Video Game Controllers

[vizunary]

Desroko said:

I think the smaller Xbox/360 controllers tie with the Wiimote for most comfortable and useful. I think it's the perfect design as far as traditional controllers go; the sticks are easy to handle, button size and placement are sensible, the triggers break cleanly, and it's ergonomically well-designed. (The original Xbox controller was, of course, an abomination.)

I'm ambivalent about the N64 controller. The stick and Z-trigger are cool, but the trident design is terribly foolish. And the GC controller was even worse, with its ridiculous XYZ placement and oversized/undersized A/B buttons. The sticks never seemed to work as well as those on PS2 or Xbox, either. I hated playing traditional FPSs with it, though Metroid worked beautifully.

The DualShock is just okay. Nothing terrible, but nothing outstanding - the sticks are a bit too far down, the triggers are too shallow to really break cleanly, and the handle design can get a bit uncomfortable after a long sessions. It's like the Xbox design team looked at every flaw and improved upon it. I haven't used a Sixaxis for a couple of weeks, but I remember it felt better than the DualShock.

And yeah, I don't get the Wiimote complaints. I'm holding one right now, and I honestly can't find any sharp surface to dig into my skin. It could do with another face button, but on the whole it's clean and comfortable.

You really dig the (small)xbox/360 controllers(the big ones were ridiculous) over the PS... I could never get the offset anolog sticks, they didn't feel right to me. That N64 controller was whack though, friggin heavy with a rumble pack and mem card stuck in it. Don't really have a lasting impression of the GC controller, I only bought one to play MGS: Twin Snakes, then took it back after a month(gotta love Walmart) I still got the game, it'll play on the Wii, right?