Controller Wars? (Poll)

[Chaos]

Think I'd have to give it to the xbox s controller over the 360, if just for the godawful dpad on the 360 controller

I haven't touched an xbone yet so I can't judge that. Those two controllers are more comfortable than any other controller imo though.

[MiTT3NZ]

Does anyone use the D-Pad anymore for anything other than quick menus/inventory selection? I gave up on it after the frustration of playing fighting games. The SNES controller was probably the only one with a decent enough D-Pad, in my opinion.

[Chaos]

Does anyone use the D-Pad anymore for anything other than quick menus/inventory selection? I gave up on it after the frustration of playing fighting games. The SNES controller was probably the only one with a decent enough D-Pad, in my opinion.

Right now it's the only controller I have for my computer for emulators, so I have to choose to either use the awful dpad for snes games, or use the analog stick. Using the analog stick feels wrong but it's what I usually end up doing.

I'd prefer to use the dpad for 2D platformers on the 360 too if it wasn't so godawful.

[Thief]

Does anyone use the D-Pad anymore for anything other than quick menus/inventory selection? I gave up on it after the frustration of playing fighting games. The SNES controller was probably the only one with a decent enough D-Pad, in my opinion.

Right now it's the only controller I have for my computer for emulators, so I have to choose to either use the awful dpad for snes games, or use the analog stick. Using the analog stick feels wrong but it's what I usually end up doing. ](*,)

I'd prefer to use the dpad for 2D platformers on the 360 too if it wasn't so godawful.

I honestly recommend this to pretty much anyone and everyone.

http://www.stoneagegamer.com/sd2snes-deluxe-na.html

Worth every penny, especially if you sell some games to pay for it. To play (nearly) every game on the system on original hardware with zero emulation and zero input delay. Plus all the romhacks -- super metroid romhacks alone make this a must buy.

Thinking about getting the one for Sega Genesis soon.

Seems pricey but really isn't for what you get out of it.

[mrslig100]

Any wired PS dual controller FTW xD

[Chaos]

Does anyone use the D-Pad anymore for anything other than quick menus/inventory selection? I gave up on it after the frustration of playing fighting games. The SNES controller was probably the only one with a decent enough D-Pad, in my opinion.

Right now it's the only controller I have for my computer for emulators, so I have to choose to either use the awful dpad for snes games, or use the analog stick. Using the analog stick feels wrong but it's what I usually end up doing.

I'd prefer to use the dpad for 2D platformers on the 360 too if it wasn't so godawful.

I honestly recommend this to pretty much anyone and everyone.

http://www.stoneagegamer.com/sd2snes-deluxe-na.html

Worth every penny, especially if you sell some games to pay for it. To play (nearly) every game on the system on original hardware with zero emulation and zero input delay. Plus all the romhacks -- super metroid romhacks alone make this a must buy.

Thinking about getting the one for Sega Genesis soon.

Seems pricey but really isn't for what you get out of it.

Sorry but there's no way I'd blow (that much) money on that. I'd rather start back up collecting actual cartridges, which I plan to do someday. More expensive but I enjoy collecting that shit, even if I can't afford it at the moment.

[Thief]

^ to each their own -- i don't actually enjoy collecting, but just really like games n junk. Emulation is shit though, would much rather play on original hardware so a Flash Cart is ideal and SD2SNES is the best of the best. But if collecting is what you enjoy then power to ya.

EDIT: Plus the flash Cart does things that you'd never be able to do with actual cartridges -- like play fan translations, or rom-hacks, or you can even load spc files and listen to music from whichever game you want. Also, it's all in one place so you don't need to constantly eject your cartridge and slowly wear and tear your games.

[Chaos]

^ to each their own -- i don't actually enjoy collecting, but just really like games n junk. Emulation is shit though, would much rather play on original hardware so a Flash Cart is ideal and SD2SNES is the best of the best. But if collecting is what you enjoy then power to ya.

