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"Sore Thumbs"

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Mon 10/12/01 at 19:05
Regular
Posts: 787
The old consoles, like the NES, MegaDrive and SNES.

They all had controls right? Well what I have seen over the years is the controller standard going up. Lets take the NES.

It had a weird rectangle shaped control, with only 2 action buttons, a start and a select button. Yes, not many I know, but at the time it was enough. If you have ever used an NES control what you would have noticed is that over a period of about 30 minutes your hands were hurting like hell! Why is this? Because the shape of the damned thing. It was so.. Rectangle! It had sharpish edges and it always didn’t quite fit in your hands. You always ended up with sore thumbs. Anyone remember Gauntlet 4, or something like that, with about 100 levels and you couldn’t save. Oh my god that was an absolute annoying sod. After about the 40th level you just collapsed to the floor, sucking your poor thumbs. You also had to adjust your hands to fit the weird shape and it was ugly to look at. Not very practical at all.
There were not and 3rd party control that were made. Only Nintendo made ‘em.

The SNES.

The SNES controls were not much different to the NES ones. The edges had been smoothed and more buttons added and some shoulder buttons. Which changed the gaming world, forever. Shoulder buttons have changed the gaming world. They are used for multiple things like aiming, swapping camera’s and blocking moves in a beat ‘em up. Anyway, the SNES control. It didn’t quite fit in your hands again, it was, uncomfortable but much more comfortable than those ugly NES controls. It was more colourful that the NES control so it brightened up your room a little. It was lighter, in colour. Not all dark and drab like NES controls. The buttons were all easy to get to, like the NES controls. There were some 3rd party controls made they had turbo buttons and all sorts of extras.

The MegaDrive.

This was the Daddy of its controls at the time. It had 6 fire buttons and it had a proper fully functional 8-Way D-Pad. No more trying to use a 4-Way SNES control for performing 8-Way killer instinct moves.
It was slightly more comfortable than the SNES and NES controls and the buttons were all in easy reach. I can’t remember seeing any 3rd party controls but I bet there were some..

After inspecting these few controls we can all see that they have the same basic problem. They were all uncomfortable.

Here we shall take a look at some of the latest controls.

The PlayStaion.

When it came out, it was the ruler of all buttons with a monster mind boggling 8 action buttons! With 2 shoulder buttons on each side! It also had a D-Pad but was not 8-Way but could easily be used as 8-Way.
There was a breakthrough, it was comfortable! It fitted in your hand. But, not quite. After a while it got sort of uncomfortable, after about 6 hours mind you :o) The buttons were not letters, or numbers. They were shapes! Circle, Square, Triangle, and X (Cross). It also looks quite pretty. There were numerous colours after a while. Only grey. Then cream followed it. Then, loads of colours followed it, like “Arctic Blue” Ohh very posh . Well, the cream one was an absolute beauty to look at, but it easily got dirty. All in all, it was a monster to look at with a traditional rectangleish shape. It was also nice and smooth :o)
Dual control and a built in rumble pack were also added. After seeing the N64 analogue stick of course ;o)
There were loads of 3rd party “Copies” which always look crap. Funny init?

The N64.

The weirdest most beautiful controller to look at.
It slipped into your hands so well. It had an analogue stick and a D-Pad! There were 9 action buttons with a “Hidden” Z-Button. Which in my view, was the best button ever placed, On ANY pad.
It was sooooo comfortable and the shape was totally new. It isn’t even a shape, it a made up shape. It looked so nice and with 6 colours coming out at release how could you not like it? The buttons were so easy to reach and with the right shoulder button being used more than the right. Because of the control having 2 different grips. Another sign of quality :oP
There were loads of “Copies” which in my view. Were rubbish.

I didn’t include a DreamCast control because its dead.

So, the NES gave you sore thumbs, so did the SNES and the MegaDrive and even the Playstation control (After about 6 hours) My conclusion is that the N64 control was the most original, biggest, best, most colourful, comfortable control so far. And if you disagree. You shouldn’t.

How can a Playstaion control be compared to an N64 control? It cannot.

Cheers for your time.
GasMask
Mon 10/12/01 at 21:30
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
I'll tell you the worst joypads that came with a console, the Atari paddles for the original atari consoles and then the Atari ST, argh! I mean, how uncomfortable can you get?

I used to love the old Spectrum Kempston joysticks, but they always seemed to brake quite easily, must have been all that Hypersports I expect...
Mon 10/12/01 at 21:24
Regular
"Back For Good"
Posts: 3,673
playstation controller giving you sore thumbs?

nah mate ;-)
Mon 10/12/01 at 20:32
Regular
Posts: 9,848
Still, after a couple of hours of heated Goldeneye deathmatches, sweaty thumbs used to start slipping and sliding all over the place.

