Best central hardware feature

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RolStoppable said:

While Switch's hybrid functionality is pretty cool, it's ultimately just the fusion of two things that have worked for a long time already. So at best it can take the third spot in the Nintendo list.

Second place goes to the analogue stick of the Nintendo 64. A central hardware feature that seems so normal today that people don't even remember what a game changer it was. 3D games were able to have fluid controls instead of the rubbish clunkiness they had before. 1996's hit games Super Mario 64 vs. Tomb Raider, it was like two games from different generations if you were there at the time. Nintendo's competitors didn't lose a minute to rush their own controllers with analog sticks to the market.

First place goes to the NES and it's d-pad. Even more forgotten than the analogue stick, but there was a time when video games were played with crappy joysticks. The d-pad survived the analog stick revolution, but the joystick didn't survive the uprising of the d-pad.

In this context, I guess the SNES would be... 4 face buttons? Shoulder buttons? Both set a standard that continues to be standard to this day. Look at any mainstream modern controller and you're essentially looking at an SNES pad with two analog sticks added.

Gamecube though... the handle? lmao