Evolution of Controllers

Given the focus on the PlayStation Move - a form of controller, I looked at a number of different resources to get an idea of how home console controllers have evolved with the times:

(The sources I have used for the basis information are:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/redbeardmathpirate/5586189028/ (Bally Astrocade Controller)

http://www.axess.com/twilight/console/ (Controller family tree)

http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/art-controller.htm#Early (The History of the Controller) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-pad (Directional Pad)

Note: Purely as a resource, the Controller family tree is an excellent diagram which shows the influences on the
evolution of controllers by various competitors

The earliest controllers were Joysticks that allowed 8 directional digital movements (up/down/left/ right/ angles). The Atari 2600 was one of the first consoles that could be attributed to popularizing this form of controller. In particular, one of the unique selling points for the Atari 2600’s joystick was that it could be disconnected from the console. This basic feature served dual purposes – it could allow faulty Joysticks to be replaced and it could mean that different forms of controller could be plugged into the console. One of these additional controllers, for the Atari at least, was a paddle and ball. These paddles could be seen as one of the earliest developments for analogue controls, in that their build in potentiometers could detect not only the movements of a gamer, but the speed for which they were interacting with the controls – translating this into equivalent on screen movements. The paddles themselves were not unlike knobs and they could only register left and right or up and down movements. However the ball controllers could recognise four movements instead of two. They were seen as a suitable choice for video games such as pong. The Atari 2600 Joystick was released in 1977, continuing to sell until about 1991. While the pressure exerted by gamers on the joystick often lead to quick breakages and strain on the wrist, this form of controller had set a standard that other controllers would be compared to.

Because of the issues with the Atari’s joysticks, other consoles did attempt to address the issue – with the Bally Astrocade controller utilising a smaller joystick atop a pistol grip (complete with a trigger action button). This joystick was innovative in that it could be utilised also as a knob for use with paddle games. This redesign to joysticks, in making them small enough to be manipulated by a thumb or finger, was being implemented by a number of other controllers.

 

However, one controller in the period moved away from the conventional paddles and joysticks. This was the Mattel Intellivision Controller. Resembling a television remote more than a video game controller, the Intellivision had many unique features:

-          Two buttons on either side of the controller. These buttons would retain the same functions each side to tailor for both left and right handed gamers

-          A numeric number pad of 12 buttons that allowed advanced input from the player. These inputs could include pausing, resetting, selecting difficulty among other gameplay specific actions (in these cases an overlay sheet would come with the game). This was seen as useful as it meant that gamers would not have to get up and interact with the console itself to do those basic functions.

-          A ‘Circular direction disk’. This control disk would send digital signals for up to 16 different directions – 8 more than controllers at the time.

While the controller itself was seen as a ‘love it or hate it ‘peripheral, generally it sparked a change in the way that controllers evolved from that point.

Of course, due to these unique functions Atari responded in kind to outdo their competitor. The way they did this was to create an analogue joystick with 360 degree directional movement, in addition to a built-in key pad and action buttons. The one flaw to the 5200’s design was that the joystick could not self-center and return to a point of neutrality. This meant the player would always be moving in the last direction that they had moved the joystick. Furthermore the controller was prone to breaking and also would struggle in diagonal movements and because of this the controller was not well received. Other consoles like the GCE Vectrex created analogue joysticks that would solve the flaws of the 5200’s design – including self-centring.

(The worlds largest NES controller recreation - showing that a truely revolutionary controller can be timeless!)

During the 1980’s and 1990’s the controllers began to evolve further and began to resemble those which we use today. The start of this could be attributed to Japanese inventor Gunpei Yokoi’s ‘D-Pad’ (Digital- Pad) that was used in Nintendo’s Donkey Kong game (and for other Game and Watch titles). This D-Pad was designed like a cross that allowed for several direction movements that could be controlled by a players thumb. It could be said that the reason for this change from joysticks was largely due to the handheld nature of the Nintendo Game and Watch, which as it folded it would not allow for a joystick like device. The cross shaped control pad was so exceptionally simple and effective that it has had a place on every Nintendo game console – and is seen in most home console systems from other manufacturers also. The Nintendo Entertainment System’s (Famicom)  release in 1984/5 was an early example of the D-pads inclusion into a controller, with the Famicom’s controller also being small enough to fit into a child’s hands in addition to having 8 directional movements, two action buttons and two other buttons that allowed for easy option selection (i.e.: pause) . The success of this controller signalled a shift from the Joystick to the ‘Gamepad’.

During the 1990’s both Sega and Nintendo had begun refining and adding to the Gamepad template that the Famicon had set. The Super-Nintendo (SNES) controller was rounded off to become more ergonomic than the squared NES gamepad – whilst adding two additional face buttons and two ‘shoulder buttons’. Sega’s Genesis gamepad had three action buttons, an ergonomically designed shape for comfort and also a control pad that was very akin to the Nintendo cross shape.

The progression of gamepads soon shifted from a purely Nintendo v Sega battle to also include Sony as a rival.

Sony’s PlayStation controller borrowed many design elements from its predecessors – including the 4 action button layout of the Super Nintendo, a 4 way directional pad (that used four separate direction buttons assembled like a cross) and finally shoulder buttons. However instead of purely 2 shoulder buttons, the PlayStation had 2 on each shoulder. The design was also very ergonomic and gamer friendly – meaning that they could grip the controller in their hands with ease.