EDIT: Plus the flash Cart does things that you'd never be able to do with actual cartridges -- like play fan translations, or rom-hacks, or you can even load spc files and listen to music from whichever game you want. Also, it's all in one place so you don't need to constantly eject your cartridge and slowly wear and tear your games.

If you're not a collector or a speedrunner I don't really see how it's shit. Just get an snes controller adapter for your pc, and hook it up to your tv if you really wanna.

Sure it'd be nice to play em on original hardware, but spending like $10 for an adaptor vs $200something on that thing you linked.

[Peter]

Hmmmmm. Controllers. Gaming pads. So on and so forth......

I am not gonna vote, i am just gonna selfishly give my personal views of controllers ive used over the past 30 years as a gamer.

To start off, whats the point of the 4 in 1 pong console because it was just a knob you turned. Same for the original common joystick with 1 red button. Pretty primitive, but none the less necessary. So along came the first controllers i ever properly used. The SNES and the Mega Drive with their 6 button/3 button/D-Pad configuration. Classic gaming peripheral for the time. I was a Mega Drive owner, and loved the attitude design of the Sega controller. But 6 buttons are better than 3, so the SNES controller wins out of these two. Plus the colour scheme of the buttons, the L and R bumpers, the softness and smoothness of the D-Pad not only made it a great controller, it added to the positive experience of playing games which required button combinations, mostly in the case of beat-em ups. This pissed all over Segas games at the time. Anyone who played the eagerly awaited Mortal Kombat 2 on the Mega Drive knows exactly what i am talking about. If you were asking Santa for MK2 or Super Street Fighter for your Mega Drive that Christmas, you were a flat out moron if you didnt also ask him to slip in a newly released 6 button joypad. I mean, High Punch/Low Punch. High Kick/Low Kick. Count the key attack commands. Its clear 3 buttons will not make a great gaming experience. End of talk. Over.

Ironically, despite being so so long ago, Nintendo went outside the box. When i say outside the box, i mean take the most outlandishly radical, yet the most common sensical idea and develop it into a reality in the eyes of the general public. Strictly from a gaming standpoint, the released the N64 joypad with the incredible analogue stick. An absolute joy to feel in your hand and wiggle with your thumb. Not only that, but it wasnt a nifty trick or a market fad to sell a console. It was 100% necessary for new 3D generation of games. The first ever memory i have of the N64 is the image of Mario spinning around Bowser by the tail, which TV show Gamesmaster showed in a preview. Now just to nip any arguments in the bud, i am classing this as the first proper analogue controller over the Playstations version, because even though the original analogue PS controller was officially released a few months before the N64s release, it was more or less useless, with games still being developed with the D-pad/arrow controls in mind. They were an option at best, even more so accented by the fact that newwly released PS consoles were released with the analogue controllers but only as an option that had to be avtivated in the consoles menu, and later on by a button on the controller itself.
Anyways, the N64 games were created around the analogue stick. Again, its necessity, not a gimmick (or a misunderstood gimmick) and boy did it hit big. From spinning Bowser a full 360 degrees into a bomb in Mario 64, flipping my jetski from the left to the right in Wave race, to gliding down Mount Rushmore on my Hang Glider in Pilotwings, to aiming my sniper crosshair in Goldeneye. Just a feeling of proper control i had never experienced until that point. The how about the C buttons, and also the Z button. Proper 4 optional buttons that didnt make things complicated as you would rightfully expect, and also a proper gun trigger button respectively. Add into that a rumble pack and it honestly was like firing a real gun in a way.

