and the joycons are even worse.

Unfortunately, with one analog stick it's really bad for first person and third person games, so most people just remember how bad it was to play GoldenEye with it, not how great it was to play Super Mario World or Mega Man X.

 

[jt_1258]

I honestly don't get why people like the ngc controller so much. the face button layout sucks.

 

[Something whatever]

Joy-cons are poor mans Wii-motes

all they had to do is make the wii-motes better...and screw the D pad and drifting analog sticks

 

[AkitoTheHedgy]

What if its the Gamecube controller but remade. Like the analog sticks are more 360 like, and it has l and r buttons.

 

[GameSystem]

You guys are thinking way too small time. Nintendo is obviously going to go with haptic feedback suits.

 

[DANTENDO]

Credit to nintendo for trying to be innovative with ther controllers but end of the day nothing beats the ps controllers for ease of use and Comfort and does the job needed

 

[Xzi]

People who think that the N64 controller wasn't ahead of its time apparently don't remember the original PSX controller with zero analog sticks. Nintendo has almost always been ahead of the curve, including with the Wiimotes, which inspired PS Move and now VR controllers.

 

[Potato Paste]

Nintendo suck when it comes to controllers.

N64: Crap analogue that youd be afraid to even touch it without it getting slacker than a hookers minge.
CUBE; Actually good controller to hold, but having the octagon shape around your analogues never gave it that smooth 360 control and feel
WIIMOTE: Worse controller ever, old inferior tech, failed to do what nintendo promised (tho one game i knew of did)
WIIU PAD: Another shit controller, too big, bulky
SWITCH: cheap crap, ive gone through 3 pairs of these already because they dont attach to the tablet properly and the control goes haywire.

yes nintendo are known for always changing shit, but rule is, if its not broke then dont fucking fix it.

nintendo should look at setting standards for its next gen console not some bullshit gimmick controller.

N64: The first controller to have analog (hold of atarifans) and pinoneered 3D movement with Super Mario 64
GCN: Octagon shape that makes it know which direction you are pressing. Perferred by MANY speedruners and smash players
Wii Mote: Super Mario Galaxy with the pointer. Trama Center with the pointer. Has cool connector to have mutiple different complements (nunchuck, classic controller, motion plus). Was so good, sony and microsoft copied the concept.
Switch: idk wtf ur doing with ur joycons. You know theres a button to remove it from the switch. you must be one of those people who just yank it off.

casual gamer konfirmed

 

[DeadlyFoez]

What they need to do is to make a controller that is purely just a touch screen. Sony has a patent on a method to make touch screens actually feel like that have physical buttons on them.