360: My personal favourite. Very ergonomically made with perfect placements of analog sticks. It is also VERY cheaply made, analog sticks become lose, triggers and buttons stick, clicking left analog stick doesn't work (all happened to me). BUT keep in mind, that this controller suits most types of games. Perfect size, shape, and feel. Great on the hands, nice weight to it, Triggers and bumpers are perfect. D-pad blows hard.
Not rechargable (sucks) but the Pros beat the Cons, IMO.

PS3: Overall good controller. Rechargable is a plus. Do not like the analog stick placements! Swap the left analog stick for the D-pad, and the button layout is fine. R2 and L2 are whack as hell! Analog stick tips are convex instead of concave (360) which results in more slippage and less control, especially when the stick is to one side. Not comfortable on the palms since it is not even rounded out like the 360. The controller design is 10+ years old. Sony needs a new controller by next-gen.

Wii: Not really the "traditional" controller. It would be hard to compete with the other two. But according to what it does, it does it very well.

And everyone knows my opinion is the only one that matters :)

Well I'm going to pretend like this isn't an ovious flamebait thread and say Wii becuase its innovative.

I also laugh how you said it was a gimmick yet your blessed XBOX is like exactly copying it?

For me it's


Wii remote > 360 >>>>>>>>> Atari 2600 > Dualshock 3 = sixaxis.

yes i absolutely despise the Playstation controller and I dread playing games with it.

Well I dident like the PS1 or PS2 controllers so not Ps3

I havent played the Xbox 360 enough but its ok

So Ill say Wii by default.

Wii mote is the best...

my only complaint is that the nunchuck is a bit small, but otherwise it's so much more comfortable playing on wii ^^.

This is a stupid question on a gaing forum visited by gaming fans. This is a question for developers.

First your only going to end up with people voting for controller X becuase they are a fan of system Y. Thats going to happen becuase fans use controller X far more than controllers A,B,C. They are going to choose controller X becuase their gaming tastes of system Y a lot more. The idea that most fans are going to be unbiased and actually look at what the controller does compared to last gen(as the thread is about current consoles vs and current consoles vs last gen)is going to be over looked in favor of I like System/Company X. If there was an opinion that was written totally unbiased which can happen(I haven't read all the posts) it's unlikely that fans of different System Y will even bother considering the notion that's it's not unbiased. The question is just stupid.

Now heres my opinion. It's the Wiimote. Hands down. This by no means that other controllers are bad, but here are the reasons why. This is what makes if better than other consoles and better than prior generation.

It's get a points for being fully Blue Tooth compatible. It works for more than just system X. I use my Wiimote on my PC all the time. I believe the PS3 is also BT and deserves credit if usuable on other systems.

More intuitive input design wich allows for more simultaneous natural input. The PS3 also deserves some credit for it's SIXAXIS.

Ergonomics. It does not have the most comfortable grip, but it's design is universally better. There is no Right Hand design and doesn't require your hands to be in any given position. It's LEFT/RIGHt freedom gives it a better comfort level. It may be alien in feeling, but different isn't inferior and the value is in the end supperior than bunched up hands.

Extendable the basic Wiimote is extendable supporting just about anykind of input or attachment. This means that the data processing in the Wiimote is more verstile than either of the controllers input.

Motion/Accelerarometer. Regardless if motion has been used as a gimmicky add on many times(indeed it has) it's most simpler form is that it's still an extra level of intuitive input. Giving the Wiimote full a unpresedent amount of raw input without bogging down the hands wiht an enourmas serioes of buttons. Regardless if you like it or not the tilt and extras are a nice extras for games like driving. Even if you prefer analog(which is an opinion)

 Pointer. This is such a basic input style that should have been around even on consoles. Die hard console fans maynot like it and may scream consoles are not PC, but it adds more gaming options and a superior interface for GUIs. Plus PS3 and xbox are obiously trying to be a home entertaiment pc. They should have pointers.

Speaker this is just awesome. Where as rumble added feel the speaker adds a true audio experience(even though the speaker is somewhat iffy). Shooting a gun, striking objects with melee weapons is so much more immersive and details a nice extra. Rumble plus bang from hand. total awesome.*cough* with mic would be better *cough* It may be small, but NMH used it as your cellphone. It's a totaly extra  immersive experience

 I give PS3 a tip of the hat for being Blue Tooth and having motions controls. It has taken steps towards being a newer controller however it's basic design is still just it's previous design. The 360 is even worse for just being a minor improvement. Theres no reason to think they are bad controllers. They are not. They are just not next gen. Much like the HD Twin hardware for the console is leaps and bounds beyond the Wii. The Wiimote is light years ahead of the HD Twin controllers. It's in the controllers where are future lie as it is input where the bounds of human and computer interaction is still a pioneering landscape. While rubber grips give a nice feel they are not evolutionary or next gen.

In the end regardless if you value these controller aspects, they provide gaming extras and bring us closer to human interacgtion to the machine. This is next gen input. Much like the early consoles of yesteryear there is and will be improvements made. 2 buttons have evolved into 8. Digital pad evelved into dual analog. It's just a matter of time.

Don't bother cherry picking. I don't bother arguing those points. If that's all you can pick on then that makes a weaker argument. If I have missed any important details please mention them.

Wii.

as soon as motion controllers are mandatory and the good old regular grip controllers are never to be seen again is when i quit gaming. i do not and will not take the wiimote as an acceptable mode of playing every game. as i stated in a previous post on this thread i like to just sit in my nice cumfy chair and play not wave my arms around and do motions inorder to play a game, but again it is fun to that every now and then....just not every time i wanna play.

360 controller i sby far the best. Perfect shape, perfect size for primary target audience (15-35 year old male). Great look and feel as well. Only problem is it doesn't come with rechargeable batteries, and the D pad gets a D+... but luckily isn't used a whole lot.