nemesis <nam### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> I also have to say part of the success for the Nintendo brand again is 
> the same reason for its demise during 2 generations:  its loyal fans 
> during the NES and SNES grew older during the N64 and GC, had to get a 
> work, house, marriage and are now back to gaming, thanks to their kids. 

  I have heard that many people complained about the N64 and GC controllers,
and that *might* be at least partially responsible for the lesser popularity
of those two consoles. If you look at those controllers, they look quite
painful to use:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:N64_controller.jpg

  Ok, it might be usable for the D-pad, but when you need to switch to the
analog stick, it looks really awkward. The D-pad and the analog stick seem
to basically be mutually exclusive: Either use one or the other, but not
both at the same time, or even in quick succession. Also the location of
the analog stick seems awkward.

  Sony's DualShock controller, while maybe slightly ascetic compared to
the more modern ergonomic versions of that controller type, has more the
right idea:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DualShock.jpg

  It's easy to switch between the D-pad and the analog stick by simply
moving your thumb from one to the other. And while having *two* such sticks
might seem rather self-evident and obvious nowadays, it was actually quite
an ingenuous idea which helped the playability of many, many games.

  Nintendo tried to copy the idea for their GameCube controller, but did
it horribly wrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NGC_Gamecube.jpg

  The D-pad is positioned in a really awkward place, and it's hard to use.
Likewise for the analog stick on the right. Also the X and Y buttons are
positioned awkwardly.

  I suppose Nintendo learned its lesson and instead of trying to copy
others' controller designs, they created their own for the Wii. It seems
to have been a success.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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