Then they started to get sore...

Just make sure that if you're in a room on a hot summers day that it's well ventilated and not too humid.
Mon 10/12/01 at 20:27
Regular
Posts: 15,579
I completly agree with you about the Playstation pad giving you sore thumbs.

People may disagree, but after hours of solid gameplay of Pro Evolution my thumbs were totally knackered. I coudnt play for any computer games for a week, and I found it difficult to write in lessons in college.

I have never experienced this with MY N64. Which I've had since Christmas 1997. I played solid button bashers like Super smash brothers and played countless hours ON ISS 98 with my Brother. But I never experienced any such problems with my fingers.
Mon 10/12/01 at 19:05
Regular
"Want a cd key.."
Posts: 3,443
The old consoles, like the NES, MegaDrive and SNES.

They all had controls right? Well what I have seen over the years is the controller standard going up. Lets take the NES.

It had a weird rectangle shaped control, with only 2 action buttons, a start and a select button. Yes, not many I know, but at the time it was enough. If you have ever used an NES control what you would have noticed is that over a period of about 30 minutes your hands were hurting like hell! Why is this? Because the shape of the damned thing. It was so.. Rectangle! It had sharpish edges and it always didn’t quite fit in your hands. You always ended up with sore thumbs. Anyone remember Gauntlet 4, or something like that, with about 100 levels and you couldn’t save. Oh my god that was an absolute annoying sod. After about the 40th level you just collapsed to the floor, sucking your poor thumbs. You also had to adjust your hands to fit the weird shape and it was ugly to look at. Not very practical at all.
There were not and 3rd party control that were made. Only Nintendo made ‘em.

The SNES.

The SNES controls were not much different to the NES ones. The edges had been smoothed and more buttons added and some shoulder buttons. Which changed the gaming world, forever. Shoulder buttons have changed the gaming world. They are used for multiple things like aiming, swapping camera’s and blocking moves in a beat ‘em up. Anyway, the SNES control. It didn’t quite fit in your hands again, it was, uncomfortable but much more comfortable than those ugly NES controls. It was more colourful that the NES control so it brightened up your room a little. It was lighter, in colour. Not all dark and drab like NES controls. The buttons were all easy to get to, like the NES controls. There were some 3rd party controls made they had turbo buttons and all sorts of extras.

The MegaDrive.

This was the Daddy of its controls at the time. It had 6 fire buttons and it had a proper fully functional 8-Way D-Pad. No more trying to use a 4-Way SNES control for performing 8-Way killer instinct moves.
It was slightly more comfortable than the SNES and NES controls and the buttons were all in easy reach. I can’t remember seeing any 3rd party controls but I bet there were some..

After inspecting these few controls we can all see that they have the same basic problem. They were all uncomfortable.

Here we shall take a look at some of the latest controls.

The PlayStaion.

When it came out, it was the ruler of all buttons with a monster mind boggling 8 action buttons! With 2 shoulder buttons on each side! It also had a D-Pad but was not 8-Way but could easily be used as 8-Way.
There was a breakthrough, it was comfortable! It fitted in your hand. But, not quite. After a while it got sort of uncomfortable, after about 6 hours mind you :o) The buttons were not letters, or numbers. They were shapes! Circle, Square, Triangle, and X (Cross). It also looks quite pretty. There were numerous colours after a while. Only grey. Then cream followed it. Then, loads of colours followed it, like “Arctic Blue” Ohh very posh . Well, the cream one was an absolute beauty to look at, but it easily got dirty. All in all, it was a monster to look at with a traditional rectangleish shape. It was also nice and smooth :o)
Dual control and a built in rumble pack were also added. After seeing the N64 analogue stick of course ;o)
There were loads of 3rd party “Copies” which always look crap. Funny init?

The N64.

The weirdest most beautiful controller to look at.
It slipped into your hands so well. It had an analogue stick and a D-Pad! There were 9 action buttons with a “Hidden” Z-Button. Which in my view, was the best button ever placed, On ANY pad.
It was sooooo comfortable and the shape was totally new. It isn’t even a shape, it a made up shape. It looked so nice and with 6 colours coming out at release how could you not like it? The buttons were so easy to reach and with the right shoulder button being used more than the right. Because of the control having 2 different grips. Another sign of quality :oP
There were loads of “Copies” which in my view. Were rubbish.

I didn’t include a DreamCast control because its dead.

So, the NES gave you sore thumbs, so did the SNES and the MegaDrive and even the Playstation control (After about 6 hours) My conclusion is that the N64 control was the most original, biggest, best, most colourful, comfortable control so far. And if you disagree. You shouldn’t.

How can a Playstaion control be compared to an N64 control? It cannot.

Cheers for your time.
GasMask

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