<s>
A	O
gamepad	B-Device
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
controller	I-Device
held	O
in	O
two	O
hands	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
fingers	O
(	O
especially	O
thumbs	O
)	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
typically	O
the	O
main	O
input	B-Device
device	I-Device
for	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamepads	B-Device
generally	O
feature	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
buttons	O
handled	O
with	O
the	O
right	O
thumb	O
and	O
a	O
direction	B-Device
controller	I-Device
handled	O
with	O
the	O
left	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
direction	B-Device
controller	I-Device
has	O
traditionally	O
been	O
a	O
four-way	O
digital	O
cross	O
(	O
also	O
named	O
a	O
joypad	O
,	O
or	O
alternatively	O
a	O
D-pad	B-Device
,	O
and	O
never	O
called	O
arrow	O
keys	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
most	O
modern	O
controllers	O
additionally	O
(	O
or	O
as	O
a	O
substitute	O
)	O
feature	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
analog	B-Device
sticks	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Analog	O
triggers	O
,	O
like	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
GameCube	B-Device
controller	I-Device
,	O
are	O
pressure-sensitive	O
and	O
games	O
can	O
read	O
in	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
pressure	O
applied	O
to	O
one	O
to	O
control	O
the	O
intensity	O
of	O
a	O
certain	O
action	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
how	O
forceful	O
water	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
sprayed	O
in	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Sunshine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
programmable	O
joysticks	B-Device
that	O
can	O
emulate	O
keyboard	B-Device
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generally	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
to	O
circumvent	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
joystick	B-Device
support	O
in	O
some	O
computer	O
games	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
Belkin	O
Nostromo	B-Device
SpeedPad	I-Device
n52	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
programs	O
that	O
emulate	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
mouse	B-Device
input	I-Device
with	O
a	O
gamepad	B-Device
such	O
as	O
the	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
software	I-Operating_System
antimicro	O
,	O
Enjoy2	O
,	O
or	O
proprietary	O
commercial	O
solutions	O
such	O
as	O
JoyToKey	O
,	O
Xpadder	O
,	O
and	O
Pinnacle	O
Game	O
Profiler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
1962	O
video	O
game	O
Spacewar	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
This	O
device	O
has	O
been	O
called	O
the	O
earliest	O
gamepad	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
would	O
take	O
many	O
years	O
for	O
the	O
gamepad	B-Device
to	O
rise	O
to	O
prominence	O
,	O
as	O
during	O
the	O
1970s	O
and	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
joysticks	B-Device
and	O
paddles	B-Device
were	O
the	O
dominant	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
controllers	I-Device
,	O
though	O
several	O
Atari	O
joystick	O
port-compatible	O
pushbutton	O
controllers	O
were	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
third	B-Application
generation	I-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
saw	O
many	O
major	O
changes	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
eminence	O
of	O
gamepads	B-Device
in	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
developed	O
a	O
gamepad	B-Device
device	O
for	O
directional	O
inputs	O
,	O
a	O
D-pad	B-Device
with	O
a	O
"	O
cross	O
"	O
design	O
for	O
their	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
handheld	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
design	O
would	O
be	O
incorporated	O
into	O
their	O
"	O
Game	B-Device
&	I-Device
Watch	I-Device
"	O
series	O
and	O
console	O
controllers	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
standard	O
NES	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
developed	O
because	O
they	O
were	O
more	O
compact	O
than	O
joysticks	B-Device
,	O
and	O
thus	O
more	O
appropriate	O
for	O
handheld	O
games	O
,	O
D-pads	B-Device
were	O
soon	O
found	O
by	O
developers	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
comfortable	O
to	O
use	O
than	O
joysticks	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
D-pad	B-Device
soon	O
became	O
a	O
ubiquitous	O
element	O
on	O
console	O
gamepads	B-Device
,	O
though	O
to	O
avoid	O
infringing	O
on	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
patent	O
,	O
most	O
controller	O
manufacturers	O
use	O
a	O
cross	O
in	O
a	O
circle	O
shape	O
for	O
the	O
D-pad	B-Device
instead	O
of	O
a	O
simple	O
cross	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis/Mega	I-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
control	B-Device
pad	I-Device
has	O
three	O
face	O
buttons	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
six-button	O
pad	O
was	O
later	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SNES	B-Application
controller	O
also	O
featured	O
six	O
action	B-Device
buttons	I-Device
,	O
with	O
four	O
face	O
buttons	O
arranged	O
in	O
a	O
diamond	O
formation	O
,	O
and	O
two	O
shoulder	O
buttons	O
positioned	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
the	O
index	O
fingers	O
,	O
a	O
design	O
which	O
has	O
been	O
imitated	O
by	O
most	O
controllers	O
since	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
inclusion	O
of	O
six	O
action	B-Device
buttons	I-Device
was	O
influenced	O
by	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
