Editing Nintendo 64 (section)

=== Controller ===
{{Main|Nintendo 64 controller}}
[[File:N64-Controller-Gray.jpg|thumb|A gray Nintendo 64 controller]]
The Nintendo 64 controller features a distinctive "M"-shaped design, with a "[[Analog stick|control stick]]", making Nintendo the first manufacturer to include a thumbstick as a standard feature in its primary controller. While functionally similar to an analog stick, the control stick is digital, operating on the same principles as a [[ball mouse]].

The controller includes a D-pad and ten buttons: a large A and B button, a Start button, four C-buttons (Up, Down, Left, and Right), two shoulder buttons (L and R), and a Z trigger positioned on the back. ''[[Popular Electronics]]'' described its shape as "evocative of some alien spaceship." While noting that the three-handle design could be confusing, the magazine praised its versatility, stating "the separate grips allow different hand positions for various game types".<ref name="Popular Will" />

A port on the bottom of the controller allows users to connect various accessories, including the [[Controller Pak]] for saving game data, the [[Rumble Pak]] for [[force feedback]], and the [[Transfer Pak]], which enabled data transfer between supported Nintendo 64 and Game Boy games.

The Nintendo 64 was also one of the first consoles to feature four controller ports. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo included four ports because it was the first console powerful enough to handle four-player [[Split screen (video games)|split-screen]] gameplay without significant slowdown.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1996 |title=Shigeru Miyamoto: The Master of the Game |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=14 |pages=45–47}}</ref>