-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
innovations introduced by nintend
- Thread starter frico
- Start date
truffleshuffle83
Banned
the best fuckin controller they ever invented was for NES, it was a hands free controller that allowed handicapped kids to control the game with their nose and breaths. ive been scowering ebay for years and have yet to see one surface 
PhoenixDark
Banned
Let me introduce you to an invention you need right now more than any Nintendo product: spellcheck.
KeithFranklin
Banned
Just dont give Innovations to Nintendo that they werent responsible for.
Analog Stick (Atari for consoles, Apple II PC's before that)
Rumble Features (PC's had them before)
As for the remote. Please tell me how this is different than some of the stuff the Xavix does.
Analog Stick (Atari for consoles, Apple II PC's before that)
Rumble Features (PC's had them before)
As for the remote. Please tell me how this is different than some of the stuff the Xavix does.
frico said:
uhhh, Nintendo might have popularized analog control, but they certainly didn't invent it. Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_stick
nintendo didn't invent analog control, but I would argue they "invented" it for the modern console.
I don't remember Atari's analog stick (and would actually be interested in links), but the PC I don't think can hardly be equated. Analog sticks on the PC, especially at the time of the N64, were expensive and had limited functionality (as evidenced by the growing popularity of 2- and 4-button gamepads at the time). Nintendo brought them down to an affordable controller and made them integral to (nearly) every game. they didn't invent them, but they certainly brought them to the mainstream in a big way.
I don't remember Atari's analog stick (and would actually be interested in links), but the PC I don't think can hardly be equated. Analog sticks on the PC, especially at the time of the N64, were expensive and had limited functionality (as evidenced by the growing popularity of 2- and 4-button gamepads at the time). Nintendo brought them down to an affordable controller and made them integral to (nearly) every game. they didn't invent them, but they certainly brought them to the mainstream in a big way.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
magic wands that can be wielded in tandem to better simulate a skipping rope than a standard controller.
The N-Bot that embarrasses legitimate fans.
Secrecy to the point of tricking people into thinking you don't exist (copyright for this one is currently being contested by satan)
The N-Bot that embarrasses legitimate fans.
Secrecy to the point of tricking people into thinking you don't exist (copyright for this one is currently being contested by satan)
KeithFranklin said:
Uh, there is a difference between a full analogue joystick and incorporating analogue control into a thumbstick on a controller.
And no joystick on Apple II was analogue, the movement of the sticks maybe felt analogue but its performance was purely digital.
I challenge you to find me an Apple II game that had analogue control.
arn,a second late.Nintendo didn't invent video games either, but they're responsible for nearly every gameplay formula that exists today.
Similarly, Nintendo didn't invent analog control technology, but the way that they implemented it into video games was adopted unanimously by the gaming industry.
Innovation is not about invention; it's about successful, seamless, and enjoyable implementation.
Similarly, Nintendo didn't invent analog control technology, but the way that they implemented it into video games was adopted unanimously by the gaming industry.
Innovation is not about invention; it's about successful, seamless, and enjoyable implementation.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
borghe said:
Borhge:
Check out any info on the Atari 5200, or the GCE Vectrex. Both had analog sticks standard.
The 5200 is far better known, but the sticks themselves were a failure. They didn't center automatically. The Vectrex's did, however. The Wikipedia link already provided includes both.
I wouldn't say thay "invented" it at all-- but I would say they popularized it.
As far as Nintendo innovations, the things they often get credited for they didn't actually invent (analog sticks, wireless controllers) and yet things they did innovate (Vitrual Boy-- first completely steroscopic game system, Robot accessory for game system) tend to be overlooked becuase they weren't as popular. As far as I know, they did invent the D-Pad, but I also consider that a step backwards at the time. It was good for small controllers, but terrible for games like Pac-Man and other twitch games of the day.
If you want to highlught a company that had a greater impact on controller history, write about Atari. They introduced a whole buch of stuff to gaming, including paddle controllers, joysticks, and trakballs. I thought at one time Atari may have invented the trakball, but I can't find a reference for that.
Ruud_Luiten
Member
Which atari console had an real analog stick?KeithFranklin said:
I found this article that will be helpful for what i need. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3143627
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
The 5200 stcks were analog, but not all games used them that way. Pac-Man, for instance, had strictly digital movement and speed. Cenetepede and Super-Breaout, on the other hand, used the analog input.
I think people who are not old enough credit Nintendo with things bacuse they don't remember the host of innovations that were lost in the crash of 84. Nintendo is still responsible for quite a few, but not quite " nearly every gameplay formula that exists today."
I think people who are not old enough credit Nintendo with things bacuse they don't remember the host of innovations that were lost in the crash of 84. Nintendo is still responsible for quite a few, but not quite " nearly every gameplay formula that exists today."
Ignatz Mouse said:
As always, Ignatz speaks the truth.
Atari Football (1978) was definately the first arcade videogame to use a trackball, but the trackball predates this by quite some time. I'm afraid I don't have a really solid reference to offer you this moment, but a bit of poking around on Usenet finds a post of The Unofficial History of Advances in Computer Interfaces that dates the trackball to sometime in the 1960s. I'll bet Steven Levy's Hackers mentions the first trackball, but my copy isn't handy just this moment.
FnordChan
Mihail said:
Well, if you're going by that concept then you have to give the analog stick nod more to Sony. Nintendo had a single analog stick on the N64. Sony introduced the concept of dual analog sticks which is now considered the standard control method.
Edited: Yeah, after seeing some of the other posts, the trakball was the true pioneer of analog controls. Oh, and paddles!
Ignatz Mouse said:
And while the joystick was terrible for games like Pac-Man (which, unfortunatly, dominated the market at the time) it was terrific for others, particularly Space Dungeon and Robotron 2084, both of which used a contraption that held two 5200 controllers in place - thus creating the first dual-analogue controller for a console. Hurrah for minor videogame trivia!