Street	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
arcade	O
series	O
,	O
which	O
utilized	O
six	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
analog	B-Device
joysticks	I-Device
were	O
the	O
predominant	O
form	O
of	O
gaming	B-Device
controller	I-Device
for	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
while	O
console	O
gaming	B-Device
controllers	I-Device
were	O
mostly	O
digital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sony	O
Dual	B-Device
Analog	I-Device
Controller	I-Device
had	O
twin	O
convex	O
analog	O
thumbsticks	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
3D	O
Control	B-Device
Pad	I-Device
had	O
a	O
single	O
analog	O
thumbstick	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
64	I-Device
controller	I-Device
combined	O
digital	O
and	O
analog	O
controllers	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
body	O
,	O
starting	O
a	O
trend	O
to	O
have	O
both	O
an	O
analog	B-Device
stick	I-Device
and	O
a	O
d-pad	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
these	O
changes	O
,	O
gamepads	B-Device
essentially	O
continued	O
to	O
follow	O
the	O
template	O
set	O
by	O
the	O
NES	O
controller	O
(	O
a	O
horizontally-oriented	O
controller	O
with	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
action	B-Device
buttons	I-Device
positioned	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
right	O
thumb	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
directional	B-Device
pad	I-Device
positioned	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
left	O
thumb	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamepads	B-Device
failed	O
to	O
achieve	O
any	O
sort	O
of	O
dominance	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
home	O
console	O
market	O
,	O
though	O
several	O
PC	O
gamepads	B-Device
have	O
enjoyed	O
popularity	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Gravis	B-Device
PC	I-Device
GamePad	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
three-dimensional	O
games	O
rose	O
to	O
prominence	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
,	O
controllers	O
continued	O
to	O
mostly	O
operate	O
on	O
two-dimensional	O
principles	O
;	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
move	O
with	O
six	O
degrees	O
of	O
freedom	O
,	O
players	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
hold	O
down	O
a	O
button	O
to	O
toggle	O
the	O
axis	O
on	O
which	O
the	O
directional	B-Device
pad	I-Device
operates	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
control	O
movement	O
along	O
all	O
three	O
axes	O
at	O
once	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
gaming	O
consoles	O
,	O
the	O
Fairchild	B-Operating_System
Channel	I-Operating_System
F	I-Operating_System
,	O
did	O
have	O
a	O
controller	O
which	O
allowed	O
six	O
degrees	O
of	O
freedom	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
processing	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
itself	O
prevented	O
there	O
from	O
being	O
any	O
software	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
ability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wii	B-Device
Remote	I-Device
is	O
shaped	O
like	O
a	O
television	O
remote	B-Protocol
control	I-Protocol
and	O
contains	O
tilt	O
sensors	O
and	O
three-dimensional	O
pointing	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
system	O
to	O
understand	O
all	O
directions	O
of	O
movement	O
and	O
rotation	O
(	O
back	O
and	O
forth	O
around	O
the	O
pitch	O
,	O
roll	O
,	O
and	O
yaw	O
axes	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
analog	B-Device
stick	I-Device
peripheral	O
called	O
"	O
Nunchuk	O
"	O
also	O
contains	O
an	O
accelerometer	O
but	O
unlike	O
the	O
Wii	B-Device
Remote	I-Device
,	O
it	O
lacks	O
any	O
pointer	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamepads	B-Device
are	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
PC	O
gamepads	B-Device
include	O
the	O
Asus	O
Eee	O
Stick	O
,	O
the	O
Gravis	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Device
SideWinder	I-Device
and	O
Saitek	O
Cyborg	O
range	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Steam	B-Device
Controller	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third-party	O
USB	B-Protocol
adapters	O
and	O
software	O
can	O
be	O
employed	O
to	O
utilize	O
console	O
gamepads	B-Device
on	O
PCs	B-Device
;	O
the	O
DualShock	B-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
DualShock	B-Device
4	O
,	O
DualSense	O
,	O
Wii	B-Device
Remote	I-Device
and	O
Joy-Con	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
third-party	O
software	O
on	O
systems	O
with	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
functionality	O
,	O
with	O
USB	B-Protocol
additionally	O
usable	O
on	O
DualShock	B-Device
3	I-Device
and	O
DualShock	B-Device
4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
controllers	O
are	O
officially	O
supported	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
with	O
Microsoft-supplied	O
drivers	O
;	O
a	O
dongle	B-Device
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
connect	O
them	O
wirelessly	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
controller	O
can	O
be	O
connected	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
computer	O
over	O
USB	B-Protocol
(	O
wired	O
versions	O
of	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
controllers	O
were	O
marketed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
as	O
PC	O
gamepads	B-Device
,	O
while	O
the	B-Device
Xbox	I-Device
One	I-Device
controller	O
can	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
PC	O
via	O
its	O
Micro	O
USB	B-Protocol
slot	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