At this point i am going to unashamedly admit i have never been a Playstation fan, specifically for 1 main reason; the controller. I just never liked it. 4 trigger buttons? Am i supposed to have my index and also middle fingers permanently rested upon them? Is that how i am meant to use it? If i dont, does that mean i will not play games as well as others? Then add 2 analogue sticks to it, in the most uncomfortable position possible. My thumbs are not meant to be maintained in a 90 degree position in relation to my index fingers up around the trigger buttons for a sustained period of time!! Who invented this thing?? Add to the fact that the LS and RS are push down buttons?? How am i meant to have control over this, errr, controller? I physically cant! Am i meant to, i mean are my hands meant to be of a certain size and build to use this thing?
And best of all, it hasnt fucking changed majorally in almost 20 years!!! Shite. Chunky. Grey. Poor design. Bland. Repetitive. Unimaginative. Sorry to all the Playstation fans out there, but.... i aint sorry at all. The only Playstation i have owned for a long while is the PS3, and from day one, i have played it with an XBM box and a wired USB Xbox 360 controller. I just ignored the six-axis function games all together, and the point is that i managed to enjoy PS games more with the Xbox controller than what i would have enjoyed if i had of used the PS controller. That covers Sony from its first console until its todays, baring a few different tweaks.

That leaves 2 controllers left i have to discuss; The Dreamcast and the Xbox console range of controllers.


Firstly, the Dreamcast. I will avoid any nostalgia/fanboyisms i have for the console, but i loved the DC controller. It took all the best bits of console controllers up to that point, came up with a good design, and even in its controller, proved that it was ahead of its time with the removable VMU. Nintendo redefined the controller with the N64, namely with analogue controls and also a hardware slot in the controller. Sega built on this with a great full smooth 360 analogue stick, smooth designs with its hand grooving, and best of all, a visual screen from a Visual Memory Unit which can be slotted in to act as an in game feature, or just a memory card. For its time it was great, even if it was ahead of its time. I loved it at the time, but going back and feeling it in my hands now after years of using modern console controllers, i cant describe it, but it just feels old. I cant describe it much more than that. It feels skinny. Or light. Or.... something! It just feels like a console controller from its time. But still a great controller.

Finally, the Xbox range. The original i feel was a copy of the DC pad, with a chunkier design, built in added rumble function, but most importantly the full implementation of a second analogue stick. From the many reasons its vital to its purpose, the main attraction for me was its correct placement. A much more comfortable and natural position when compared to the PS Dualshock. The LS and RS buttons were much more easier to action, and everything else was more or less the same as the DC controller. a L and R trigger, and 4 button cross layout. Almost perfect, except it was a heavy chunky brick in your hand.
But the 360 slimmed it all down, and applied the "aint broke, dont fix it" approach. And it worked. Not only that, but MS solved a big problem the console/PC base had problems with for years; software for PCs to allow the 360 controller to be used on PCs, making playing games through emulators much more appealing.
Ive typed for ages and i am running out of steam here since i am also shattered, but i will maybe say that the Xbox One controller is in fact my favourite. Its a bit chunkier than the 360, which i feel is a good thing (yes i said it!) and the materials feel a lot smoother and better. Also the curved trigger buttons are much softer and comfortable to use, as well as the analogue sticks a lot easier to grip.


Finally, i know i havent included the Wii or the Wii-U into the above aricle, because, well i dont class them as fully integrated proper "controllers". They do control the game and the console yes.... but again i cant describe it. They are in a category of their own, due to being in a controller world where there is no comparison. Perhaps another topic is controller v motion controller topic, comparing them with the Kinect and PS Move, but i dont want to discuss them here.

[Peter]

Christ. Sorry for the long response. Thats what happens when you have posted here for the past few years from a phone, but tonight i got my old laptop and have posted with a full keyboard

[Peter]

Hmmmmm. Controllers. Gaming pads. So on and so forth......

I am not gonna vote, i am just gonna selfishly give my personal views of controllers ive used over the past 30 years as a gamer.

