The Nintendo 64 controller distinguished itself from these precursors by using an analog thumbstick, which was predated only by the Mega Drive's XE-1 AP, designed by third-party manufacturer Dempa in 1989.

The analog stick uses a pair of optical encoding disks to determine its position, similar to how ball mice work.

[9] Finally, the controller can be held by the center and left-hand grip, allowing for a combination of the D-pad, L shoulder, analog stick, and Z trigger,[9] as was implemented in GoldenEye 007.

Nintendo would largely follow suit with the stock controller for its GameCube console, but swapped the positions of the analog stick and D-pad.

Such a layout would become dominant in gamepad design, as by that time the left analog stick had become universally accepted as the primary movement control on 3D games across all consoles.

Star Wars Episode I: Racer, GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark also use this set up for slightly different gameplay experiences compared to the standard single-controller option.

The Controller Pak is Nintendo's external memory card, similar to those used on the PlayStation and other CD-ROM consoles.

Some of these others include smoke black, watermelon red, jungle green, fire orange, ice blue, grape purple, and special edition colors like gold, atomic purple, extreme green, "Donkey Kong 64" banana bunch yellow, "Pokémon" blue and yellow, and "Millennium 2000" platinum.

[12] Several third-party manufacturers would produce aftermarket Nintendo 64 controllers with similar layouts to the Dual Analog/DualShock, such as the MakoPad and Hori Mini.

While the optical encoding disks are mostly digital and provide very accurate relative movements, third-party controllers and joysticks often use cheaper potentiometers instead.

In 1999, LodgeNet and Nintendo released a controller and game playing service for various hotels in the United States.

Dave Perry called it "the big special move that [Nintendo] have gone for", while Jez San said that "The joystick is unusual looking but I like the controls.

[18] Similar results followed in North America; retailers reported extremely high sales of the controllers despite only a handful of multiplayer games being available.

As a result of a settlement with the New York Attorney General, Nintendo offered protective gloves to prevent injuries.

In Q1 2000, Nintendo reported that out of more than 1 million copies sold in the year since the game's release, the company had received about 90 complaints, none serious.

Tim Weaver, editor of the UK's N64 Magazine, said his staff experienced no problems with the controller, adding that the entire investigation was "ludicrous" and "could only happen in America",[20][21] although blister injuries were common, especially in Mario Party mini-games such as "Pedal Power" and "Tug o' War".

[22] Some aftermarket controllers have since sought to remedy both issues, including rubberised analog sticks with steel construction underneath, often employed by speedrunners and/or retrogaming enthusiasts.