Slashdot Mirror
Nintendo to Drop D-pad
pluke writes "Computer and Video Games reports that Nintendo plans to drop the humble d-pad from its next console along with the classic A and B buttons. Nintendo pioneered the d-pad on its 80's Game & Watch handheld games system."
My inner geek cried a little when reading that! Luckily, I still have my old NES with the classic D-Pad and A/B buttons so I'm not too saddened. I'd love to know what they'll replace it with but, as usual, they're keeping tight lipped. Oh well....
I'm not stressed. I'm just terribly, terribly alert.
...upupdowndownleftrightleftrightBAselectstart is not so easy in analog. There are some good things a D-pad is needed for.
I'm not really too surprised that as a symbol of their "revolution" that the traditional items of Nintendo will die... What I want to know, and what I think is going to be the only thing that matters is: how many games are there going to be on rollout, and will they for the first time since the SNES actually have a decent flow of games throughout the system life. I have a Gamecube that waits for the next Zelda or Mario (even another luigi game for god's sake). It gets used about once every 3 months when they come out with a new game, then it goes back away... Nintendo, the revolution we're looking for has a lot less to do with the hardware.. and a lot more to do with the games!
ok.. so heads you lose tails I win. right?
On the A and B buttons: Maybe it's that the only Nintendo systems I have ever owned are the original cream-of-spinach Game Boy and the GBA, but I'm not exactly mourning the loss of these two letters as button names. Am I missing something here?
On the D-pad: Fine with me, as long as every single game on the next-gen system is a 3D platform jumper or shooter, and not a single puzzle game or RPG with lots of menus or what have you comes out. I was only content with the loss of the paddle controller after they quit making games like Arkanoid.
You can actually play through the game without dying, and earn your 30 lives instead of cheating for them.
My online trophy room
God spoke to me.
For one split second, I really did read the title as "Nintendo to drop dead".
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I am deeply saddened by this news. Ah well, I guess I could wait for the inevitable aftermarket controllers.
Rest assured that no matter what they replace the d-pad with, it will be pulled off very well, and will most likely change the face of video game controls for years to come.
And you'll get to use this control scheme to play yet another Mario Party game, as well as 2 new Pokemon games, 8 new Harry Potter games, but unfortunately only a couple really great Nintendo properties.
Don't listen to me, I'm just bitter that we don't have a Kid Icarus sequel. Bastards.
Don't buy WoW Gold! Make it yourself!
Ever try playing it with the analog joystick? Horrible. A drag to know I'll have to shell out more cash for an analog stick to play it.
> I am deeply saddened by this news.
Somebody needs to get out more.
Smaller space constraints
Better tactile feedback(push, click)
Better for navigating 2D environments (menus)etc.
I know I generally use the d-pad just as much as the analog stick on various games. It would be rather inconvenient to see it go.
If the Revolution will be able to play GBA games (which I have no idea if it will), dropping the D-Pad will be "teh suxx0rsz". I've got a GBA Player for my 'Cube and I'm so glad there's a D-Pad on my Wavebird. Playing GBA games with an analog stick just doesn't feel right.
Switching visors just won't feel right.
I was able to win on hardest SF2 original, with all perfect rounds on SNES. In the arcades I have sometimes have trouble throwing fireballs.
God spoke to me.
The loss of the D-Pad makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, but the loss of the A & B buttons? It seems silly for Nintendo to leave the X&Y or the C-buttons but get rid of the A&B, given their tie to history (unless this is just a gimmick to emphasize the "Revolution"). I'm thinking that if the A&B buttons are gone, then all buttons (save maybe one) are gone from the left side of the controller face. Everyone is thinking that Nintendo will still use the Analog pad, but given Nintendo's interest in the EyeToy (and again, the "Revolution" moniker), I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo foregoes controllers altogether on the next console. Not that I know what they'd replace them with...
The only thing I hate more than hypocrites are people who hate hypocrites.
Has this actually been confirmed yet? How is this supposed to work when the Revolution can play Gamecube games?? You can't play many of those games without a D-Pad. I'd take this with a grain of salt.
I would guess two things. First, whatever new control scheme Nintendo has in mind for their next console will be built with the next Miyamoto game in mind (another Mario perhaps). And the new controls will adequately replace D-pad functionality and add enhancements.
So I got to thinking about it and came up with analog thumbpits. The current analog game pad controls sit up like bumps on the controller and are a bit awkward to use as D-pad replacements. But imagine a soft rubber thumbsized pit. Your thumb would sit in this comfortably allowing you to naturally nudge it in a way analogous to moving the D-pad, but now you can do a lot more than the cross pattern such as pushing straight down and down at angles. So games could be developed where it makes a difference how fast or how far down you push with more freedom than the current analog sticks and buttons give.