To start off, whats the point of the 4 in 1 pong console because it was just a knob you turned. Same for the original common joystick with 1 red button. Pretty primitive, but none the less necessary. So along came the first controllers i ever properly used. The SNES and the Mega Drive with their 6 button/3 button/D-Pad configuration. Classic gaming peripheral for the time. I was a Mega Drive owner, and loved the attitude design of the Sega controller. But 6 buttons are better than 3, so the SNES controller wins out of these two. Plus the colour scheme of the buttons, the L and R bumpers, the softness and smoothness of the D-Pad not only made it a great controller, it added to the positive experience of playing games which required button combinations, mostly in the case of beat-em ups. This pissed all over Segas games at the time. Anyone who played the eagerly awaited Mortal Kombat 2 on the Mega Drive knows exactly what i am talking about. If you were asking Santa for MK2 or Super Street Fighter for your Mega Drive that Christmas, you were a flat out moron if you didnt also ask him to slip in a newly released 6 button joypad. I mean, High Punch/Low Punch. High Kick/Low Kick. Count the key attack commands. Its clear 3 buttons will not make a great gaming experience. End of talk. Over.

Ironically, despite being so so long ago, Nintendo went outside the box. When i say outside the box, i mean take the most outlandishly radical, yet the most common sensical idea and develop it into a reality in the eyes of the general public. Strictly from a gaming standpoint, the released the N64 joypad with the incredible analogue stick. An absolute joy to feel in your hand and wiggle with your thumb. Not only that, but it wasnt a nifty trick or a market fad to sell a console. It was 100% necessary for new 3D generation of games. The first ever memory i have of the N64 is the image of Mario spinning around Bowser by the tail, which TV show Gamesmaster showed in a preview. Now just to nip any arguments in the bud, i am classing this as the first proper analogue controller over the Playstations version, because even though the original analogue PS controller was officially released a few months before the N64s release, it was more or less useless, with games still being developed with the D-pad/arrow controls in mind. They were an option at best, even more so accented by the fact that newwly released PS consoles were released with the analogue controllers but only as an option that had to be avtivated in the consoles menu, and later on by a button on the controller itself.
Anyways, the N64 games were created around the analogue stick. Again, its necessity, not a gimmick (or a misunderstood gimmick) and boy did it hit big. From spinning Bowser a full 360 degrees into a bomb in Mario 64, flipping my jetski from the left to the right in Wave race, to gliding down Mount Rushmore on my Hang Glider in Pilotwings, to aiming my sniper crosshair in Goldeneye. Just a feeling of proper control i had never experienced until that point. The how about the C buttons, and also the Z button. Proper 4 optional buttons that didnt make things complicated as you would rightfully expect, and also a proper gun trigger button respectively. Add into that a rumble pack and it honestly was like firing a real gun in a way.

At this point i am going to unashamedly admit i have never been a Playstation fan, specifically for 1 main reason; the controller. I just never liked it. 4 trigger buttons? Am i supposed to have my index and also middle fingers permanently rested upon them? Is that how i am meant to use it? If i dont, does that mean i will not play games as well as others? Then add 2 analogue sticks to it, in the most uncomfortable position possible. My thumbs are not meant to be maintained in a 90 degree position in relation to my index fingers up around the trigger buttons for a sustained period of time!! Who invented this thing?? Add to the fact that the LS and RS are push down buttons?? How am i meant to have control over this, errr, controller? I physically cant! Am i meant to, i mean are my hands meant to be of a certain size and build to use this thing?
And best of all, it hasnt fucking changed majorally in almost 20 years!!! Shite. Chunky. Grey. Poor design. Bland. Repetitive. Unimaginative. Sorry to all the Playstation fans out there, but.... i aint sorry at all. The only Playstation i have owned for a long while is the PS3, and from day one, i have played it with an XBM box and a wired USB Xbox 360 controller. I just ignored the six-axis function games all together, and the point is that i managed to enjoy PS games more with the Xbox controller than what i would have enjoyed if i had of used the PS controller. That covers Sony from its first console until its todays, baring a few different tweaks.

That leaves 2 controllers left i have to discuss; The Dreamcast and the Xbox console range of controllers.


