LogFAQs > #938276201

A lot of it is a meme, but still, let's think about the historic context here:

• videogames were 2D in the 16bit era.

This was perfectly adequate at first, but the D pad's limitations began showing their head towards the end of this era. Playing DOOM on the SNES d-pad wasn't that precise, was it?

• Sega and sony didn't care about this problem

Look at the PS1 controller: It's basically the SNES controller just changed enough so nintendo doesn't sue sony for it, and with 2 extra buttons added for good measure. The Saturn controller was pretty much a 6 button genesis controller with 2 extra shoulder buttons.

Who cared about this? Nintendo. They envisioned the problems that 3D gaming with 2D controller would bring, and they began experimenting. Nobody knew how this would turn out.

• The VB controller was the first attempt at a controller for 3D gaming

It basically looks like a proto-PS1 controller (itself based on the SNES controller) with.... TWO D PADS. Yes! This is how nintendo thought they could address the 3rd dimension. The VB may have sucked, but this concept was revolutionary.

Then along came the N64. Will 3D become the new norm? Is it just a fad and 2D will prevail? Will we have 3D and 2D games co-existing? Nobody knew.

Nintendo developed the analog stick to deal with 3D gaming, and as far as home consoles go, this idea was revolutionary. But did this mean nintendo would have to do away with the D pad and shun 2D gaming? You can't blame nintendo for hedging their bets and developing a controller that could do 2D and 3D.

Nobody else had tried this before, they were the trailblazers, there was no manual for this. The first iteration at something revolutionary is never perfect.

This thing was so revolutionary that sega followed suit with their nights 3D controller (https://segaretro.org/3D_Control_Pad), which looked like an UFO and wasn't much better, and sony followed suit with the dual shock, which became the golden standard.

Contrary to popular belief, you "don't need 3 hands to use it", nor do you need to hold the 3 handles all at once. The idea is that the controller had a 2D mode (grab the left and right handle) and a 3D mode (grab the center and right handle):

https://i.imgur.com/QABlI9e.png