Comments on: The Evolution of Controllers

By: Mark Stevens

Mark Stevens — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:46:58 +0000

Ah, the good ol’ days of the analogue PC joystick, where you were typically required to recalibrate it for every damn game.

I also remember owning a gamepad on PC, back in the late 90s, that looked a bit like the SNES controller. It wasn’t a “proper” gamepad, in the sense that you actually mapped keyboard settings to its various controls. I think it was mainly marketed at people who, for whatever reason, weren’t able to use a game port on their PC. I used it as a second gamepad for emulated 2-player games.

By: AnthonyIac

AnthonyIac — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:59:28 +0000

As much as I was a Sony hater for the PS2, I’m going to have to admit, the Dual Shock for Playstation 2 is probably one of the most effective controllers to date. The buttons were well-placed and there wasn’t too many of them. Dual analog joysticks were great for FPS and felt natural. Logitech makes a wireless one just like that for the PC, a tad larger than I liked, but it works great for what I need it for. Although I did like the “tightness” or resistance that the N64 analog offered.

By: Hazel

Hazel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:56:31 +0000

I am also here to comment on how awesome the Dual Shock is.
I just find the Dual Shock and 6-axis controllers actually fit my hands. X-box, GameCube and Dreamcast controllers are all huge. I like the weight from the oscillators (which the 6-axis is missing) and all the buttons fall into the right places. Unlike other controllers, I don’t find myself accidentally hitting the triggers.

As for the Dreamcast – I agree that the controller was a case of great idea, poor inspiration. I liked the thought of having a mini game with my console, and being able to see my little screen as I played. Unfortunately the controller was huge, felt cheap, and the VMU was never really used (and had almost no battery life). I guess a lot of things about the Dreamcast went that way.

Anyway, great post.

By: Noticias GL » ¿Qué fue del joystick?

Noticias GL » ¿Qué fue del joystick? — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:43:54 +0000

[...] encuentro con un repaso genial a algunos de los joysticks y mandos de juegos que incluye algunos verdaderos clásicos como el [...]

By: Robinson Mason

Robinson Mason — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:47:01 +0000

The Intellivision controller was one of the most memorable for me. A disc-like directional controller with a number pad underneath it that you could use slide-in inserts from games with, allowing for many more buttons with easy to grasp funtions.

Unfortunately the inserts make for emulation of Intellivision games not as easy.

Worth a mention!

By: William atte Wille

William atte Wille — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:05:49 +0000

my flat thumbs are testament to almost all of them.

By: ¿Qué fue del joystick? | Incognitosis

¿Qué fue del joystick? | Incognitosis — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:27:43 +0000

[...] encuentro con un repaso genial a algunos de los joysticks y mandos de juegos que incluye algunos verdaderos clásicos como el [...]

By: ORB

ORB — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:56:56 +0000

PS2 controller sucked?? lets see ur arguments:
1. Vibrations were strong, and u corrected urself it can be turned off
2. break easily? thats only ur experience, in my experince, even the cheap usb rip offs of ps2 controller are rigid. Clearly i m not making a point, but neither are you.
3. Control scheme is so not a good argument. You can see as controllers have evolved, the ps2 controller has added things and not taken away anything. Which means, if u dont like any specific button, you can always choose not to use them. Most games let u change the control scheme. Honestly even I used the d-pad instead of analog for some games. Controller is not the thing to blame here, games are.

You know, Wii is the most crowded console with bad games, the motion sensing is misused widely, but then why did not you put it in “sucked” category? You got it right for wii: Controller is not the thing to blame, games are.

I agree wid ur whole rest of the post. Nicely written

By: Rhys

Rhys — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:14:52 +0000

I have to disagree yatpay.

Dual Shock 2 was basically an update for the original dual shock, but in black. It was hardly a major upgrade sony were promising, but nevertheless I bought a PS2 with high hopes.

The whole “analogue buttons” thing was pointless, every track and field game was ruined because you couldn’t button bash, and fighting games which at times require delicate tapping of buttons in combos, were scuppered. Driving games they worked well, yes, I admit.

Again, I spoke of my experience, and my experience were that they broke far too easily, and buttons became stuck. I haven’t played on a PS3, so I can’t comment on their controllers.

By: yatpay

yatpay — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:30:43 +0000

You’re out of your mind! The Dual Shock 2 is easily the best controller on this list. I often find myself wishing I could use it with all of my games, and I’m not alone! There’s a reason there was such outrage over the SIXAXIS and joy when the Dual Shock 3 was released.