The Nintendo 64 was the first Nintendo console to make an analog control stick a standard feature of its main controller.
Nintendo released the Nintendo 64 in Japan in June 1996, followed by North America and Europe later that year. Its three-pronged controller placed an analog stick in the central grip, allowing players to control movement with more gradual precision than a traditional digital directional pad.
The controller also included a directional pad, six face buttons, shoulder buttons, and an expansion slot for accessories such as the Rumble Pak and Controller Pak. The analog stick was especially important for three-dimensional games, including Super Mario 64, which was designed around free movement in 3D spaces.
Earlier Nintendo controllers had directional pads, and some other companies had already experimented with analog controls. The Nintendo 64’s significance was making the analog stick central to a major Nintendo console’s standard controller and to the design of its flagship 3D games.