The Great N64 Controller Debate

[Baby Simones]

Hey Everyone,

So this is something that's been bothering me since 1996. What is the true "right" way to hold the Nintendo 64's controller? Everyone knows that there are three nubs. D-pad on the left nub, joystick on the middle nub, and buttons on the right nub. With two hands you can only hold two of the three nubs. How do you hold the controller?

I personally held the outer nubs and stretched my thumb to the joystick that way I could reach everything on the controller including the Z and shoulder buttons.

How did you guys hold it? Let the debate begin!

 

[Xiahou Ba]

There is no true "right" way, you hold it the way you want to hold it.

That being said, I always hold the center and right nub. That's probably the "right" way to hold it.

 

[BEEEEEAAARRRS]

you used the d pad for pokemon stadium and that was it

im sure everyone held it by center and right handles 99% of the time

 

[Meta Knight]

Generally I hold the center and right, with my left index finger on the Z button and my right index on R. I don't have anything that requires the D-pad but if I did so then I would hold the left and right.

 

[freakworld]

middle and right, everything else is fucking unconfortable

then again the n64 controller is a piece of shit design-wise anyways, thank god for virtual console and emulators.

 

[Keqing]

left and right
holding it in the middle felt so awkward and you cant reach the dpad so i just stretched my thumbs as well for the stick lol
but yea if there was a thing where its like rotate the control stick to do something then id use my left hand to do that while the right hand would push buttons

 

[fantanoice]

Right hand always on right prong
Left hand on left prong if using dpad or middle prong if using the control stick

Why do people even argue this? It's diagrammed like that in like every N64 manual, and Nintendo have even stated that was the intended design in several interviews.

left and right
holding it in the middle felt so awkward and you cant reach the dpad so i just stretched my thumbs as well for the stick lol
but yea if there was a thing where its like rotate the control stick to do something then id use my left hand to do that while the right hand would push buttons

But there was a total of 0 games which required simultaneous use of the dpad and stick (afaik) so being able to reach both isn't that big of an issue. I'm still amazed people held it like this because I'm just like 'doesn't the handle / prong indicate you hold that'? But idk maybe it's more comfortable for you (my hands aren't even big enough to reach both heh)

 

[freakworld]

you enable and disable the map in oot with the dpad buttons

 

[Smashley]

middle and right

 

[N64Dude]

I constantly switch to different nubs

 

[Paper Jorge]

i held it in the weirdest way possible and i have no idea why

i gripped it with the left, and with my right hand i pressed buttons/used the control stick, without gripping