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Jay520 on 05 August 2012
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Khuutra said:
Jay520 said:

Why would people want the analog stick repositioned? Is it just because they want it to be similar to the 360's or is there some other reason?

It's mostly down to the fact that your default position when your thumbs are at rest should reflect on the inputs that are used most. The original Dualshock actually reflected this perfectly; most PS1 games used the D-pad and the face buttons, so they were placed evenly on the controller, with the analog sticks in secondary positions. And let's be clear: the lower spot on the controller is the secondary position. The Dualshock was designed that way and carrying over that design (where the thumbstick is not in a natural resting position) means that the thumbsticks are still in the secondary position.

The Gamecube and Xbox controllers addressed this by putting the left analog stick in the primary position, opposite the face buttons, since most games use the one thumbstick and the face buttons, while the D-pad and second analog stick serve secondary function only.

The Wii U pro controller is meant primarily for FPS games and other dual analog titles, so both analog sticks are in the primary position.

The Dualshock can certainly keep its current button/pad/stick placement, but it's an indication that analog gaming is not the focus of the controller's design. If analog gaming is the focus of the system, then the controller's design should reflect that.



I've never heard of the primary/secondary positioning idea. I just compared the comfort of my thumb resting in the primary position versus the secondary, and I do find that the primary position feels better. My thumbs naturally want to rest up (like on the 360) instead of down and to the side (like on the PS3). But even though the analog stick does feel more comfortable in the primary position, I think its only marginally so. In fact, I never even noticed the difference in comfort until you pointed it out and I did a little test. I don't think the dualshock controller should be changed so drastically for such a tiny gain in comfort, especially considering this particular change would decrease the dualshock's identity by mimicking the Xbox's/Wii U's analog placement.

But that's just coming from the opinion of a guy who's been accustomed to the dualshock. There may be a lot of 360 owners that think the PS3's analog stick is extremely uncomfortable where it is - though I doubt that as the 360's right analog stick is in a similar position.