The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Lets face it out of all the peripherals ever made the most important is and always will be the controller. The N64 revolutionized the controller market, yes it is old ideas implemented in a different way but it was revolutionary the Rumble pack and Analogue stick idea helped create Sony’s Duel Shock controller. Now a controller is important, I feel that they need to evolve from console to console in order to progress the world of gaming. I was a bit disappointed in the PS2 one it felt like I was playing an older system but despite this the new analogue features on the buttons is evidence of gaming progressing.
The Gamecube controller is said to be brilliant, many claim it to be too similar to the Duel shock (whilst to me it looks like the Virtual Boy Controller) but it has nice bulky buttons so not to cause havoc, it has gone through many stages of development to make sure it suits all regions. For the small handed Japanese and the large handed Americans and it works beautifully.
Then again I would say that I’m a Nintendo fan (although I must say the Duel Shock pad is damn good) but I don’t like big controllers. The X-box I have heard is designed for gaming in the long run and feels a bit odd to play with. Some say (mainly the big handed Americans) that it is great to hold others such as the Japanese and the Europeans claim its very uncomfortable Channel 4 show Thumb Bandits say the controller is a bit “Dodgy”. And this is what I thought of the Dreamcast pad. There have been many opportunities for me to get a Dreamcast but one thing that has always put me off is the bleeding Controller.
It’s big its bulky and it hurts and with two VMU’s in its also damn heavy, so when I got my Dreamcast I was apprehensive to say the least to how the system felt. But despite it initial aches I soon got into it and despite the oddly placed Start button I learnt to love it and with the duel trigger buttons I was quite impressed it had taken many ideas from other controllers and mixed them in and out it comes. I was impressed and even now I think it is a brilliant piece of kit.
So all this moaning about the X-box is it just because of a preliminary playing, it may feel odd to start with but could it turn out to be the best one out of them all? The new controller will be interesting to see how it progresses and my American owning X-box friend says it feels perfect. So could one of you tell us after playing the X-box for a few days if the fear of a bulky, uncomfortable controller true? Or are these uncomfortable problems due to only a few hours play?
Nevertheless it should really be one you can just pick up and play, so it feels fine from the off, it is difficult to get it right this might be one reason why Sony wasn’t willing to alter the design for the next generation.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
The Gamecube controller is said to be brilliant, many claim it to be too similar to the Duel shock (whilst to me it looks like the Virtual Boy Controller) but it has nice bulky buttons so not to cause havoc, it has gone through many stages of development to make sure it suits all regions. For the small handed Japanese and the large handed Americans and it works beautifully.
Then again I would say that I’m a Nintendo fan (although I must say the Duel Shock pad is damn good) but I don’t like big controllers. The X-box I have heard is designed for gaming in the long run and feels a bit odd to play with. Some say (mainly the big handed Americans) that it is great to hold others such as the Japanese and the Europeans claim its very uncomfortable Channel 4 show Thumb Bandits say the controller is a bit “Dodgy”. And this is what I thought of the Dreamcast pad. There have been many opportunities for me to get a Dreamcast but one thing that has always put me off is the bleeding Controller.
It’s big its bulky and it hurts and with two VMU’s in its also damn heavy, so when I got my Dreamcast I was apprehensive to say the least to how the system felt. But despite it initial aches I soon got into it and despite the oddly placed Start button I learnt to love it and with the duel trigger buttons I was quite impressed it had taken many ideas from other controllers and mixed them in and out it comes. I was impressed and even now I think it is a brilliant piece of kit.
So all this moaning about the X-box is it just because of a preliminary playing, it may feel odd to start with but could it turn out to be the best one out of them all? The new controller will be interesting to see how it progresses and my American owning X-box friend says it feels perfect. So could one of you tell us after playing the X-box for a few days if the fear of a bulky, uncomfortable controller true? Or are these uncomfortable problems due to only a few hours play?
Nevertheless it should really be one you can just pick up and play, so it feels fine from the off, it is difficult to get it right this might be one reason why Sony wasn’t willing to alter the design for the next generation.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Page:
Turbonutter wrote:
> Yeah? WELL?!?!
heh heh, so did i! :P
> Yeah? WELL?!?!
heh heh, so did i! :P
Slaveunit wrote:
> Only so you could use the rapidfire buttons to do special moves easy in
> streetfighter.... :)
Yeah? WELL?!?!
