Nintendo 64 Controller - Analog Stick

Analog Stick

For many years, console designers and manufacturers ignored analog stick technology, instead preferring the digital d-pad. It was not until the emergence of 3D gameplay that the analog thumb stick was put into widespread use. Using a d-pad in a 3D game greatly limits the player's ability to accurately utilize 360° of motion. However, analog sticks do not suffer this limitation and their prevalence allowed game designers to fully utilise them as the main method of control.

Prior to the Nintendo 64, Atari systems, and both Sega's analog Mission Stick for Sega Saturn (which launched on September 29, 1995) and Sony's Analog Joystick used analogue joysticks. However, the Nintendo 64 controller introduced the thumb-controlled control stick. Its release was followed during the fifth generation by Sony's Dual Analog and DualShock controllers for the PlayStation system (the DualShock also implementing a built-in version of the force feedback vibration first implemented by the N64's Rumble Pak add-on) as well as Sega's 3D control pad for their Saturn system.

The N64 Analog stick does not use analog potentiometers, rather using light emitting diodes and photo detectors controlled by sensor wheels. The sensor wheels are plastic hubs which produce a shutter effect allowing for an accurate direct digital read. The sensor wheels give direct correlation to the stick position, as opposed to potentiometers, which can change resistance values over time.

The analog stick was prone to some long-term reliability issues. The thumb could easily work its way off the stick. Part of the stick could be scraped away, which can be proven by a powder-like substance near the stick. After a while, the stick became "loose", which means it will not fully return to center position, which may render gameplay more difficult by giving unintended, non-user input to the system. This loosening can be caused by rotating it intensively - a common practice in games like Mario Party. Excessive rotating of the analog stick even resulted in blisters and burns to the hands, and Nintendo offered protective gloves to prevent injuries.