Pass the Controller Bro

[Pike]

What are your preferences in gaming controllers? What have you liked/not-liked over the ages?

I know this is probably kind of odd but I was a huge fan of the Nintendo 64 controller. I don't know, but for me it was just really comfortable to hold and intuitive to use. These days I'm rather fond of the Xbox 360 controller. I find it similarly comfortable and it's a huge improvement over the original XBOX HUEG controller from back in the day, because my hands are tiny and that was near impossible for me to hold.

Speaking of ridiculous controllers:

http://lowresmag.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/atari_jaguar_controller.jpg

[Shattered Dreamer]

I love the Sony controller design on all 3 Playstation consoles. Every other controller is just far too clunky when you've been playing with the PS style controller for as long as I have (15 years :O). Other controllers I really like are the original NES pad (simple but still awesome) & the Sega Mega Drive controller (even it the buttons felt a bit weird on my fingers).

[DK]

The most comfortable by far was the Gamecube pad, god I loved that thing. Other than that yeah I'd probably say the 360 pad is a good one, very comfortable to hold and perfectly designed for FPS games. My only major gripe with it is that it is absolute horse shit for fighting games, would take the PS pad for fighting games all day every day. If I had both consoles all my Tekken, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter and Blazblue etc etc would be PS3 versions without question.

[Rantz]

I was always fond of this fella even if it wasn't perfectly ergonomical.

35922

Other than that I like the PS standard design, but I'm really not very well acquainted with the whole modern flora.

Also,

35923

[Quindiana Jones]

PS1 and PS2 controllers were better than the Xbox ones. 360 controllers are significantly better than the PS3 ones for almost everything (though, as DK says, they're shite for fighting games). I have little to no experience with other consoles, unfortunately.

[NeoCracker]

I'll go with the Gamecube controller as well. However I fucking hate the 360 controller. It and my hands find themselves to be Mortal enemies, though I think I'm one of the few people like this. :p

[Laddy]

I've always favored the PS3 controllers. Remember when they were bananas?

[Roto13]

I can use pretty much any controller comfortably. Except that original Xbox controller that was so awful it needed a redesign right away. That thing was stupid.

[Del Murder]

Gamecube was probably the most comfortable controller for me, but the PS controllers also work well. I feel the Wiimote was a step back. But I could still rock a NES controller if I had to.

Of course, this was the greatest controller ever:

http://images.wikia.com/egamia/images/4/4e/PowerGlove.jpg

[Iceglow]

I liked the megadrive pad but the ps1 - ps2 pads were sublime for their time. I personally didn't mind the Xbox Controller-S either though the black and white buttons sorely needed re-situating even on that, I'd often struggle to press those buttons. In the current generation the 360 pad does feel far superior to the often squishy, spongy feel of the PS3 pad's buttons. I will accept the PS3 pad is better for fighting games however.

[VeloZer0]

I hated the Gamecube controller.

My favorite is the PS controller. It isn't amazing, but it feels more comfortable than anything else.

[Hollycat]

I like my homade PX3 controller, all the grace of a ps3 controller, and all the functionality of xbox triggers. Plus it works for fighting games.
Con is it doesn't have six axis and no battery, it's a plug in.

[Depression Moon]

cube's seemed weird to me. I liked the NES, SNES, and 64, but the 3 PS controllers were the best for me. The Xbox ones do seem fitted for FPS and that's all I can really say.

I do like my arcade stick for fighting games, but I also find it really comfortable for beat-em ups, Pac-man and NBA Jam. It functions fine for FF games too.

[GhandiOwnsYou]

The PS3 controller is the sublime standard for controller design for me. The only thing I take issue with is the R2 and L2 triggers. I added these trigger extenders (http://http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/9/img4497w.jpg/sr=1) and it fixes it right up. I can't stand the face buttons on the X-box controllers. What other people call "solid" feeling, I call stiff. It's also got the single worst first party D-pad I've ever encountered.

I'm pretty intrigued by this new Mad Catz controller (http://http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/02/01/mad-catz-mlg-pro-circuit-controller-review) though. I'm heavily debating giving it a shot.

[Sephex]

Meanwhile, at GameStop...

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s26/Sephex/playstation2-ninja20controller.jpg

[NorthernChaosGod]

The 360 controller is pretty much the best controller ever made. It's comfortable to use and has nice button placement. Before the 360, I really liked the Dreamcast controller.

[Jiro]

The 360 controller is the most ergonomical for me. It rests in my hands well. The PS3 controller is good, but can occasionally cause my hand to cramp. I don't think I necessarily have a strange way of holding the damn thing either.

[Mirage]

The Gamecube controller is the one that feels the best in my hands. The only issue is that the buttons aren't very nice for slide inputs in fighting games, but I don't play many fighting games on Gamecube anyway. And by not many, I mean none at all. As a close second, there's probably the Dualshock family. I'm sure I could get used to the x360 controller too, but I just don't have one to get used to.

[Araciel]

I can use pretty much any controller comfortably. Except that original Xbox controller that was so awful it needed a redesign right away. That thing was stupid.

YOURE FACE IS STUPID!! :mad2:

My yeti hands loved that thing (rawr)

[Jinx]

Let me answer the question this way: the only game control I hate is the Wiimote. That this is so stupid.

[Mirage]

Yeah, I played a bit of that donkey kong stuff for the Wii, and there wasn't a second where I didn't wish I could use a normal controller instead.

[Roto13]

Wiimote + Nunchuck = outrageously comfortable

[Mirage]

I found it extremely awkward to press multiple buttons at once on the wiimote. There was actually one of those real gamepads for the Wii there, but the game refused to let me use it, even though I can't think of a single action in that game that couldn't have been mapped to either the extra analogue stick, or one of the additional buttons.

[Quindiana Jones]

You're forgetting that Nintendo are useless shits who could be out-performed by seaweed. Factor that in, and it all makes sense.

[Jessweeee♪]

Playstation controllers were always my favorite. The 360 is also nice.

[Mirage]

You're forgetting that Nintendo are useless shits who could be out-performed by seaweed. Factor that in, and it all makes sense.

No, it does not. Gamecube had competitive hardware and a fantastic controller.

[Hollycat]

If they had continued along the line of gamecube they might be impressive now.

[Sephex]

If they had continued along the line of gamecube they might be impressive now.

The Wii totally dominated the casual market to the point where they shot from dead last to first in the blink of the eye. Meanwhile, Sony made their own bootleg version of the Wii controller and Microsoft took motion gaming a step further with the Kinect.

Nintendo made a smart move back then that shook up console gaming, whether you or anyone else likes the controller or not.

[NorthernChaosGod]

Motion control is lame.

[Mirage]

If they had continued along the line of gamecube they might be impressive now.

If they had continued along the line of Gamecube, they would be in last place again, only getting ports of PS3 games ported from X360.

Motion control works great in some games, but in many others it just feels forced and gimmicky. DKC Returns is one of those games. That game should have supported the "classic" Wii controller and maybe even gamecube controllers. If the Wii had been a bit closer to the PS3 than it is to the Gamecube in terms of power, it would probably have gotten a lot more third party support. I guess that's what they plan on fixing with the Wii-U. Too bad there will be a PS3box720 a year after they release it.

[Hollycat]

I will give the wii that almost all the games on it are exclusives, whereas on PS3 it's around 15% are exculsives, and on XBOX it's about 10%.

[Roto13]

You're forgetting that Nintendo are useless shits who could be out-performed by seaweed. Factor that in, and it all makes sense.

"Out-performed" in what way? Sales? Certainly not in many home console generations, including this one, and never in the handheld space. Power? Historically they've had pretty beefy systems. The GameCube was more powerful than the PS2 and the SNES was more powerful than the Genesis. Controllers? Nintendo is responsible for basically every part of the modern controller. Directional pads, shoulder buttons, rumble, analog sticks, and motion controls were all things made standard in home consoles by Nintendo.

So yeah, not sure what you're trying to get at there.

[Mirage]

To be fair, Sony beat them to it with motion control via the PS Eye.

Unless you're going to count light guns as motion control. In that case, I have no idea who was first.

[Sephex]

To be fair, Sony beat them to it with motion control via the PS Eye.

Unless you're going to count light guns as motion control. In that case, I have no idea who was first.

The Mayans. They have invented everything.

[Roto13]

To be fair, Sony beat them to it with motion control via the PS Eye.

Unless you're going to count light guns as motion control. In that case, I have no idea who was first.

PlayStation Eye/Eye Toy certainly isn't the standard. You can count on everyone having some form of motion control out-of-the-box going forward.

And Nintendo did motion control before that anyway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Tilt_and_Tumble

[Hollycat]

There was other stuff long ago. Technically aren't both MOVE and KINECT based off of the PS eyetoy?

[Mirage]

Technically speaking, PS Move is no different from Eyetoy (and therefore also Kinect), except that you with the PS Move basically are holding two flashlights which lets the PS3 more easily detect what's human motion and what isn't, compared to relying entirely on light reflected off of the humans, which is more prone to incorrect detections.

Kinect is also just basically a stereoscopic (enables 3D tracking) eyetoy with infrared spectrum sensor ability*. Infrared lets the camera more easily discern between a human and its background, considering your environment does not generally keep a temperature of 37 degrees.

*) Infrared detection is not hard to do. In fact, even the most basic cell phone cameras unintentionally detect a tiny bit of the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum. Even some some human eyes can, but the lenses in our eyes block it out. People who get their natural lenses replaced with plastic ones (for various reasons, often as a treatment for cataracts) can in some cases instantly start detecting a tiny bit of ultraviolet light.

[Slothy]

Microsoft took motion gaming a step further with the Kinect.

I wouldn't say a step further actually. More of a tangent that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Not that more traditional motion controls seem to be going anywhere lately either.

[Quindiana Jones]

You're forgetting that Nintendo are useless shits who could be out-performed by seaweed. Factor that in, and it all makes sense.

"Out-performed" in what way? Sales? Certainly not in many home console generations, including this one, and never in the handheld space. Power? Historically they've had pretty beefy systems. The GameCube was more powerful than the PS2 and the SNES was more powerful than the Genesis. Controllers? Nintendo is responsible for basically every part of the modern controller. Directional pads, shoulder buttons, rumble, analog sticks, and motion controls were all things made standard in home consoles by Nintendo.

So yeah, not sure what you're trying to get at there.

It was an obvious mockery of the lack of creativity and imagination that Nintendo consistently display, borne from my sadness over what one of the greatest games companies has become. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so subtle.

Also, if you had ever been to Wales, you'd know that seaweed sells like hot cakes.

[Sephex]

Microsoft took motion gaming a step further with the Kinect.

I wouldn't say a step further actually. More of a tangent that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Not that more traditional motion controls seem to be going anywhere lately either.

In my head how you put it is what I really meant. Don't know why I worded it the way I did. But yeah, my point was that eventually all the companies embraced motion gaming in one form or another. It doesn't seem to be popular anymore, but still, it happened.

[NorthernChaosGod]

To be fair, Sony beat them to it with motion control via the PS Eye.

Unless you're going to count light guns as motion control. In that case, I have no idea who was first.

PlayStation Eye/Eye Toy certainly isn't the standard. You can count on everyone having some form of motion control out-of-the-box going forward.

Dear God, I hope that won't be true. I fail to see why motion control should even be a thing until it works like it did in the movie Gamer. :colbert:

[Roto13]

You're forgetting that Nintendo are useless shits who could be out-performed by seaweed. Factor that in, and it all makes sense.

"Out-performed" in what way? Sales? Certainly not in many home console generations, including this one, and never in the handheld space. Power? Historically they've had pretty beefy systems. The GameCube was more powerful than the PS2 and the SNES was more powerful than the Genesis. Controllers? Nintendo is responsible for basically every part of the modern controller. Directional pads, shoulder buttons, rumble, analog sticks, and motion controls were all things made standard in home consoles by Nintendo.

So yeah, not sure what you're trying to get at there.lack of creativity and imagination that Nintendo consistently display

Ha ha ha ha, ok, sweetheart

[DK]

This thread had gone kind of pants until Arthur got told by Rhody, and now I like it again. :shobon:

[Quindiana Jones]

He called me sweetheart, and now I just don't know which way is up anymore.

[edczxcvbnm]

Controllers that are good by generation

Nintendo
Super Nintendo
Playstation
Gamecube
360

Controllers that were Okay
Genesis
N64
XBox S Type
PS2
PS3

Terrible Controllers
Colecovision
Jaguar
Dreamcast
XBox Original monstrosity
Wiimote

This is pretty much my view. The ones that are in the okay category are not bad but they have not really stepped up their game in comparison to the competition during their own generation. The PS2 and PS3 are basically the same thing as the PSOne Dual Shock controller. No advancement has been made. Overall controller design has gotten better and until the wii hit the stage I thought we would never have a bad controller again. Thank you Nintendo for making a gimmick into your whole system =P