Post by: WindyMan on January 12, 2007, 05:49:49 PM
Nintendo Wins Emmy Award
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded Nintendo an Emmy® Award for its invention of the plus-shaped D-pad, one in a long string of Nintendo's controller innovations. The award was presented in recognition of the technological achievement of the D-pad, which radically changed how people interact with their video games and, by extension, their televisions. Nintendo received the award in Las Vegas during the Technological & Engineering Emmy Awards, which kicked off this week's Consumer Electronics Show.
The D-pad first debuted in the United States in 1985 on the controllers for the Nintendo Entertainment System®, and has been standard on all video games controllers ever since. The D-pad replaced joysticks and represented an early example of how Nintendo was willing to shake up the status quo in the search for a better gaming experience.
"Nintendo has long been a pioneer in the way that people interact with their games," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "Our commitment to pushing the envelope continues today with our motion-sensitive Wii Remote controllers, which again rewrite the rules. We are grateful for this award and thank the academy for the honor."
Post by: MarioAllStar on January 12, 2007, 06:11:34 PM
In all seriousness, Nintendo has done a lot for the video game industry. Just about every one of their controllers introduced something new.
Game and Watch / NES = D-pad
SNES = shoulder buttons
N64 = analog stick
GameCube = "clicky" analog shoulder buttons
Wii = pointer, motion sensing
Virtual Boy = Dual D-pad
Select GameBoy cartridges = tilt sensing
Correct me if I am wrong, but Nintendo was the first to implement the above into a home gaming machine, or at least a mainstream one (e.g., there were various motion controlled gaming machines before the Wii, mainly dedicated sports simulations, but they don't really count a full-on gaming consoles).
Post by: MegaByte on January 12, 2007, 06:26:15 PM
Post by: Kairon on January 12, 2007, 06:46:07 PM
But Nintendo also has loads of other videogame innovations and contributions in fields other than control input.
~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Pryopizm on January 12, 2007, 07:07:27 PM
Post by: IceCold on January 12, 2007, 07:39:44 PM
QuoteWell, it wasn't wireless - some controllers had been using IR before, but the WaveBird used RF signals so you didn't need to point at the receiver and the range was amazing.
Add rumble to N64 and wireless to the GC. And yes, most of the things were done before in some sense, but never gained popularity until Nintendo (re)introduced them.
Apparently, the NES controller shared the award with the DualShock 2. I don't think I need to rant again about that damn controller.
Post by: wandering on January 12, 2007, 07:55:57 PM
Quote
Game and Watch / NES = D-pad
Speaking of the Game and Watch....
Quote
The D-pad first debuted in the United States in 1985 on the controllers for the Nintendo Entertainment System®, and has been standard on all video games controllers ever since.
It seems Sony isn't the only one who lies on press releases about Emmys! (emmies? emmy awards?)