I would also expect some kind of touch pad to be included on the controller as well. No strike that, it's not necessary. In typical Nintendo fashion, the new console would have a port/ports for connecting the DS. Then you would just use the DS touch pad. They may still put a pad on the controller though since the DS scheme may be too awkward for the next Mario game. The touch pad has some interesting possibilities. For one thing, as a program configurable control I could see it becoming a keyboard for online chat. Not as good as a real keyboard, but much between than onscreen keyboards. (They might throw in a built-in mike like the DS has as well.)
Finally, perhaps the next controller will have pressure sensitive grips. These grips would replace the buttons. Now each finger can provide input in what should be a more comfortable way, if engineered right. If even half of the above comes to pass, I'd expect the new controllers to be rather difficult to emulate by 3rd parties, which of course will mean more money for Nintendo.
Heh heh, if even part of this is true, there may be a knock at the do...
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
I personally like the idea of gyro-enabled motion sensing controllers. Lots of possibilities there for increased gameplay if they do it right.
The D-pad is the only thing that keeps my wife playing games with me. She is a less-than-casual gamer, and has never embrassed the analog controls.
I agree with the other comments, some game genres like puzzles are just much better to handle with a D-pad.
I hope Nintendo doesn't make any mistakes in haste with getting this new system out and trying to break any misconceptions of their system being only for kids.
I can see the big N trying to change "too much" just to overcome the critics.
There is nother wrong with labeling the buttons "A" and "B" - so I have no clue as to why they would drop those labels, but I do have to say that when "coaching" people new to a game, I just say the "green" and "red" buttons because it's easier for them to catch on.
I personally hate the symbols used by the Playstation.
What about the idea of a controller with interchangable parts? You want dual-analog, you snap in the 2 analog controls. You want d-pad on the left, and analog on the right, you just snap in the controls into place. Or vice-versa... its up to you. That would be an interesting concept.
And on one last note: The controller ?has? to have some sorta of up,down,left,right input device, I can't see Nintendo breaking completely away from standard gaming logic. So if Nintendo doesn't come out with a controller with a d-pad, 3rd party controller suppliers will.
You knew the D-Pad was being evolved out. It went from the primary position in the old controllers to secondary status on recent controllers; Dreamcast, Xbox and GameCube. Most games only use it as a means of selecting weapons or menu items these days. Only the PS2 keeps the D-Pad (or D buttons) in the primary gaming position and that is simply because it is more important to Sony that the controller "look good" rather than arranging the elements based on frequency of use and usability. It is a carryover from the PS1 controller, with the analog sticks slapped on as an afterthought. Even more impressive news would be is Sony decides to bring the PS3 controller into the modern age by putting the analog stick in the primary thumb position. After looking at the analog nub on the PSP, I highly doubt it will happen.
Nintendo has a patent on the D-pad. No other manufacturer was permitted to copy this control design (which is why the Playstation has the stupid 4 button design which makes doing "diagonals" very difficult, and back in the day, the Sega Genesis had a ROUND dpad with raised + on top.
It's still unfortunate though, as I have always preferred this control for navigating menus.
... as it's not called a "D-PAD" but a "+ Control Pad" (shared by all Nintendo controllers since the NES days).
The D-PAD is the thingy that's on the Xbox Controller.
to mess with the competitions head, maybe it'll make sony or MS follow suit, only to be screwed over after nintendo releases thier console *with* a d-pad. Apple should start doing this, leak some screenshots of something that looks and sounds cool, but sucks ass in useability, and hope that the competition copies it while they ditch in before release. I'm hoping the nintendo revolution will have 802.11b/g wireless networking, maybe 5 gigs of internal storage, and a VR PORT, so that my dream of VR mmog's will come true.
True genius is grasping a situation like a peice of fruit, and peircing it just right so that it drains dry.
so Computer and Video Games is known to post not only rumors, but blatantly false information. they've had their asses nailed to the wall before for things like this, and I'm pretty sure this is simply another case of trying to get hits on their website.
so yeah. until you see something more official (at least more official than this rag), take this story with a HUGE grain of salt.
Certain types of games are better-suited to touchpads, trackballs, mice, cameras, etc. I am surprised that no aftermarket trackball controllers are available for home game consoles. Two types of games suffer from this limitation, and they are both types of games that do better on PCs than consoles:
1) Resource management / icon-based / menu-based games
- It is easier to move and click a mouse/trackball than with a joystick or d-pad.
- Examples: The Sims, Black and White, Warcraft, etc.
