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This is one of those I-Didn't-Realise-How-Long-It- Was-Becoming-While-I-Was-Typing-It posts. Apologies to all who loathe this sort of thing but I thought it was a good idea for a post and went to town on it a bit. Skip to the end if you just want to know which one I think wins.
There are always lots of arguments over which console is, had and will be the best ever but how about a debate on which had the overall best joypad? I'm not talking about third party efforts as they never quite manage to match the original ones. I mean the out-of-the-box controllers you have your first taste of a new system with.
I'm going to stick with the big guns here, so you can all fill in any blanks as you see fit (although I doubt anyone will praise the Jaguar controller too much)..
Back in the days of the NES and Master System, joypads were just finding their feet and were pretty simple affairs - just a D-Pad, two fire buttons and a Start button (and Select in Nintendo's case). These were both quite rubbish square-edged efforts and can only really be merited on their playing a part in the evolution of the joypad into what we have today.
The first really good example of a joypad came in the form of the Megadrive. A slightly oversized piece of plastic which curved nicely around the hands of most people (except those with small hands). The D-Pad was round with a raised cross on it and it felt good - good enough for long playing sessions without a bleeding thumb at the end. The buttons were a good size and were placed in a straight line across the pad. This is probably the only slight criticism the pad can receive. With hindsight, would Sega have put the buttons in an arc or perhaps a triangle formation to reduce the distance needed to move your thumb to get from the A to C buttons, or to allow more combinations of 2 to be pressed? Probably not, as games of the day didn't need it, but Nintendo saw improvements to be made and made them in the form of....
...the SNES pad. When I first held this I though it was perfect. Four buttons on one side, a cross-shaped controller on the other, central start and select buttons and, what's this, buttons on the top of the pad? Why not just put more on the front? If the pad had been designed purely with the then exclusive Street Fighter 2 in mind they probably would have been. The answer is that it was designed to give the user the easiest configuration with which to press the buttons which involved the minimum amount of thumb movement, and to allow new ways of controlling our games to be implemented (tilting planes is an example that springs to mind although there are no doubt much better ones). Try to imagine playing all your favourite SNES games with the L and R buttons on the front. Would it work as well? I many cases, I think not.
SEGA later took on the 6-front button design (with the top three being smaller than the bottom) but the machine was too established for the new pads to really take off - even though they were very good themselves- and a better size than the old Megadrive pads.
Next came the Saturn. Or more accurately, a re-shaped Megadrive Pad hybrid with shoulder buttons. Nice pad, not quite as good as the ones it was based on but still good all the same. Neither is a match for the SNES pad though.
Now we come to the PlayStation. Take the handles off and you have a slightly modified SNES pad with a differently styled D-Pad. Add another pair of shoulder buttons and a couple of handles and what do you get? Well the extra buttons make Street Fighter style games even better - no more trying to press the L button while rotating the D-Pad, you can use the R1 and R2 buttons for separate attacks. Problem solved. The D-pad needed breaking in a bit (more so than most others) but with a good feel, eight easily reachable fire buttons, a start and a select have we got an overall winner?
Not if Nintendo have anything to do with it. Along comes to N64 with its console introduction to analogue control. This three-pronged design looked like it couldn't possibly fit comfortably in the hand - but it did. Six buttons on the front this time, although four are small and designed to double up as camera controllers. It was essentially three controllers in one, allowing multiple controller/button combinations by holding different prongs. Unfortunately the analogue stick itself was a bit too long for some, it centered a bit too strongly and had a shaped hole which meant you could push it into a corner - not exactly 360-degree movement there is it? The bit at the back for memory cartridges was good but the external vibration pack made it far too heavy - and why did it need batteries? The vibration effect wasn't very good either; it really felt like it was coming from the back of the pad.
Sony quickly jumped on the analogue bandwagon and came out with a PS pad with TWO analogue sticks, one at the corner near each handle and also a built in vibration function (which added no noticeable extra weight and didn't need it's own power supply!). The sticks were far superior to Nintendo's version - short, rubbery for grip, light to move and (importantly) in a round hole. You also have access to everything without moving your hands! Bliss! We have our winner!
