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Input Devices Entertainment Games

The Ergonomics of Controllers 136

Posted by Zonk from the ow-my-thumb-hurts! dept.
Rahul Choudhury writes "Over the years, the controller device we use as our extra limb into the world of gaming has evolved from joystick to d-pad, analogue control, and touchscreen. Gamingredients investigated the pros and cons of a variety of controllers from Colecovision to Xbox (and expressed their scores in flavours of coffee)."
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The Ergonomics of Controllers More

The Ergonomics of Controllers

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  • Controlers haven't changed since the SNES era. The controller is still the same basic shape with the same basic buttons (1-2 moved or enlarged, but same style). They just added more bells and whistles.

    I mean do I really need a vibrating joypad for anything but making noise? I don't even feel it any more.

    • Re:HA! (Score:3, Informative)

      by kryogen1x ( 838672 )
      Well, in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was something called the stone of agony that would make the rumble pak vibrate if you were walking near a secret.

    • Re:HA! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by EddieBurkett ( 614927 )

      I mean do I really need a vibrating joypad for anything but making noise? I don't even feel it any more.

      You've never played Rez [amazon.com], have you?

      ... rather, you've never let your girlfriend/wife play Rez [gamegirladvance.com], have you?

    • A couple of months ago I was talking to a coworker about console games. And the invariable "yeah, but gamepads suck for FPS and RTS" pops up.

      That's the downside of this phenomenon that everyone basically copies a previous gamepad, with only minor tweaks: they also copy the limitations of it. We've been stuck with the "yeah, but for FPS or RTS you're better off with a PC and a mouse" syndrom for more than a decade already. And now I see that the next generation consoles _still_ did nothing about making a co

  • While lacking the sophistication of today's controllers, the Atari 2600 joystick was still a lot of fun for those of us who were actually around when it first came out. And at least with one button you didn't have to wonder which one to press.

    Eric (grumpy old VIC-20 guy)
    Author of Make Easy Money with Google [makeeasymo...google.com], which describes the second easiest
    way to make money with Google (the first is apparently to buy GOOG stock and watch it go up!)

  • The Sega Saturn 3d controller was perfect. It had the six button setup from the original, but was otherwise the same as the later Dreamcast controller.

    The perfect device for playing Street Fighter series games.

    --saint
    • The Sega Saturn 3d controller was perfect. It had the six button setup from the original, but was otherwise the same as the later Dreamcast controller.

      Actually not the same at all, but in a good way.

      The Dreamcast controller was based on the 3D controller but they went and took a good thing and made it all wrong. The 3D controller is extremely comfortable - despite its sort of odd look [consolepassion.co.uk], it just fit perfectly in the hand. The buttons also had the perfect amount of springiness, it had the most responsive
      • The Sega Genesis 6-button is still to this day IMHO the supreme controller.

        Having 2 rows of the 3 buttons side by side is perfect. Nubytech tried to release these with the Streetfighter paintjob, but the L1, R1 buttons are still not as good as the genesis days.

        The control pad was also ultra soft and loose. Your thumb was not stressed from doing 30 million down->forward fireballs.

  • I still swear by dual shock 2, although I really really like my thrustmaster PC controller [gamespot.com]. The rubber grips are especially nice.
    • Dual shock certainly has passed the test of time, but I really like the GameCube and Xbox S controllers better, the Xbox feels great in my hands for video games, though my hands ache after lots of play. The triggers on the Xbox S work so much better then the awkward shoulder buttons on the dual shock, using triggers for driving games really gives an added sense of realism (think pulling foot on an off pedal). And of course for shooters it feels more realistic too.

  • New gen controllers (Score:4, Funny)

    by phoenix.bam! ( 642635 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @03:35PM (#12934513)
    I need a wireless controller that uses rechargable batteries. The next generation part is that the controller recharges off sweat. What a waste to continually wipe away all that sweet sweet sweat when the controller can be sucking it up and letting me game as long as my eyes can stay open.
    • From what I gather, the XBox 360 controllers recharge via USB when you plug them into the console. Presumably PS3 would adopt something similar...it's only the single most obvious thing to do.

  • Too bad they're wrong (Score:5, Insightful)

    by barawn ( 25691 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @03:38PM (#12934554) Homepage
    Man. Nice attempt, but it's too bad they're really, really wrong when it comes to their scores.

    Take a look at the Genesis controller versus the SNES Controller. The Genesis controller had a better D-pad? What? The whole problem with semi-8 way D-pads is that they aren't actually as precise as the pure 4-way ones. In some games this is okay, but in others you prefer actually knowing which direction you're pushing. Sega didn't use it as an improvement. It was because Nintendo had a patent on a 4-way cross D-pad.

