I have to ask... if you dont use the D-pad what do you use? The analog? Thats in incredibly unstable.

I always prefer to use the D-pad for precision, and cant be arsed getting steering wheels as its a waste of plastic that is gonna be useless for following consoles.

To be honest, the dual shock is the best controller out there. Maybe the analogs arent in the most ideal position, but given that comes at the cost of the incredible D-pad that is so good its even used on fighting game tournaments over arcade sticks i am perfectly fine with it.

The 360 controller has a serious problem with that D-pad beeing too small and in an akward position. I would rather microsoft improved their than have Sony go and copy it when they got something that is better overall.

I see people saying the dual shock D-pad is unconfotable, but there it is something that can be improved is to smooth the hard surface, but the advantage of the d-pad is precision you dont get anywhere else, and having it is paramount. There is absolutely no excuse to ruin what is the controllers best feature just cause some people cant realise how good it is.

Yea, I use the analogue as I can do preceise adjustments while cornering with that .. works especially well in fast paced games like Wipeout imo or atleast it can't be too bad as I do have the "beat Zico" trophy.

I found this and it is a better job than what I made. Though they need to get rid of that 2nd screen on the bottom. Really, what is that for? We can handle three screens at once now? What's the point?

The main screen is obviously smaller than the 5" one that the Vita uses, and a smaller screen might not be a bad idea, 5" would make a dualshock a little bulky. So what do you guys think, would a touchscreen controller kind of like this that maintains that dualshockiness be a good move? I think creating compatibility with all of Sony's products is attractive and what the company is looking to do with PS Mobile, though I suppose PS mobile aps will still have full physical controls it would be hard to play games with the six axis on your tv instead of in your hand and a few other touch based controls would translate poorly. Maybe it doesn't need to go this route and we are just looking at a new trigger bigger handle controller instead?

This is what Sony needs to make:

I especially like the infinity button.

Pulling up your trophy achievements doesnt really change anything. Unless you're a robot you cant do clear left and right steering with the analog controller. Its also gonna go up or down a bit when you turn. That is unprecise and feels slow to me.

Its alot like playing Daytone USA with an analog stick. It just feels terrible and its unprecise in games that are really sensible like it. Wich is why the saturn version is still the best.

Yes, but my point is, you can have a stable performace with the D-pad, so while you cant keep the small steer, you know how much its going to steer if you press it for a certain ammount and you can plan the perfect performance. The analog is twitchy and any little movement can throw you off this planned performance, its unstable that way. I prefer a driving method i can plan with predictable behaviour than one that is twitchy. Its my preference at any rate.

Also i find it difficult to hold the analog in a certain intermediate position for a long time, aswell as making sudden trajectory repairs without oversturning because its difficult to have rapid but subtle reactions.

Something we have been doing sucessfully for decades.

The problem with analog sticks is that the distance between neutral and any direction is bigger than in the D-pad, which makes the analog stick slower (Time = Distance/Speed, so if your fingers have always the same speed...). That's why we don't have double tapping inputs (forward, forward, for example) in games anymore except in fighting games. For the same reason analog triggers suck too.

If you still have doubts about how important responsiveness is, just compare the wheel of a road car and any race car.

the 2 triggers on the ps3 controller are terrible. they don't feel right
the left thumb stick and D pad should have their positions switched.
the thumb sticks should have indentations like the 360 controller and every 3rd party controller I can think of.