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Sticks left vs. sticks right.
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Stingray:
Ditto on the original NES pad. I'm still not nuts about that layout up to and including my PS2 pads.

-S
ErikRuud:
I got used to it when I got my own Sega Genesys, but I still made my cabinet with the buttons on the left.
GamingGreg:
Ultimately I think this comes down to personal preference, but here's my thoughts on the why they are on the right now in the arcades (I could be way off on this):  

Generally most people are right handed and are more agile (better fine motor skills) in that hand.  I think in the early days, since there was only one or two buttons being used, the joystick was placed on the right, as that was the control that needed more agility.  Then with the advent of games that needed more buttons, such as fighting games, the decision was made to move these to the right, as it takes more agility to move around the buttons than to move the stick.  Again, I could be way off on this, but that's the way I see it.
FractalWalk:
I believe it is a dexterity issue. I am right handed and consistently use my right hand for the more complex/sensitive movements. For example, in Galaga, the fire buttom requires a more sensitive hand than the joystick and so I fire with the right. But in Donkey Kong, the joystick movements are more critical and so I use my left hand for jumping. Trackballs and spinners are always in my right hand because they require better dexterity.  

I don't consciously think about this, I just naturally choose the controls that way.
ErikRuud:
GamingGreg,

Your theory is probably correct for the old consoles, but in the old days many single player games had duplicate sets of buttons on each side of the stick.

I scanned through the CPO packs, and I was surprised by the number of two player games that left and right button sets for both players.  Most of those have no more than three buttons.
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