    And deriding the SNES controller for its buttons? What? The Genesis 3-button and 6-button controllers had identical buttons. You had no idea which ones you were pushing without looking down (or knowing from position). The three-button design was bad, not good - you can locate two buttons, because whatever button your thumb is on, the second button is the other one. With three, that's not the case. The SNES controller, on the other hand, had two concave and two convex buttons. You could tell which button you were pressing by touch, and you could locate at least 2 of the other 3 buttons purely by touch, and because they were lined up in the way they were, you could locate the last one as well. Much, much smarter, and the touch-location is sorely missing from most modern controllers.

    My favorite is this comment, regarding the GameCube controller:

    This encouraged simple, single-button play without sacrificing versatility. It also made multi-console games a lot harder to play and made ports from other consoles worse.

    I see. So Nintendo makes the most intelligent controller of all of them, and they lose points because it's harder to play games that were poorly ported and designed for worse controllers. Good call.

    And, also...

    And, in a cruelly ironic twist, everything else changed but the d-pad is still split ... because Nintendo has a patent on a 4-way cross controller.

    A whole lot of opinion, but absolutely no concept of ergonomics.

    • Re:Too bad they're wrong (Score:4, Insightful)

      by PhotoBoy ( 684898 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @04:06PM (#12934863)
      I agree, it usually takes me 30 seconds using a game to decide if the developers have chosen a "sane" control scheme or not. Any GameCube port that has problems because of the missing button has just been lazily converted. My favourite cock up is MGS: The Twin Snakes, where you have to press A and Start to go into the codec screen despite there being nothing mapped to the Start button when not pressing A!

      They also ignored the fact that the GC innovated wireless controllers that *actually work*.

      They were overly harsh with the N64 controller as well, despite Sony bunging a second analogue stick on the Dual Shock the analogue sticks weren't in the same league as the N64 ones. The N64 sticks were much more accurate, sensitive and had a better range of movement.

      The only review I agreed with was the Dreamcast pad which is massively underrated. I'd have liked to have seen a review of the Saturn's analogue pad too.
      • I agree with you and the parent on everything, but you (and almost everyone else, too ) forgot to mention the N64 controller's greatest flaw:

        White dust. Anyone who's had an N64 controller in really heavy use, especially for games like Mario Party, knows that it's only a matter of time before the analog stick becomes loose and the pit filled with this white residue. The longer the controller is used at that point, the looser the stick becomes.

        Considering that N64 carts are almost indestructable and thus
        • You're absolutely right, I'd forgotten about that flaw.

          I put a very small amount of WD40 into the base of my N64 stick a few years back and it smoothed out the movement quite nicely. Nothing beats a fresh out of the box N64 stick though, except perhaps the DC's analogue stick.

    • Re:Too bad they're wrong (Score:4, Insightful)

      by david.given ( 6740 ) <dg@cowlark.com> on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @04:36PM (#12935255) Homepage Journal
      Man. Nice attempt, but it's too bad they're really, really wrong when it comes to their scores.

      Yeah; I was amazed that they rubbished the N64 controller, which is amazingly simple, comfortable and ergonomic. They seemed to primarily deride it on the fact that you get the choice of using either the D-pad or the analogue stick, but not both --- which is missing the point entirely: since the N64's controller was the first controller with an analogue stick, there weren't any games that required you to use both at once. They're criticising it for not being something it wasn't required to be.

      (I have a Game Cube now, and I still think the N64 controller is far more comfortable. The only thing I think is wrong with it is that the analogue stick didn't quite have enough traction on top; my thumb would keep slipping off playing high-stress games, as my hands got sweaty.)

    • Absolutely. First party games showed just how great of a controller that thing was. Now, when I try to play something like Soul Calibur on it, where hitting two buttons at the same time is a must, things got tricky. But again, that was largely a porting issue. The game was designed for Dreamcast / PS2 style controllers.
    • "And, in a cruelly ironic twist, everything else changed but the d-pad is still split ... because Nintendo has a patent on a 4-way cross controller."

      "Had." The patent expired before the release of the Dreamcast (and, of course, the PS2), Which is why the Dreamcast controller had one.

      Of course, Sony couldn't be bothered with updating the DS2 over the DS, so instead focused on the flop that was pressure-sensitive buttons instead of a new D-pad.
      • I've seen conflicting answers on that, actually. I can't find the actual original Nintendo patent (the first one I can find was from 1990). I've also seen places that describe that the Dreamcast's D-pad is sufficiently different that it didn't violate Nintendo's patent.
    • "The Genesis 3-button and 6-button controllers had identical buttons. You had no idea which ones you were pushing without looking down (or knowing from position). The three-button design was bad, not good"

      The six-button one wasn't the best, but you can learn that from muscle memory. In fact, that's how people play Street Fighter and many other 6-face button games. Plus, for the record, the B button had a little nub on it (not unlike the j and f buttons on a qwerty keyboard) to encourage you to "touch typ
      • The six-button one wasn't the best, but you can learn that from muscle memory.

