Peripheral and immersion

While the typical video game control with directional keys and fire buttons develops very early, there are also numerous alternative control methods through the history of the game consoles. These are not only controller variants adapted to the game events, such as paddle or trackball. Part of it is specially shaped controllers that correspond to the theme of the game, but often also attempts to involve the whole body of the players.

Behind it is the effort to create a control that feels more natural to create a more intense, captivating sense of play. This effort for immersion is sometimes more, sometimes less effective, because while the idea is as old as the history of video games, the technology is often not yet ready to implement the concepts efficiently. Only in the 2000s did Nintendo achieve motion control with the Wii that was mature enough for mass adoption.