FnordChan
They might not have invented it, but the sticks on the dual shock and 360 that we use today are virtually identical in form factor to the N64 one and have a lot more in common with the n64 one than the 5200 one.
They might not have invented the car but maybe the convertible. Or was the saturn analog pad first?
They might not have invented the car but maybe the convertible. Or was the saturn analog pad first?
That's like saying the genesis innovated over the new because it had 3 buttons.
About a year ago, all-around awesome poster, NeoZeedeater made a post called "Nintendo did it first!". It touches on alot of what you may be looking for.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/showthread.php?t=32938
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/showthread.php?t=32938
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
FnordChan said:
Thanks, I can put that to rest. That 1-Up article also makes it seem like Atari invented it.
It certainly predates comsumer computer use by a long ways.
crisdecuba
Member
Nintendo's N64 pad came before the Saturn analog pad (N64 debuted in Japan before the controller was released for Nights).
~Cris
~Cris
KeithFranklin
Banned
FnordChan said:
What a game that was back then. I havent played Robotron 2084 with todays controllers. I will download it for the 360 when it shows up this month and see if it plays as well today with a 360 controller then it did back then with the 5200 controllers in the holster.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
borghe said:
I don't know what you're getting at. AFAIK, paddles were first used in Pong, an Atari game. They were based on the potentiometer controlls that had been used by Baer and others, btu he put them on a game machine (as opposed to a prototype) and prusumably was responsible for the weighted feel and free rotation.
borghe said:
Bushnell used a paddle controller for Pong (1972) but I dunno if he invented it. In fact, I'm starting to get the feeling that virtually all controller variants were created for use with mainframe computing in the 60s and 70s. For example, here's a tidbit from an article on Spacewar written by Stewart "Whole Earth Cataloge" Brand for Rolling Stone, 12/07/72:
"Adding incentive, MIT introduced an electric shock to go with the explosion of your ship."
So, not only did Spacewar inspire the first joysticks at MIT, they also created the equivalent of the rumble feedback.
FnordChan
rahxephon03x
Member
Mihail said:
If Nintendo was into the porn industry, they would probably reinvent the way we have sex.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
FnordChan said:
I had an interesting solution for this one. I had the Atari computer version, which was virtually identical (the 5200 guts being the same as the Atari home computers) but with stardard Atari 2600 joystick ports. I hooked up a Wico bat stick to one controller port-- which was big-based and heavy enough I could set it down on the desk and use it one-handed-- and I used a trackball controller to fire. Very strange sensation, sweeping my hand over the trackball to shoot in whichever direction-- but it worked.
I wish somebody woudl release a stick for modern consoles with a Wico Bat feel to it. None of these clicky fighting sticks.
KeithFranklin said:
It's still quite a game today. I originally played it on the BBC Micro, with keyboard controls. Looking forward to the more natural control on the 360 (though this is definitely a game that would benefit from symmetrical positioning of the analogue sticks - here's to a PS3 port...
)Ignatz Mouse
Banned
FnordChan said:
Here's a story:
We had a (non-functional) PDP-4 in our offices in the early 90s at the University of Michigan. We liked the irony of having this huge, dated-looking thing in our modern lab, plus it was a cool bit of history. We had resuced it from the basment of a Psych department.
Flash forward a few years, I'm talking to my father-in-law who went to U-M in the mid-60's. He had actually played Space War at the time, and was telling me about it. Turns out he played on that very system.
What made me think of it was that the console of the system had a bunch of toggle switches and..... and dial. I don't think it was used for the game, but it was basically a paddle controller. It was marked "speed." I wish my compueter had a speed knob!
Anyway, I suspect you are right. Atari gets credit for coming up with ways to use these things to control games.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
Wakune said:
D-pad (the Intellivision disc is a bit of a stretch to compare)
Shoulder buttons
I think there's a much bigger catalog of gaming conventions they pioneered (particularly Miyamoto) but that's another topic.
KeithFranklin
Banned
Ignatz Mouse said:
Wico was based in a suburb of Chicago and I visited them several times to purchase thier replacement for 5200 controllers (They were self centering analog) as well as purchase components to make my own arcade style stick for use with the 5200.
Parallax Scroll
Banned
In the mid 80s, I had an Apple II with an analog stick but no mouse. In addition to using the stick to play games, I also used it for stuff like drawing programs because it was far more useful than navigating with the keyboard.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
From that site:
Wow, I didn't know any of that. Like Nintendo, Atari gets credit for some things they never did.
They still have a huge list of things they did do first, of course.
Wow, I didn't know any of that. Like Nintendo, Atari gets credit for some things they never did.
They still have a huge list of things they did do first, of course.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
Grug said:
You should take a look at the Vectrex. Its stick is very similar to the N64's analog thumbstick, and it can be used that way.
I'm not sure why people push so hard to get Nintendo credit for things. Is it not credit wnough that they popularized it when it has died out altogether?
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
FiRez said:
Oh no, those go waaaaaay back.
Heh, I had a Bally Astrocade back in the day (referenced in that link as the first system with 4 controlled ports) and was all about how it was better than Atari. I didn't like Atari much back then, until I got their home computer later.
The Astrocade had some of the most innovative controllers ever, by the way. It was a pistol-grip with a trigger that you could hold in you left hand, and on top was a joystick that was also rotatable as a paddle. In an era when control was usually limited to paddle *or* joystick but not both (and only one button) this was very cool.
Unfortunately, despirte being earlier to market than the 2600 and having superior specs, it never got the software support and died. Sound familiar?
(Contrary to some reports, it did not ship with a cassette drive, although you could get BASIC for it and an adapter to hook up a cassete player for backup.)