Nintendo improved the ergonomics of their controllers further than the SNES with the Nintendo 64, in that it too, like the PlayStation, had handles that could be gripped – but the controller also had a mini joystick, two additional action buttons and a trigger at the back of the controller. Additional Peripherals could be added to the N64 to enhance the gaming experience:

-A memory pack that could mean that saved games could move from system to system

-A rumble pack that would give the player some form of force feedback from gameplay.

Sega Saturn had two different control pad models for their console – a more ergonomic variant of their Saturn controller (retaining the 6 action buttons). However after the release of the Nintendo N64’S controller, Sega released a vastly changed gamepad. This Saturn controller featured analogue triggers that responded to the degree of pressure placed upon them, a circular design and an analogue thumb stick.

Of course Sega weren’t the only company that responded to the N64’s design as Sony also released a controller variant in the Dual Analogue controller. This new controller had two analogue sticks symmetrically positioned below the start and select buttons. In order for the controller to support previous games that did not have analogue controls, a new button was placed in between start and select (the analogue button). This could switch off and on the functionality of the analogue sticks (in doing so displaying a red LED light.

After the release of the N64’s rumble pack, Sony refined this design further to form the ‘Dual Shock’ controller – which had two additional buttons (L3/R3) which would be activated by pressing in the thumb sticks. Additionally the controller could vibrate, the thumb sticks were reshaped and coated with rubber and the analogue button was deeper into the controller to prevent accidently button pressing. Because of these changes, it meant that the Dual Analogue controller was swiftly discontinued.

The Sony PlayStation Dual Shock controller did not alter much in its transition to Dual Shock 2 (for the PlayStation 2) aside from making the buttons analogue to add a level of precision to a gamers button press.

The analogue inclusion of the PlayStation 2 could have been seen as retaliation to the Sega Dreamcast’s controller’s pressure sensitive shoulder buttons. This was not the Dreamcast’s only unique feature. Like the N64, the controller had a slot that could contain the Sega VMU (visual memory unit) – a small memory card that could also play games and display information during gameplay. In a way it was like a micro controller in itself due to the screen, D-pad and buttons.

Microsoft’s first venture into the console game market with the Xbox yielded another controller design. For the most part this controller utilised many features of other competitors – including the PlayStation’s rubber topped analogue Joystick/button, an upgrade slot like the N64/ Dreamcast and an internal rumble feature. One of the unique features to this controller was its ‘break away’ lead – which would prevent the console or the lead being damaged by sudden tugs on the lead as it would just separate, minimising damage. The initial Xbox controllers were seen as too large and bulky so Microsoft reduced the size in the S-Type controller to address this.

The Nintendo gamecube controller had a large focus on ergonomics – with the standard cross pattern of buttons used by the PlayStation and N64 being replaced by a an oversized a button, and others set around it in a manner that promotes ease of use. The shoulder buttons had twin functions also. Tapping them would execute an analogue function while pressing them in would likewise execute a digital function.

The next step in controller evolution is the current wireless and motion controlled brands - but for these I will continue in a seperate blog post.



Atari 2600 Joystick image. Sourced from:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31D4l4Ut4LL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Bally Astrocade controller image. Sourced from:
http://videogamecritic.net/images/systems/astrocont.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Matel Intellivision Controller. Sourced from:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyUP7fHk2jEbhZZbO5OWRct8azemSMBeOQHWiRkXJVpXi0UMevD-6e7zfj6ddw7WU8wKSdW6d2BXdaQWz19Sjp2REbEUjksxXj7r7pylTcThMU3bwYV2bBsfPUGNZwm8k6KhJEuHBiVc/s1600/IntellivisionController.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Atari 5200 controller image. Sourced from:
http://www.atariage.com/5200/images/controllers/con_Atari5200.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012
Sega Saturn controllers. Sourced from:
http://videogamecritic.net/images/systems/satcontth.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

N64 Controller. Sourced from:
http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/gamesgear/controllers/n64.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Playstation DualShock controller. Sourced from:
http://images.wikia.com/egamia/images/2/28/Playstation_dual_shock_controller.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Playstation Dual-Analogue controller. Sourced from:
http://www.axess.com/twilight/console/detail/psx_a.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

PlayStation controller. Sourced from:
http://www.geekosystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/playstation-controller.jpeg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Super Famicon (SNES) Controller. Sourced from:
http://www.supernintendoclassics.com/wp-content/uploads/SFCpad.jpg
Last accessed 07/02/2012

Playstation DualShock 2 controller. Sourced from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/PS2_Dualshock2_Controller.jpg
Last Accessed: 07/02/2012

Dreamcast controller Image. Sourced from:
http://media.gdgt.com/img/product/23/i02/dreamcast-controller-1vcm-460.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Xbox controller Image. Sourced from:
http://www.blitterandtwisted.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/xbox-large-controller.jpg
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

Gamecube Controller Image. Sourced from:
http://kyorune.com/modding/file.php?art=82&file=2
Last Accessed 07/02/2012

The Worlds largest Nesv Controller.Stuff Magazine. Available from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZb2gyuBFg&feature=relmfu
Last Accessed 07/02/2012