The other day at Nintendo’s Gamer’s Summit, IGN Cube spoke to Ken Lobb, concerning the role of the Z-Button on the GameCube controller. Here’s what he had to say:

"My opinion of the Z-button is that it is more like a select button than an action button. The position makes it easier to reach so you don't have to pull your thumb off of the analog stick," says Mr. Lobb. "We're using it for this in a lot of our games and we're encouraging third-party developers to do the same. We want your fingers to be resting on the L and R buttons."

Mr. Lobb went on by stressing that the Z Button shouldn’t be viewed as an action button like the rest of the controller buttons. The shape of the Z-button has even been formed so the finger has to be extended and curved inward to press it. Apparently Nintendo didn't overlook the design of the button at all, but rather decided to create an alternate button that could serve multiple purposes outside of the standard action buttons.