Inside Nintendo's classic games console
Lots of people know the Nintendo Entertainment System. Fewer know the Japanese console it was based on, the Nintendo Family Computer, also known as the Famicom. We'll take a look inside the Famicom and its accessories, including a unique disk system attachment.
The First Control Pads
The Famicom was the first video game console to use "control pads" as the main form of input. In contrast to the then-popular joystick, the control pad used a flat, cross-shaped thumb pad (often called a directional-pad or D-pad) that allowed for quick and accurate control. The design remains standard on most game controllers to this day.
You'll notice that the second controller (marked 'II', right) lacks the start and select buttons of the first but features a built-in microphone and volume slider (more on that in a moment). This idiosyncrasy of the Japanese system had some effects in the United States version. Early NES games such as Super Mario Bros. wouldn't pause with a press of the second controller's start button, because the Japanese counterpart had no equivalent button.