Firstly, the Dreamcast. I will avoid any nostalgia/fanboyisms i have for the console, but i loved the DC controller. It took all the best bits of console controllers up to that point, came up with a good design, and even in its controller, proved that it was ahead of its time with the removable VMU. Nintendo redefined the controller with the N64, namely with analogue controls and also a hardware slot in the controller. Sega built on this with a great full smooth 360 analogue stick, smooth designs with its hand grooving, and best of all, a visual screen from a Visual Memory Unit which can be slotted in to act as an in game feature, or just a memory card. For its time it was great, even if it was ahead of its time. I loved it at the time, but going back and feeling it in my hands now after years of using modern console controllers, i cant describe it, but it just feels old. I cant describe it much more than that. It feels skinny. Or light. Or.... something! It just feels like a console controller from its time. But still a great controller.

Finally, the Xbox range. The original i feel was a copy of the DC pad, with a chunkier design, built in added rumble function, but most importantly the full implementation of a second analogue stick. From the many reasons its vital to its purpose, the main attraction for me was its correct placement. A much more comfortable and natural position when compared to the PS Dualshock. The LS and RS buttons were much more easier to action, and everything else was more or less the same as the DC controller. a L and R trigger, and 4 button cross layout. Almost perfect, except it was a heavy chunky brick in your hand.
But the 360 slimmed it all down, and applied the "aint broke, dont fix it" approach. And it worked. Not only that, but MS solved a big problem the console/PC base had problems with for years; software for PCs to allow the 360 controller to be used on PCs, making playing games through emulators much more appealing.
Ive typed for ages and i am running out of steam here since i am also shattered, but i will maybe say that the Xbox One controller is in fact my favourite. Its a bit chunkier than the 360, which i feel is a good thing (yes i said it!) and the materials feel a lot smoother and better. Also the curved trigger buttons are much softer and comfortable to use, as well as the analogue sticks a lot easier to grip.


Finally, i know i havent included the Wii or the Wii-U into the above aricle, because, well i dont class them as fully integrated proper "controllers". They do control the game and the console yes.... but again i cant describe it. They are in a category of their own, due to being in a controller world where there is no comparison. Perhaps another topic is controller v motion controller topic, comparing them with the Kinect and PS Move, but i dont want to discuss them here.

edit: just kidding I finally read it. I agree with you about the playstation controllers. They need to stop using the same design imo, it's just not a comfortable controller to hold compared to the xbox controllers.

The dreamcast controller isn't bad, but I agree that microsoft took the concept of the controller and kinda perfected it. Their controllers are so comfortable to hold, and the analog sticks are in the perfect spots.

[mrslig100]

Any vinesauce fans here

phpBB [video]

[Peter]

Yea again apologies for my long winded post. It didn't seem thay huge on my laptop, but on my phone it does seem endless. Guess I'm reading too many Den of Geek retro articles and I was going for quantitive quality

[Thief]

If you're not a collector or a speedrunner I don't really see how it's shit. Just get an snes controller adapter for your pc, and hook it up to your tv if you really wanna.

Sure it'd be nice to play em on original hardware, but spending like $10 for an adaptor vs $200something on that thing you linked.

The input lag is really bad -- input lag from your controller adapter and input lag from your monitor. If you can't tell the difference, then whatever, but it is incredibly noticeable for me. By playing emulator with an adaptor, you're pretty much crippling yourself with every precision game you play -- at least for SNES.

If you don't care enough to spend the $200 then fine, but it's not expensive by any means. People spend $400 for the X-Box One or PS4 for like a couple games (most of which are meh) -- i spent $200 to play (nearly) every single SNES game on original hardware, and it's glorious. Best console ever, best gaming purchase ever. I wouldn't waste my money on a $10 adapter for emulator though.

[Chaos]

I understand what you're saying, but I think you're overstating how bad any input lag is.

Either way, to each their own.