2) FPS games
- The ability to quickly aim and
- The ability to move with a different hand than the aiming hand
- Examples: Doom, Quake, Half-life, Unreal, and probably 50% of PC games
In general, a mouse/trackball offers higher-precision, greater feedback, and an infinite range of speeds over a d-pad or trackball. But it is bad with simple forward, backward, left, and right. But fewer games today use that model. Why do we continue to use these old-style inputs?
FYI: This is called multimodal input, where each device complements the abilities of the other. The keyboard/mouse paradigm is the most generally powerful multimodal combination discovered thus far.
I hate this new controllers for every console. It's one reason why PC game accessories don't sell for crap. They keyboard/mouse works for almost anything except flight sims. Just another way to make money each time around, "Now you get to buy 3 more controllers to play with your friends!" I like the way the Gamecube controller works. The button layout is weird to look at, but puts the focus on the "A+B" gameplay type. Simple? Yes. Effective? Indeed. Oh well, I'm just curious where that Zelda game they showed clips of at E3-04 are?
No sig for you!!
Ding, dong, the d-pad's gone,
e pyx-500xj-joystick.html
wicked pad,
stupid pad,
Ding, dong, the dumb-ass d-pad's dead!
Gosh, and it only took what, 20 years for Nintendo, the original perpetrators, to abandon this atrocity. The d-pad is a sadist's exercise in reverse ergonomics. You make the player hit four buttons instead of using one stick, then you put it under his left thumb when he's probably right-handed. Brilliant!
If you want a glimpse of how game controllers should look, go back in time and check out the epyx joystick: http://www.cedmagic.com/tech-info/remote-control/
These things were incredibly comfortable to use. Unfortunately they weren't manufactured very well and would break all the time, but the ergonomics were fantastic.
Now if only Sony and MS would follow suit...
They were going to drop the d-pad from the GameCube controller too. Too many developers complained though, and they slapped on a GBA d-pad to make them happy. As long as they have something new to replace it with, I'm perfectly fine with this. Getting rid of face buttons though? That's certainly odd.
On the current gamepads both the d-pad and analog stick aren't in the most ergonomic position. One is too too high up. The other is too low and to the right of where my thumb naturally rests. With only an analog stick, the placement can be optimal again.
Now if they would just shape the pad more ergonomically. Hold your hands and arms like they're holding a gamepad. The back of your hand and forearm ought to be a straight line because bending the wrist is terrible ergonomics. The current batch of gamepads all make my wrist and hands bend upwards, which leads to discomfort after an hour.
Cool!
Maybe I can have the controller on the righthand side for a change.
I'm righthanded like most of the population, and it really sucks all consoles have that dumb lefthanded control system. I mean my left hand is great for mashing buttons, and holding stuff but is all but useless otherwise.
Yes, let's all riot because they're analyzing their perspective and altering to fit a new set of goals.
That's what Nintendo is probably doing here.
I just got Midway Arcade Treasures 2, a game in which the dpad is a preferred control scheme for most of the included classic arcade titles. The package was also released for PS2 and Xbox however. It plays roughly the same across all of them, because the controllers are all capable of the same things.
By doing this, Nintendo is striking a blow against easy portability across consoles. I'd say this will work against them, although after the brilliant additions made to the DS, I now thing it MAY be possible they have something much better in the works to replace the pad with.
It's going to be an interesting E3, in any case.
It sucked ass.
Dropping a digital pad is a bad, bad idea. You still need it for some things. As far as the A and B buttons are concerned, they'll just be changing the names for those, I'm sure.
This is just a rumor. What kinda bugs me is that Slashdot rejected another rumor that was far more interesting. That rumor was that the next Nintendo system may come with a VGA port. That may or may not be true, but I think most of us here would appreciate how cool that'd be.
"Derp de derp."
I do not believe this to be a good thing, except for 3rd party controllers. Example, you want to play a fighting game of an old school caliber, but the analog stick just doesn't feel right...Use the D-Pad, it's probably what you used when you first played anyway(Street Fighter II-Super Nintendo). I believe the D-pad on the Gamecube controller was way too small, and thus gamers didn't use it much. It's as big as my thumb, and that just doesn't work when I want to hit the right d-pad, not top, bottom, right all at the same time. If they adopted the d-pad from SNES they would've had no problem with people using it more. It's a sad day when Nintendo takes away something so...so perfect.
Flat Screen TV for F
How will we live without the D-pad and A & B buttons? What's next, Nintendo? The E-pad and C & D buttons?
Har...
Y'know, I went and looked at your "hall of fame" earlier in this thread, and then get to this...
;).
People believe this stuff a lot more ('specially 'round these here parts) when you accompany such outlandish claims with proof, like - screenshots or something.
And, even though I completely admire your accomplishments (provided they are as you claim), might I suggest a warm and caring Signifigant Other? In my hetero world, I enjoy a good game of "Find the G-Spot" much more than any pixelated goodness