Anyone who looked at the picture of the FlightStick would know that it had nothing to do with the N64 controller.

EDIT: Taken from the source for Nintendo's digital analog stick:

And by showing off the new controller with a polished (but not complete) version ofMario 64, Nintendo showed the killer app that made the thumbstick more than a gimmick. Sony and Sega saw the writing on the wall: next generation meant 3D, and 3D meant analog. They immediately set out to create analog joysticks for their consoles. Sega actually moved so quickly on their design that they beat Nintendo to market in the US (though not worldwide).

NOE has said wild things before (they are usually the most blunt) but can you honestly say they are in the wrong here? I like the verbs and adjectives used in this article too; I bolded the good ones. Sounds like he went postal lol

I wouldn't say everything. Many of Sony's IPs are pretty original. I agree that other ideas were defintely borrowed from Nintendo, but no company just copies without their own little twist on it (Rmble Contoller on the N64 vs the DualShock).

In many respects, Nintendo are Sony are similar, in that they'll both take a gamble on something different. Difference is, Nintendo is smarter about their business, which is why their pockets are always the fattest at the end of any given generation, despite the marketshare.

Sony's offerings to the industry can't be scoffed at though, no matter how innovative Nintendo is, Sony taught them a thing or two in the past two generations. That very sense of competition drove Nintendo to do something completely different for this gen in the first place and they should be credited for that.

Just like Microsoft this gen, although they may not have as much in the indsutry as Nintendo or Sony ( in terms of properties, studios, assets), you can bet your ass they taught the two Japanese companies a thing or two as well. Natal may just be their entry into areas once only ruled by Nintendo and/or Sony.

Ah yes, the classic cop-out. It's always better to go with that instead of admitting that Nintendo is the company that brought by far the most innovations to gaming that went on to become a standard.

Btw, the same source points out that Nintendo was indeed the first company to have an analog thumbstick, previous analog sticks were operated differently. That and they were unreliable. So Nintendo didn't copy anything from the Atari 5200 or Vectrex like you originally claimed.