4 ms·
I don't get this unending praise for Nintendo's d-pad. It's possibly the worst d-pad I've had the pleasure of using - it feels stiff, pressing it diagonally is
by anonymous 14y ago
I don't get this unending praise for Nintendo's d-pad. It's possibly the worst d-pad I've had the pleasure of using - it feels stiff, pressing it diagonally is completely impossible and the sharp edges leave marks on your fingers. Compare this to the playstation's solution - 4 independent easy to press buttons; or Sega and Microsoft's - a nice circle that can be comfortably pressed in all 8 directions.
- chc 14y agoI agree with regard to the original NES d-pad. It was an atrocity against thumbs and it could literally cut you. But the more recent d-pads feel much nicer. I never found the circle of the Sega-style d-pad to be much help — I still have always pushed diagonally with the up and right bars, not by pushing the empty space between them. And that was even as a 10-year-old with smallish thumbs. Also, Nintendo's recent d-pads in particular are so small that your thumb would have to be unbelievably small not to be able to cover both directions comfortably.
- anonymous 14y agoI have a DS and a Wii. Both their D-pads are hard to press diagonally, not because of their size, but due to simple mechanical reasons - they're not made to go diagonally. The cross doesn't fit neatly in the groove when you try to press diagonally.
- mpyne 14y agoThe PS* D-pad was pretty bad IMO, the separate buttons made it difficult to smoothly move from one direction to another. Sega's had the opposite problem; it was too easy which made it difficult to press in a given direction reliably without accidentally triggering diagonals. The SNES was really the sweet spot IMO, every Nintendo D-Pad since (even on GBA) has been way too small.