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The lowest display of the Nintendo DS is overlaid with a touch-sensitive screen, designed to accept input from the included stylus, or a curved plastic thumb tab attached to the optional wrist strap. The touch screen allows players to interact with in-game elements more directly than by pressing buttons; for example, the stylus is used in Trauma Center: Under the Knife as a scalpel to make an incision in a diseased patient, in Pokémon Ranger to capture Pokémon, to change view in Bionicle Heroes and as a writing tool in the included chatting software, PictoChat. Traditional controls are located on either side of the touch screen. 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. Shoulder buttons L and R are located on the upper corners of the lower half of the system. The overall button layout is similar to the controller of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The Nintendo DS features stereo speakers providing virtual surround sound (depending on the software) located on either side of the upper display screen. This is a first for a Nintendo handheld, as the Game Boy line of systems has only supported stereo sound through the use of headphones or external speakers. The Nintendo DS stylus used for games played on the touch-screenA built-in microphone is located below the left side of the bottom screen. It has been used for a variety of purposes, including speech recognition (Nintendogs), chatting online between gameplay sessions (but not during gameplay) in some games (Metroid Prime: Hunters), and for minigames that require the player to blow or shout into the microphone (Feel the Magic: XY/XX, Wario Ware: Touched, etc).
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