Or have we? Along comes the Dreamcast with it's analogue shoulder buttons (I'll ignore VMU merits, although the external vibration is a minus point, even though the effect is quite good). The four front button layout seems to be the norm now and why not, it works so well? The D-pad and analogue stick are near each other (although the other way round to the PS pad). The D-pad is good, albeit slightly too high, but there are problems with the analogue stick. It relies on small studs on the top for grip - studs which seem to wear away quite quickly leaving little resistance between a near-smooth plastic surface and an increasingly sweaty thumb. The analogue shoulder buttons are great in principle (especially for driving games) but most people seems to press them down as far as they go almost all the time anyway. Never mind Sega, nice try.
For PlayStation2 read PSOne with analogue buttons. They don't impede on everyday button bashing but I've not had experience of their analogue-ness in a compatible game yet so I can't comment on that. Even if they're a bit naff then you still have the original pads merits packaged into a morbid black design.
How about the future? The GameCube pad looks like it couldn't possibly fit comfortably in the hand (like the N64 pad did) but the button layout has messed up what we are used to. One main button with three ones around it? A camera stick? What have Nintendo got in mind? Only time will tell. At least we won't have to move our hands about anymore, even though the D-pad does looks to be in a very awkward position.
As for the XBox this pad is like the offspring of the Dreamcast pad and Microsoft's terrible Sidewinder effort. The buttons look too close together and the right-hand analogue stock is too close to them. One developer has called it the worst pad they have every experienced - not a good sign is it?
The overall winner then. Despite it's plagiarism of the SNES pad I'd have to go with Sony for the analogue version of the PS pad (or PS2 if the analogue buttons are good to use). Eight fire buttons (ten including select and start) and three controllers all available without taking your hands off the joypad or moving your thumbs particularly far. Then there's the vibration function which can be turned off and on at the flick of a switch. It doesn't make the pad heavy and it really can shake. The analogue sticks are faultless - soft, light and fantastically good to use.
I may be a bit of an anti-PlayStation 2 person, and I don't mind admitting it, but I can't deny that Sony have come up with a near perfect joypad. If the only fault I can think of is the naming of the buttons (which makes cheats lengthly to publish) then I shouldn't be complaining. Perhaps the handles could be set at a little less of an angle...
There are always lots of arguments over which console is, had and will be the best ever but how about a debate on which had the overall best joypad? I'm not talking about third party efforts as they never quite manage to match the original ones. I mean the out-of-the-box controllers you have your first taste of a new system with.
I'm going to stick with the big guns here, so you can all fill in any blanks as you see fit (although I doubt anyone will praise the Jaguar controller too much)..
Back in the days of the NES and Master System, joypads were just finding their feet and were pretty simple affairs - just a D-Pad, two fire buttons and a Start button (and Select in Nintendo's case). These were both quite rubbish square-edged efforts and can only really be merited on their playing a part in the evolution of the joypad into what we have today.
The first really good example of a joypad came in the form of the Megadrive. A slightly oversized piece of plastic which curved nicely around the hands of most people (except those with small hands). The D-Pad was round with a raised cross on it and it felt good - good enough for long playing sessions without a bleeding thumb at the end. The buttons were a good size and were placed in a straight line across the pad. This is probably the only slight criticism the pad can receive. With hindsight, would Sega have put the buttons in an arc or perhaps a triangle formation to reduce the distance needed to move your thumb to get from the A to C buttons, or to allow more combinations of 2 to be pressed? Probably not, as games of the day didn't need it, but Nintendo saw improvements to be made and made them in the form of....
...the SNES pad. When I first held this I though it was perfect. Four buttons on one side, a cross-shaped controller on the other, central start and select buttons and, what's this, buttons on the top of the pad? Why not just put more on the front? If the pad had been designed purely with the then exclusive Street Fighter 2 in mind they probably would have been. The answer is that it was designed to give the user the easiest configuration with which to press the buttons which involved the minimum amount of thumb movement, and to allow new ways of controlling our games to be implemented (tilting planes is an example that springs to mind although there are no doubt much better ones). Try to imagine playing all your favourite SNES games with the L and R buttons on the front. Would it work as well? I many cases, I think not.
SEGA later took on the 6-front button design (with the top three being smaller than the bottom) but the machine was too established for the new pads to really take off - even though they were very good themselves- and a better size than the old Megadrive pads.
