The Nintendo DS features stereo speakers providing virtual surround sound (depending on the software) located on either side of the upper display screen. The overall button layout is similar to the controller of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom in Japan). Shoulder buttons L and R are located on the upper corners of the lower half of the system.
To the left is a D-pad, with a narrow Power button above it, and to the right are the A, B, X, and Y buttons, with narrow Select and Start buttons above them. Traditional controls are located on either side of the touchscreen.
The touchscreen allows users to interact with in-game elements more directly than by pressing buttons for example, in the included chatting software, PictoChat, the stylus is used to write messages or draw. The lower display of the Nintendo DS is overlaid with a touchscreen, designed to accept input from the included stylus, the user's fingers, or a curved plastic tab attached to the optional wrist strap. Original Box Art with Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo.