Gunpei Yokoi invented the cross-shaped directional pad in 1982 for a Donkey Kong handheld game because a traditional joystick was simply too clunky to fit in your pocket.

A closer look

Gunpei Yokoi invented the cross-shaped directional pad in 1982 for a Donkey Kong handheld game because a traditional joystick was simply too clunky to fit in your pocket. This genius piece of industrial design has been ripped off by virtually every single hardware manufacturer since, serving as the primary way you have navigated digital menus for the last forty years. Yokoi basically saved humanity from a lifetime of blistered thumbs and awful analog controls, yet he is mostly remembered for creating the Virtual Boy, a red-tinted torture device that gave an entire generation severe migraines. It is a classic corporate tragedy where you revolutionize human-computer interaction forever but get fired over a pair of terrible VR goggles