Over the years, one of the things that Nintendo has become known for is making exceptional controllers that are optimized for their first-party games. While Nintendo has done mid-cycle life updates to their systems dating back to the NES, they have only ever made 1 mid-life controller change. That was with the NES Top Loader and the AV Famicom. And that redesign was to the iconic controller for the NES, but the change made was for the best.

While I was not there at the time, clearly, I theorize that the conversation inside of Nintendo went something like this.

"What would happen if we merged the NES Controller and a Super Nintendo Controller?"

"Let's Try It!"

One of the issues I, and some others may have had with the original NES controller, was the rectangular corners of the controller itself. While fairly comfortable, it could somewhat dig into your hands during extended gameplay. And while the Famicom controller had more of a radius to the corners, it still had similar issues with how it dug into the hand. The Famicom controllers were also hardwired into the console. With the redesign of the NES from the front loader to the top loader design and the AV Famicom Nintendo decided to make a change to the controller as well.

The result was the NES Dogbone Controller. What the Dogbone controller changed from a design standpoint was to evolve the ergonomics of the Super Nintendo controller, make it a little more rounded, top and bottom, and relocate the A and B Buttons to improve comfort.

The Dogbone controller is one of my favorite controllers of all time. It took everything I loved from the Super NES controller and optimized it for the NES. On the Famicom side of things, it also upgraded the system from a hardwired to a removable controller. The Japanese version did feature a shorter controller cable than the US version, but other than that the US and Japanese controllers were identical.

Why do you think Nintendo never redesigned any other controllers? Did you prefer the original NES and Famicom controller or the Dogbone controller? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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