Talk:D-pad

message: I've been unable to find this information since I first read it.  Originally, there was another name to Gunpei's d-pad... I think it was "cross (something)"... can anyone enlighten us on this?  --anonymous
: Well, anonymous, here's what I know about early Nintendo pads. On the early Game and Watches (the nonconnected style ones that most resemble Entex's design) like this one, Nintendo just called them the "+ Control". 
: Once they shifted to a connected-style Dpad like this one, they called it the "Controller". Note that they're not referring to the whole setup when they say "controller"; they've got a seperately labeled jump button. I don't think Nintendo has referred to their pads as "cross pads", although I'm open to correction if anyone knows differently. Daniel Davis 08:31, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I believe the term is "cross key." Source
To add some context, the patent says Multi-directional switch Source  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.43.232.78 (talk) 03:30, 3 January 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Gunpei's original term 

message: Shouldnt the Microvision handheld be removed from the list of systems with a D-Pad? While it did have directional buttons it didnt have a D-Pad.
: That's wrong. The Microvision had several different types of control system, each of which was incorporated seperately into its cartrige designs. That basically meant that each cartridge itself contained the actual pad design, and underneath the cartridge was contained the underlying switches. Cosmic Hunter was a Microvision cartridge that had a D-pad specifically as defined here: 
:"A four-directional switch which can be turned on and off in four directions, which comprises a base plate having a plurality of electrodes formed thereon (Microvision has this), a key top having an indication showing predetermined four pressing directions in an identifiable manner (Microvision's Cosmic Hunter game adds this), a support member constituting a fulcrum between the base plate and the key top, a plurality of conductive rubbers disposed opposing to the plurality of electrodes so as to be in electrical contact with corresponding ones of the electrodes (the microvision has this too), and a sustaining member having the plurality of conductive rubbers fixed thereto and having elastic force for sustaining the conductive rubbers so as not to be in contact with the electrodes when the key top is not pressed. (and this too)"
:In a nutshell, Nintendo defines a dpad as a single plastic keytop with directional indicators that fits over a series of rubber switches; when the keytop is pressed downward, it in turn depresses one or more of the hidden rubber switches underneath it, completing a conductive circuit and thus telling the game console to do whatever it should do whenever that conductivity is activated.
:Basically, the only thing that seperates, hardware-wise, Nintendo's design from the Microvision's design is that, since the top of the keypad is built into the cartridge itself, it can be removed.
: In otherwords, the Microvision DOES have a d-pad, and should remain on this list. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.5.191.119 (talk) 08:52, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Microvision 

message: In the same vein as the above comment, shouldn't the PSX, PS2, PS3 and PSP be removed from the list?
From memory, they also have separate buttons for each direction. bjmurph talk‽ 15:25, 14 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: In any case, something should be mentioned about the difference... the WonderSwan has the same layout. Esn 07:27, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  I disagree. They operate identically (the Sony pads are actually connected as a single unit underneath the pad surface), not warranting extra space devoted to it. The differences in variation- whether it be pads that are circular, cross shaped or a segmented cross, all work in the exact same manner. A minor asthetic difference in the pad's appearance doesn't change its operational functionality. And, in regards to your edit comment before, Dpad DOES = Directional Pad, which is why there's a D in it. Which stands for Directional. 67.94.201.2 05:45, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Patently untrue.  The difference in physical shape is far more than simply aesthetic, as the Sony fanboy would have one believe.  Sony's button-style 'd-pad' controllers have a substantially different feel than standard plus-shaped d-pads (such as those found on Nintendo controllers, for example).  The controllers for the SEGA Master System are another example of a questionable 'd-pad' designation--the pad is essentially a square dish, even if the underlying principle (or indeed even the circuitry underneath the 'pad') is largely identical.  From a user-standpoint, the actual, physical shape of the input device (or part thereof) matters much more when it comes to "operational functionality" than the internal workings of the controller.  At the end of the day, the fact remains that, in practice, a physically four-directional, plus-shaped d-pad feels (and perfoms) substantially different from either button- or dish-type directional pads.  -Grammaticus Repairo (talk) 21:49, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sony 