:)
> Only so you could use the rapidfire buttons to do special moves easy in
> streetfighter.... :)
Yeah? WELL?!?!
:)
It's likely, as Ortega said, that the backward compatibility is a large reason for the controller design.
The Input/Output controller for the PS2 is actually the main 33MHz CPU from the PS1, and this may also have some bearing on the reason that PS2 only supports 2 controllers.
Personally I'm not bothered about "only" 2 controller ports; I know it's fun to beat your friends, but in my experience anything more than two players reduces either the speed or appearance of a title to something far below what I consider 'enjoyable' anyway. The likes of FIFA and Pro Evo are okay where you can have up to 8 people on a single screen - but split the screen into any more than 2 parts and the performance drop (for me personally) greatly reduces the enjoyment I get from a game - not to mention hardly being able to see what's happening, even on a 28-inch screen!
Now I'll deviate from the main subject a little, but bear with me - it's still a related subject...
Only Sony know why they did this; did they include the old CPU originally just for I/O control and then think "if it's there, we may as well use it for backward compatibilty"? Or did they plan for backward compatibility from the start and then realise the controller limitation? Either way, I'm sure they could have adpated it had the deemed it necessary.
So was backwards compatibility necessary? It all depends on your viewpoint. On the one hand, no it wasn't - people who already had a PSone could keep their machine to play the games they really liked, just as console owners had always done before.
But on the other hand, it was potentially a huge attraction for new customers who didn't own a PSone. Regardless of what you thought of the quality, there were only a relative handful available when the PS2 was launched - but backwards compatibility gave new, non-PSone-owning customers access to one of the largest games selections ever available for a console.
Although it has probably lost a lot of its appeal a year or so on, I think it was initially a good idea and helped ni securing a strong user-base. Whether it will happen again with PS3 (or whatever they call it!) only Sony know, but I would tend to doubt it.
Having said all that, the *next* generation of machines shuold be more than powerful enough to easily handle 4-player split-screen with far less detail or speed loss; though that won't make things any easier to see, of course!
Whatever happens regarding the next PlayStation, whether it has 2 controller ports or 4, the one thing I hope they don't change is the design of the controller. It's all personal taste, of course, but I find the DualShock the most comfortable I've ever used. It still has (I believe) more buttons (and therefore more control options) than any other system.
I find the DualShock design and layout ideal, but there *are* some things I'd change:
* The controller itself could do with being made from a hard rubber compound; although the shape makes it easy to hold, it can be a little slippery if your hands sweat.
* The buttons could also be hard rubber.
* The D-pad could be givend a circular shape, as diagonals can be hard to hit in the heat of a game. However, as most games are starting to use the analogue sticks, this is a very minor point.
The Input/Output controller for the PS2 is actually the main 33MHz CPU from the PS1, and this may also have some bearing on the reason that PS2 only supports 2 controllers.
Personally I'm not bothered about "only" 2 controller ports; I know it's fun to beat your friends, but in my experience anything more than two players reduces either the speed or appearance of a title to something far below what I consider 'enjoyable' anyway. The likes of FIFA and Pro Evo are okay where you can have up to 8 people on a single screen - but split the screen into any more than 2 parts and the performance drop (for me personally) greatly reduces the enjoyment I get from a game - not to mention hardly being able to see what's happening, even on a 28-inch screen!
Now I'll deviate from the main subject a little, but bear with me - it's still a related subject...
Only Sony know why they did this; did they include the old CPU originally just for I/O control and then think "if it's there, we may as well use it for backward compatibilty"? Or did they plan for backward compatibility from the start and then realise the controller limitation? Either way, I'm sure they could have adpated it had the deemed it necessary.
So was backwards compatibility necessary? It all depends on your viewpoint. On the one hand, no it wasn't - people who already had a PSone could keep their machine to play the games they really liked, just as console owners had always done before.
But on the other hand, it was potentially a huge attraction for new customers who didn't own a PSone. Regardless of what you thought of the quality, there were only a relative handful available when the PS2 was launched - but backwards compatibility gave new, non-PSone-owning customers access to one of the largest games selections ever available for a console.
Although it has probably lost a lot of its appeal a year or so on, I think it was initially a good idea and helped ni securing a strong user-base. Whether it will happen again with PS3 (or whatever they call it!) only Sony know, but I would tend to doubt it.
Having said all that, the *next* generation of machines shuold be more than powerful enough to easily handle 4-player split-screen with far less detail or speed loss; though that won't make things any easier to see, of course!
