Favorite Controllers?

[Shauna]

The main issue I have with the PS3 controller is the horrible L2/R2 buttons. They are just not designed well. :{

[Madame Adequate]

I really like the 360 controller.

[Slothy]

I sometimes think I probably loved the N64 and Gamecube controllers for the grotesque monstrous mutations they were rather than in spite of it..

I never really got the problem people had with the shape of the N64 controller. It's certainly weird, there was some logic to it. In the center you've got the analog stick and a button. On the left you've got a d-pad and a button. It's clear it was set up so that either could be used as comfortably as possible in both 2D and 3D games, but obviously 2D games weren't as prevelant on the system.

But if you ignore the odd looking shape, you've got a controller that was extremely comfortable for both 2D and 3D without having to compromise between the two. I'm not sure we'll ever get a controller that comfortable again, though Valve's controller is looking promising.

[Del Murder]

I love the Dualshock but that's mostly because it hasn't changed a whole lot from the original and thus I am very familiar with how it feels. As for my favorite of all time, I think the Gamecube controller fit my hands like a glove. It was really good.

[Bolivar]

never really got the problem people had with the shape of the N64 controller. It's certainly weird, there was some logic to it.

Oh yeah definitely not a problem from a functional point of view. Just with the three grips, it's like that thing had an extra chromosome or something...

[NorthernChaosGod]

I use the controller on my PC for thins like side scrollers. Rogue Legacy is one I've been playing a lot lately for example. And having a d-pad that occasionally decides you pressed a direction you didn't intend because it's a useless piece of trout is extremely frustrating. Anyone using this controller to play things like FPS on an actual 360 are doing it wrong to begin with.

I'd rather die than miss playing the Gears of War series or the Halo series just because some people like to get snotty about the difference between FPS on PC and a console.

And in the absence of spending $70+ for an arcade stick, people should have a good d-pad to use for fighting games since analogue sticks don't cut it. And if you think a d-pad can't do the job just fine then I can't take your opinion on the matter seriously since things like the Sega Saturn d-pad and the d-pads on Mad Catz Street Fighter game pads set the bloody standard for d-pads so good they're almost on par with a good arcade stick. And for half the price.

A large chunk of my friends all have their own fight sticks and I find it hard to use any controller else when playing a fighting game. Smash is just about the only fighting game I'll play without one.

[Slothy]

I'd rather die than miss playing the Gears of War series or the Halo series just because some people like to get snotty about the difference between FPS on PC and a console.

I was mostly kidding there. Though I'd rather just never play Halo because it controls like a turd in low gravity.

A large chunk of my friends all have their own fight sticks and I find it hard to use any controller else when playing a fighting game. Smash is just about the only fighting game I'll play without one.

A large chunk of your friends having arcade sticks doesn't negate the fact that they're expensive. And you finding it hard to use a controller without specifying if you've ever actually used a Saturn controller or one of the Mad Catz pads doesn't really address my point.

I'm not trying to criticize you for liking arcade sticks more. I own one of the SF4 TE edition sticks Mad Catz put out, and I built my own Dreamcast stick. I get it. But for people that are more casual fighting game fans that don't want to pay $70 or more on a decent stick? I think they deserve standard controllers with d-pads that don't suck as an alternative. It's not like it's that hard. We had d-pads figured out 20 years ago but it doesn't seem like anyone's told Microsoft (or Sony, though they're better than the Xbox pads), and Nintendo seems to have forgotten all together.

[Ayen]

NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, all of the PlayStation controllers minus 4 since I haven't played that yet, N64, GameCube and the 360.

The old Nintendo and Sega controllers were simple and easy to use. I was always comfortable with the PlayStation controllers and I found the N64 controller also comfortable and only bad in looks. I thought the GameCube controller looked nice and the C stick never bothered, but I concede the D-Pad was too damn small. The 360 one is nice too.