Next came the Saturn. Or more accurately, a re-shaped Megadrive Pad hybrid with shoulder buttons. Nice pad, not quite as good as the ones it was based on but still good all the same. Neither is a match for the SNES pad though.
Now we come to the PlayStation. Take the handles off and you have a slightly modified SNES pad with a differently styled D-Pad. Add another pair of shoulder buttons and a couple of handles and what do you get? Well the extra buttons make Street Fighter style games even better - no more trying to press the L button while rotating the D-Pad, you can use the R1 and R2 buttons for separate attacks. Problem solved. The D-pad needed breaking in a bit (more so than most others) but with a good feel, eight easily reachable fire buttons, a start and a select have we got an overall winner?
Not if Nintendo have anything to do with it. Along comes to N64 with its console introduction to analogue control. This three-pronged design looked like it couldn't possibly fit comfortably in the hand - but it did. Six buttons on the front this time, although four are small and designed to double up as camera controllers. It was essentially three controllers in one, allowing multiple controller/button combinations by holding different prongs. Unfortunately the analogue stick itself was a bit too long for some, it centered a bit too strongly and had a shaped hole which meant you could push it into a corner - not exactly 360-degree movement there is it? The bit at the back for memory cartridges was good but the external vibration pack made it far too heavy - and why did it need batteries? The vibration effect wasn't very good either; it really felt like it was coming from the back of the pad.
Sony quickly jumped on the analogue bandwagon and came out with a PS pad with TWO analogue sticks, one at the corner near each handle and also a built in vibration function (which added no noticeable extra weight and didn't need it's own power supply!). The sticks were far superior to Nintendo's version - short, rubbery for grip, light to move and (importantly) in a round hole. You also have access to everything without moving your hands! Bliss! We have our winner!
Or have we? Along comes the Dreamcast with it's analogue shoulder buttons (I'll ignore VMU merits, although the external vibration is a minus point, even though the effect is quite good). The four front button layout seems to be the norm now and why not, it works so well? The D-pad and analogue stick are near each other (although the other way round to the PS pad). The D-pad is good, albeit slightly too high, but there are problems with the analogue stick. It relies on small studs on the top for grip - studs which seem to wear away quite quickly leaving little resistance between a near-smooth plastic surface and an increasingly sweaty thumb. The analogue shoulder buttons are great in principle (especially for driving games) but most people seems to press them down as far as they go almost all the time anyway. Never mind Sega, nice try.
For PlayStation2 read PSOne with analogue buttons. They don't impede on everyday button bashing but I've not had experience of their analogue-ness in a compatible game yet so I can't comment on that. Even if they're a bit naff then you still have the original pads merits packaged into a morbid black design.
How about the future? The GameCube pad looks like it couldn't possibly fit comfortably in the hand (like the N64 pad did) but the button layout has messed up what we are used to. One main button with three ones around it? A camera stick? What have Nintendo got in mind? Only time will tell. At least we won't have to move our hands about anymore, even though the D-pad does looks to be in a very awkward position.
As for the XBox this pad is like the offspring of the Dreamcast pad and Microsoft's terrible Sidewinder effort. The buttons look too close together and the right-hand analogue stock is too close to them. One developer has called it the worst pad they have every experienced - not a good sign is it?
The overall winner then. Despite it's plagiarism of the SNES pad I'd have to go with Sony for the analogue version of the PS pad (or PS2 if the analogue buttons are good to use). Eight fire buttons (ten including select and start) and three controllers all available without taking your hands off the joypad or moving your thumbs particularly far. Then there's the vibration function which can be turned off and on at the flick of a switch. It doesn't make the pad heavy and it really can shake. The analogue sticks are faultless - soft, light and fantastically good to use.
I may be a bit of an anti-PlayStation 2 person, and I don't mind admitting it, but I can't deny that Sony have come up with a near perfect joypad. If the only fault I can think of is the naming of the buttons (which makes cheats lengthly to publish) then I shouldn't be complaining. Perhaps the handles could be set at a little less of an angle...
