For those unaware, video game controllers have all been based on ideas initially created by Nintendo — including the D-pad, analog sticks, and even rumble features, to name but a few. Needless to say, the video game industry would not be what it currently is had it not been for Nintendo's innovative ideas, which have been setting trends for others to follow.
During a recent shareholders meeting,
Super Mario Bros. and
The Legend of Zelda series creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, has revealed that Nintendo is actively — as well as currently — trying to achieve a new interface that will set the standard for video game controllers and the video game industry as a whole; much like they've been doing for the past 30 years.
One of the shareholders asked how developers tackle the fact that video games have been played pretty much the same for the past 30 years — specifically in the sense that players hold a controller and look at a screen in order to play their games — to what Sinya Takahashi(General Manager of EPD at Nintendo) replied:
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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."
Miyamoto then adds that Nintendo has been creating new, and innovative ways of playing games that have been setting the standard since the days of the original Nintendo Entertainment System back in the early 80s.
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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."
The
Super Mario Bros. series creator was quick to add that, while this controller has been the standard for many years, it is probably about time they graduated from the current controller; revealing that the company is actively trying to come up with new ideas that will hipefully become the standard in the future.
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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.
The Nintendo Switch has been proving, time and time again, that The Big N still have a few cards up their sleeves, and every single one of their previous consoles has led to the massive success their handheld hybrid console has had in its two years since it launched. It is safe to assume that, whatever they come up with in the future, it's definitely going to have people talking about it.