January 12, 2007
Nintendo Wins Emmy Award
The National Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences has awarded Nintendo an Emmy® Award for its invention of the
plus-shaped D-pad, one in a long string of Nintendo’s controller innovations.
The award was presented in recognition of the technological achievement of the
D-pad, which radically changed how people interact with their video games and,
by extension, their televisions. Nintendo received the award in Las Vegas during
the Technological & Engineering Emmy Awards, which kicked off this week’s
Consumer Electronics Show.
The D-pad first debuted on the controllers for
the Nintendo Entertainment System® in 1985, and has been standard on all video
games controllers ever since. The D-pad replaced joysticks and represented an
early example of how Nintendo was willing to shake up the status quo in the
search for a better gaming experience.
"Nintendo has long been a pioneer in the way that
people interact with their games," said Nintendo of America President Reggie
Fils-Aime. "Our commitment to pushing the envelope continues today with our
motion-sensitive Wii Remote controllers, which again rewrite the rules. We are
grateful for this award and thank the academy for the honor."
