The D-Pad

The D-Pad is a YouTube Let's Play channel created by Rick Desilets in 2011. Originally intended as a companion to the podcast of the same name, it eventually became the group's main focus, and continued as such after the podcast ended in 2014. Initially hosted by Rick, John Selig and C/J Haley, it has expanded over time to feature many more permanent and recurring members and guests. The channel is known for large scale Franchise Plays that attempt to cover every game in a series, Pokémon Rivals, a competitive variation on the Nuzlocke ruleset, and non-LP projects like A Brief History and Seriesly. As of 2023, The D-Pad have played over 800 games and uploaded over 10000 videos.

History

The D-Pad originated as a podcast hosted by Rick, John and Nick Bebel, with the first episode airing on April 3, 2011, and C/J joining soon after. In June of that year, the podcast held an event known as Sonic Week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. As part of the event, the group released Let's Plays of several classic-era Sonic games on their website. Soon after, The D-Pad Youtube channel was created, and an LP of 5 Days a Stranger was uploaded to it, followed by the previously-recorded Sonic Week episodes. Over the next few years, the group continued to upload LPs to the channel, with a somewhat erratic schedule, until uploads abruptly stopped in February 2013.

On August 22, 2013, a full six months after the channel's last upload, a trailer was released for a large-scale project called The Legendary Let's Play, in which the group would play every main series The Legend of Zelda release. Throughout the rest of 2013 and the entirety of 2014, the channel uploaded Zelda videos on a regular schedule, along with many other games. At the very end of 2014, The D-Pad completed their goal after over 500 videos, and immediately moved on to their next project, The Mega Let's Play. This even more ambitious Franchise Play attempts to tackle every single game in the Mega Man series, and has been running continuously for six years. During the run of The Mega Let's Play, they have continued to add further Franchise Plays, Pokémon Nuzlockes, and other Let's Plays and projects, with the cast of the channel growing to include a large number of additional hosts and guests. Two "sub-channels" have also been created: The C-Pad, featuring projects created by C/J, and The Joystick, created by John.

Members

For a list of all hosts, recurring guests and cameos on the channel, see Members.

Projects

For a list of every single game played on the channel, see List of games.

Franchise Plays:

• Pokémon Rivals (2012 – present)
• The Legendary Let's Play (2013 – 2021, 2023 – present)
• The Mythic Let's Play (2014)
• The Mega Let's Play (2015 – present)
• The Heartless Let's Play (2015 – present)
• The Dreamy Let's Play (2016 – present)
• The Super Sonic Let's Play (2016 – present)
• Let's Play Dead (The C-Pad, 2018 – present)
• The Screwy Let's Play (2021)
• The Wondrous Let's Play (2022)

Other projects and shows:

• Sonic Week (2011)
• Let's Predict the Super Bowl (2012 – present)
• Putting Our Guests to the Test (2012)
• The Twelve Games of Christmas (2013 – 2014)
• C/J & Felice vs. The Elite Four (The C-Pad, 2014)
• D-Pad Rivals (2014 – present)
• R-Rated (2014 – 2022)
• A Brief History (2015 – 2021)
• D-Pad Select (2015 – present)
• Retro Retry (2015)
• Ninety Minute Nails (The C-Pad, 2015 – 2019)
• Seriesly (2015 – present)
• The Empty Video Game Nerd (2015 – 2019)
• The D-Pad Reacts (2015 – present)
• The Fright Before Christmas (2015 – 2016)
• Full Steam Ahead (2015)
• Play-Per-View (The C-Pad, 2016 – 2017)
• D-Pad + Chill (2016 – present)
• D-Pad Reviews (2017)
• Super NES Classic Edition (2017 – 2018)
• The D-List (2017 – present)
• You Do It (2018 – present)
• Movie Nights at the Roundtable (2018 – 2020)
• Spyro Pre-Ignited Trilogy (2018 – 2019)
• NES Classic Edition (2018)
• OUYA, Oh No (2019 – 2020)
• Sega Genesis Mini (2019 – 2020)
• D-Pad Sidequests (2020)
• PlayStation Classic (2020 – present)
• Hindsight (2021 – 2022)
• The D-Pad 10th Anniversary Marathon Stream (2021)
• Sonic Weekathon (2021)
• The Best of The D-Pad (2021 – present)
• The Games (2021 – 2022)
• The Complete 32X (2021)
• Super Mario/Wariothon (2022)
• The D-Pad 11th Anniversary Marathon Stream (2022)
• Sonic Weekathon II (2022)
• The Complete Odyssey (2022)
• Getting Smashed (2022 – present)
• Sega Genesis Mini 2 (2022)
• The D-Pad's Super Soft Extra Life Charity Marathon Stream (2022)
• Donkeython (2022 – 2023)
• The D-Pad 12th Anniversary Marathon Stream (2023)
• Special D+livery (2023)
• Sonic Weekathon III Adventure (2023)
• Mario Party Madness (2023)
• Jackathon (2023)
• The D-Pad 13th Anniversary Marathon Stream (2024)