message: the [analog stick] article says "The analog stick has greatly overtaken the D-pad in both prominence and usage in console video games." whereas this article says "A D-pad (short for directional pad) is a tetradirectional (4-direction) control found on nearly all modern video game console gamepads and game controllers"
also It doesn't mention that most D-pads are 8-direction because you can pres 2 at the same time  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Veggieburgerfish (talk • contribs) 22:46, 24 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: They're both true. While the D-Pad is used on pretty much every modern controller, the analog stick is given more prominence and is used more in actual gameplay. 58.8.209.204 (talk) 11:59, 8 May 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  incorrectness and stuff 

message: Why are these things always put on the left hand side of the controller, given that most people are right-handed? They give left handed players an unfair advantage. 70.20.228.140 (talk) 05:33, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Quite simple really. The right hand can press buttons faster than the left. Left hand is far better for steady button presses. That makes the right hand better for action buttons and the left hand better for motion control as motion doesn't need such rapid or precise changes in a binary control scheme. Placing action buttons in the left hand would just be making everything but movement harder. 24.181.252.197 (talk) 04:57, 29 June 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  direction controller for left-handed people? 

message: The actual term "D-pad" was coined by Sega. The company used the term when describing the controllers for the Genesis system in instruction manuals and other literature.
I'm certain it was used in manuals for the Master System too. The console itself was released long before the Mega Drive/Genesis (but on the other hand it's possible that the term "D-pad" was only used in manuals for Master System made after the Mega Drive's launch). Can anyone confirm whether there are any manuals for pre-1988 Master System games that used the term? --Nick RTalk 14:19, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sega's coining of the term 

message: In 1982, Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi updated this idea, shrinking it and altering the points into the familiar modern "cross" design for their Donkey Kong handheld game. The design proved to be popular for subsequent Game & Watch titles, although the previously introduced non-connected D-pad style was still utilized on various later Game & Watch titles, including the Super Mario Brothers handheld game. This particular design was patented.
Which design? I don't know the answer myself and this paragraph is unclear. I think it was the cross design that was patented? Lot49a (talk) 10:44, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Patenting

message: I just did a pretty thorough overhaul of the lead (largely due to high levels of redundancy). One thing that took me a bit of researching was the inclusion of the synonym digital pad, which I had never heard used in this context. There was a citation, but it’s a style guide and merely states that the term has been used; it neither recommends the term nor provides an example of real-world vernacular use. It is self-published and provides no sources, so I don’t think it serves well as a sole reference.
It’s a big world and therefore it’s almost guaranteed that someone somewhere back-formed the term ‘digital pad’ from ‘D-pad’ and used it in this sense, but I sense from my research that it was so vanishingly rare that it probably wasn’t worth mentioning in 2010 and even less worth mentioning now when the term is so overwhelmingly associated with tablet computers. Cheers —jameslucas ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ 14:55, 19 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: 12½ years later...

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message: Unless I am mistaken, the Nintendo Switch does not have a D-pad. It is on the list of systems with a d-pad. The pro controller will have one, but the Switch in handheld mode has four directional buttons more akin to the N-64's C buttons than a D-pad.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.0.39.22 (talk) 14:38, 28 January 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nintendo Switch 

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message: The first section of the article mentions that many other devices use d-pads, yet all of the devices mentioned are usually with just either 4 directional buttons or four directional buttons covered in one element. The main element of a d-pad is that it rocks. Most of the devices mentioned either have discrete buttons, have no center pivot, or have a button in the middle preventing it from rocking (like OK or CONFIRM). Or are there really instances of these objects with normal pivoting d-pads, and if so are they common enough to be worth mentioning? 181.43.104.217 (talk) 00:26, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Directional pads in other contexts