Dreamcast Why did the Dreamcast controller ditch the six button face?

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I’ve always wondered why the Dreamcast pad dropped the six button face that had been established during the Mega Drive era and then became the standard for the Saturn. Same with the choice of directional pad. The Dreamcast controller doesn’t feel like any other SEGA controller, and that’s not really a good thing in most ways. It’s so strange, since having the six button face would fix the issue they had where their controller didn’t have the same amount of buttons as the PS1 controller (and later the PS2).

If there’s any actual interview that explains why, I would love to know, but otherwise this thread is more for speculation. My guess is that they clearly used the N64 controller as a guide for what to emulate with an analog pad, so perhaps the C-buttons of that controller have something to do with it? Even still, the 64 pad is the only 6 button face controller Nintendo has ever made. And the Saturn analog pad, the design inspiration for the Dreamcast pad, also has a 6 button face, so I really don’t know.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I think because that configuration was already phasing out by the time the DC came about.

Six-button configs are great for tournament fighters or 2D arcade brawlers, but this was the 3D action-exploration era -- gamers wanted analog sticks, shoulder buttons and less contact with the D-PAD, gladly making-do with four front-facing buttons instead, and that was reflected on every machine of the last two generations.

 

[GundamJehutyKai]

IIRC, in an interview, sega said that public focus testing showed that many ppl felt intimidated by a 6 face button layout on their controller so They went the route of 4 face buttons for DC.

 

[moonbits]

Triggers were da future.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Triggers were da future.

I would agree, if I haven’t literally held a Saturn analog controller in my hands, and that thing has analog triggers. Good ones. And those were awesome on Dreamcast too.


But, the Saturn pad has the epic six button face and the godlike directional pad.

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IIRC, in an interview, sega said that public focus testing showed that many ppl felt intimidated by a 6 face button layout on their controller so They went the route of 4 face buttons for DC.

Dang. I guess that is it. I still wonder why they changed their pad though.

I really think it was the mass success of the Super Nintendo and the PlayStation that did it. As perfect as that six button face is, it’s perfect for arcade games that use up to six buttons, and they have limited appeal in the west thanks to the difference in arcade culture (shaped by urban planning and cultural differences).