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I found the PS 'D-pad' a little rubbish. The fact it is 4 different buttons rather than a traditional D-pad made it difficult to press diagonaly. And also I amagine playing Street fighter esque games would be difficult as you have to roll the D-pad to perform specials, I can't imagine thats easy when the D-pads not all in one piece.
SmokedKipper wrote:
> The N64 analogue stick is too stiff, in the wrong shaped hole and
> the grip is only adequate.
The PS analogue stick beats it in
> every respect.
Overall, I don't think any pad betters the
> standard PS one - it's just a shame that you can only use it to play
> PS games!
The PSX is postioned badly, and the X, O, square button's are confusing.
> The N64 analogue stick is too stiff, in the wrong shaped hole and
> the grip is only adequate.
The PS analogue stick beats it in
> every respect.
Overall, I don't think any pad betters the
> standard PS one - it's just a shame that you can only use it to play
> PS games!
The PSX is postioned badly, and the X, O, square button's are confusing.
mattyboy wrote:
> Arent Microsoft suppose to be releasing two versions of the X-Box
> pad, one for people with smaller hands??
I find the Playstation
> is probably the best pad I have ever used. It may have 'stole' ideas
> from other joy pads but it cant be beaten for comfort!!
My friend had a Playstation and I found the controllers so difficult to use (the original ones) that I said "Sod this" and went on his N64.
Not saying you're wrong, everyone has different opinions :)
> Arent Microsoft suppose to be releasing two versions of the X-Box
> pad, one for people with smaller hands??
I find the Playstation
> is probably the best pad I have ever used. It may have 'stole' ideas
> from other joy pads but it cant be beaten for comfort!!
My friend had a Playstation and I found the controllers so difficult to use (the original ones) that I said "Sod this" and went on his N64.
Not saying you're wrong, everyone has different opinions :)
mattyboy wrote:
Arent Microsoft suppose to be releasing two versions of the X-Box pad, one for people with smaller hands??
No, that's Gamecube... One for Japan, and one for the rest of the world. Not sure if it's true mind.
And the X-Box controller is... err... putting off, some game companies.
Sega for one.
Arent Microsoft suppose to be releasing two versions of the X-Box pad, one for people with smaller hands??
No, that's Gamecube... One for Japan, and one for the rest of the world. Not sure if it's true mind.
And the X-Box controller is... err... putting off, some game companies.
Sega for one.
The N64 analogue stick is too stiff, in the wrong shaped hole and the grip is only adequate.
The PS analogue stick beats it in every respect.
The 2 XBox pads are for the Japanese market and the rest of the world. It is true that most developers think the pad is pants though.
Overall, I don't think any pad betters the standard PS one - it's just a shame that you can only use it to play PS games!
The PS analogue stick beats it in every respect.
The 2 XBox pads are for the Japanese market and the rest of the world. It is true that most developers think the pad is pants though.
Overall, I don't think any pad betters the standard PS one - it's just a shame that you can only use it to play PS games!
u cant say gamecube pad is best cos u aint even held it yet. personally i think the n64 pad is the best pad by a mile. i love it. it is perfect for. although i have noticed left handed people find it slightly strange. I really dont like the PS analogue. its in the wrong position and the buttons are weird. after playing on psx for a while my fingers starting feeling really weird, something which has never occured while using my 64 pad.
Gamecube Pad is best. I am saying this because I am a Nintendo Fan. Sony suck. Nintendo Rule. I am a NIntendo fan...fif I mention that? But seriousy with all analogue buttons, and 256 degree of accuracy on the shoulder buttons, Nintendo have got 'Best Controller' award in the bag, wait and see!
The Game
The Game
The point is, the DC shoulder button isn't really a shoulder button - it's a trigger. Rather similar to Nintendo's z-trigger, except it's analogue.
I didn't know the DC controller had a Z-trigger, are you sure your not thinking of the L shoulder button? The best pad in my opinion would be the N64 pad with a DC anologue eye socket. The reason, N64 sticks ware out so quickly because at the base of the stick the friction between stick and casing rubs of plastic which gets lodged in the workings making the stick 'stick' (sorry). The DC socket does not have this problem and your thumb seems to stay on the socket, on the N64 you need to re adjust your thumb a lot. One last thing, most people used their right hands for joysticks back in the spectrum/ comodore age, so why did games companies put the d- pad for the left hand to operate?
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