Whatever happens regarding the next PlayStation, whether it has 2 controller ports or 4, the one thing I hope they don't change is the design of the controller. It's all personal taste, of course, but I find the DualShock the most comfortable I've ever used. It still has (I believe) more buttons (and therefore more control options) than any other system.
I find the DualShock design and layout ideal, but there *are* some things I'd change:
* The controller itself could do with being made from a hard rubber compound; although the shape makes it easy to hold, it can be a little slippery if your hands sweat.
* The buttons could also be hard rubber.
* The D-pad could be givend a circular shape, as diagonals can be hard to hit in the heat of a game. However, as most games are starting to use the analogue sticks, this is a very minor point.
The PS2 is definately the pad of choice.
The PS1 wins from the last era and the SNES before that.
The master system/NES pad argument is a tough call though...
The PS1 wins from the last era and the SNES before that.
The master system/NES pad argument is a tough call though...
i'd rather use the ps2 pad which i can actually hold in my hands instead of the xbox controller which will probably require me to have about all my household hold it for me while i press all the different buttons on it.
in my opinion the ps2 pad is fine as it is *if it's not broke don't fix it* it fits perfectly in my hands and every button is accessible without having to stretch my fingers to twice their length before i can get to the button i want. now that's my expectation of a pad i don't know what yours is but all i want is something that's comfortable to hold and gets the job done which the ps2 pad succeeds at for me. least it isn't a b*tch to hold like the xbox pad
in my opinion the ps2 pad is fine as it is *if it's not broke don't fix it* it fits perfectly in my hands and every button is accessible without having to stretch my fingers to twice their length before i can get to the button i want. now that's my expectation of a pad i don't know what yours is but all i want is something that's comfortable to hold and gets the job done which the ps2 pad succeeds at for me. least it isn't a b*tch to hold like the xbox pad
Only so you could use the rapidfire buttons to do special moves easy in streetfighter.... :)
I never used the official MD controllers. The CompetitionPro ones with 6 buttons were much better,
Should this thread not be retitled "Controller Wars.."?
Anyway, here's my tupenney's woirth
I feel that the fact that the Dual Shock is still in used (albeit slightly refined) for the PS2 is a testament to the design of the original. It's an extremely versatile, comfortable and very very durable piece of kit. OK, so the sticks lack the finesse of the N64 controller, but it's got 2 of them and what the hell were those ickle dinky C-buttons all about? No good for fat fingers like mine. And the DC controller. I didn't like the analogue triggers much - I always felt that the degree of 'press' was far less controllable that with a thumbstick. Going back to MSR and F355 using a pad after wheel and pedals was horrifying. Or maybe I'm just unused to fine analogue control with my fingers...
Probably the last shoddy pad I used was the MegaDrive pad - clunky, nasty and poo - not a patch on the SNES pad, with it's lovely shoulder buttons.
Anyway, here's my tupenney's woirth
I feel that the fact that the Dual Shock is still in used (albeit slightly refined) for the PS2 is a testament to the design of the original. It's an extremely versatile, comfortable and very very durable piece of kit. OK, so the sticks lack the finesse of the N64 controller, but it's got 2 of them and what the hell were those ickle dinky C-buttons all about? No good for fat fingers like mine. And the DC controller. I didn't like the analogue triggers much - I always felt that the degree of 'press' was far less controllable that with a thumbstick. Going back to MSR and F355 using a pad after wheel and pedals was horrifying. Or maybe I'm just unused to fine analogue control with my fingers...
Probably the last shoddy pad I used was the MegaDrive pad - clunky, nasty and poo - not a patch on the SNES pad, with it's lovely shoulder buttons.
I have never liked the DC controllers. They feel cheap compared to the PS2 pads.
Yeah i'd have to agree, the PS1/2 controller isn't what you'd call amazing but i've never had any real problems with it to be honest - i think the word is functional, rather than outstanding.
the only issue i've ever had was with the digital d-pad, because the four directional points aren't joined i used to find it a little tricky to hit the diagonals quickly - but this problem soon vanished after a few sessions on THPS3.
A prety good controller all things considered.
SNES controller is still the best of all time in my opinion though!
the only issue i've ever had was with the digital d-pad, because the four directional points aren't joined i used to find it a little tricky to hit the diagonals quickly - but this problem soon vanished after a few sessions on THPS3.
A prety good controller all things considered.
SNES controller is still the best of all time in my opinion though!
Page: