Parts of a Controller – Labeled Game Controller Diagram

All 9 parts on the diagram

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Buttons and sticks 6

D-pad (directional pad) Rests on four switches, one each for up, down, left and right. Pressing a corner works two at once, for a diagonal.
Analog sticks (thumbsticks) Each is a stick on a pivot. It reports how far it is tilted, not just which way, and many can also be pressed in like a button.
Action buttons (face buttons) Makers mark them with letters such as A, B, X and Y. They are left blank here.
Start button It sits in the middle of the face. Some makers call it the menu button.
Bumpers (shoulder buttons) A bumper is usually a plain on-or-off button.
Triggers A trigger reports how far it is pulled back. A game can then tell a light squeeze from a full one.

Inside 3

Circuit board It registers each press. Pressing the pad pushes a membrane down against the board, which completes a circuit.
Battery A wireless controller is powered by a battery. A wired one takes its power through its cable.
Vibration motors Games switch them on to make the controller rumble in your hands. This is called haptic feedback.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Gamepad, Game controller, D-pad and Analog stick (D-pad or directional pad, analog stick or thumbstick, action or face buttons, start button, shoulder buttons or bumpers, triggers, an internal motor for vibration, the circuit board that registers input, battery-powered wireless controllers). (2) Two makers' documents: Logitech, Getting started with Gamepad F310, https://www.logitech.com/assets/35017/gamepad-f310-gsw.pdf (D-pad, analog mini-sticks, four action buttons, start button, trigger); Microsoft Learn, Gamepad and vibration, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/gaming/gamepad-and-vibration (directional pad, thumbsticks, bumpers, triggers, vibration motors). (3) For the inside, iFixit teardowns of a wireless controller, https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Xbox+One+Wireless+Controller+Teardown/72986 and https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Xbox+One+Wireless+Controller+Teardown/122645 (circuit board, rumble motors, battery). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's controller, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a video game controller in three views: the front with its pad, sticks and buttons, the top edge with its bumpers and triggers, and the inside with the cover off.

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Front, top edge, inside

Numbers 1 to 4 are on the front: the D-pad under the left thumb, the four action buttons under the right, the two analog sticks and the small start button in the middle. Numbers 5 and 6 are along the top edge: a bumper on each side with a trigger below it. Numbers 7 to 9 are inside: the circuit board that registers every press, the battery of a wireless controller, and a vibration motor in each grip.

A bumper is usually just on or off. A trigger also reports how far it is pulled.
The action buttons are blank here: makers mark them with their own letters, such as A, B, X and Y.

Questions and answers

What are the buttons on a controller called?

The cross on the left is the D-pad, short for directional pad. The four round ones on the right are the action buttons, or face buttons. Along the top edge are the bumpers, also called shoulder buttons, with the triggers below them.

What is the difference between a D-pad and an analog stick?

A D-pad is a flat cross resting on four switches, so it reports up, down, left, right and the diagonals. An analog stick tilts on a pivot and reports how far it is pushed as well as which way.

What makes a controller vibrate?

Small motors inside it. The game switches them on to shake the controller in your hands. This is called rumble, or haptic feedback.

What is stick drift?

It is when an analog stick registers movement even though nobody is touching it, which makes a game harder to control. It is a common fault in modern controllers.