        Well, I can learn a PlayStation's controller positions with muscle memory, but that doesn't stop me from hesitating a few times when a screen says "Push X" or "Push O".

        Plus, for the record, the B button had a little nub on it (not unlike the j and f buttons on a qwerty keyboard) to encourage you to "touch type" on the controller.

        Hey, you're right! I never noticed that before (... and that's sad, really). Not quite as intelli
  • with the exception of the stupid position of the black and white buttons the original behemoth xbox controller is pretty damn good in my opinion. i really dont like the micro-sized sony controllers.

    i will admit, however, that my aversion to the sony dual shock could be that i HATE the original PS contoller. that could be one of the worst controllers ever made, imho. it's interesting that it was omitted from the list. i mean they cover nearly everthing but that (with the exceptions of jaguar and 3d-0).

    also
    • i think this guy is just some over-caffeinated sony-fan-boy.

      I couldn't agree more. The Dual Shock is perhaps the most uncomfortable controller I have ever used. By far, the most comfortable, intuitive controller is the Gamecube's. Second is the Xbox S controller. If you'll notice the sidebar on the Dual Shock, you'll see that they contradict themselves on their rating of said Sony controller. Go figure...
      • I couldn't agree more. The Dual Shock is perhaps the most uncomfortable controller I have ever used. By far, the most comfortable, intuitive controller is the Gamecube's. Second is the Xbox S controller.

        Is it coincidence that your two favorite (and one least favorite) controllers are all current-gen?

        You need to brush up on your console history, sonny boy! In my day, we only had one button and we liked it!

        Seriously, what's the opposite of "dating yourself"? (And no, I don't mean "going out on a date w
        • Touche. However, you appear to be assuming I'm younger than I actually am. The first game system I owned was a NES, but I've played on quite a few of the other old-school systems: Colecovision, TurboGFX16, Sega Master System, and the original Atari.

          There's a reason stuff like those "Retrocon" and Hori 2D GameCube controllers are still popular, you know...

          Yeah, for the same reason you can now find 3 1/4" G.I. Joes, He-Man, Transformer, My Little Pony, and Strawberry Shortcake toys onb store shelves:
      • Personally I really disliked the Gamecube's controller. Its different sized buttons threw me off, the shoulder buttons depressed too far, and the d-pad is awkward to use for any extended period of time.

        I find the Dual Shock controller has a much nicer button layout and an easier to hit d-pad. However, the analog sticks are more of an afterthought than an integral part of the controller, situated too far away from the thumb for my own tastes.
        • Its different sized buttons threw me off, the shoulder buttons depressed too far, and the d-pad is awkward to use for any extended period of time.

          That's because you're used to the counter-intuitive Dual Shock controller.

          The difference in the button sizes is very logical: the A button is larger because it's the most used. They are also different sizes so that you can instantly tell via tactile feedback which button you're pressing. The shoulder buttons can be depressed that far because they're analog

  • Just wow (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I didn't agree with much that, that guy said at all. Maybe it's because I'm a left handed coleco owner I dunno, but I have always thought that the gamecube controller is superior to the PS2 controller in many ways with the exception of one. The surface on the analog part on the PS2 is much better then the gamecube. If they could just take that sticky rubbery stuff and put it on a GC controller, and move the Z button it would be perfect.

    What I found really funny about the article was the fact that he com
    • He's basing it on what they look like.

      Maybe he misnamed the article. Maybe he wanted it to be "controller aesthetics" rather than "controller ergonomics".

      You're dead on, though. The GC controller is extremely well designed. It fits in your hand, after all. My big problem with the GC controller is it takes just a little bit too much effort to click the shoulder buttons, but to be honest, I don't really notice them all that much.

      Plus, I don't know how anyone could call the N64 controller a disaster. It wa
    • The GC controller is by far my favorite - and I have all three machines. You can identify each button by touch alone. Maybe I am a retard, but I am forever looking down on my Xbox controller to recall what buttons are where. I finished Prince of Persia and Medal of Honor on both my GC and my Xbox and while the graphics are that much better on the Xbox the controller superiority of the GC made the games a little easier.

      Not that the GC controller couldn't use some small changes, such as the shoulder trigger
      • ### I would also prefer if the Xbox and GC controller featured parallel analog sticks, like the PS2 controller.

        Please not, those are probally the worst thing invented in controller history. The thumb twisting required to reach them is just not healthy. I don't mind that much for a stick that I don't have to often, like the C-stick, but having the primary analog stick in that position is causing nothing but pain if I play for longer periods of time, heck even with short periods of play I find that position

  • Another site... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Soul-Burn666 ( 574119 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @03:51PM (#12934697) Journal
    This [axess.com] site shows a speculated tree of evolution of game controllers.

    It is indeed evolutionary, with each generation resembling the previous one, but a bit different.
    • The Controller Family Tree site is WAY more informative than the ergonomics one. The ergonomics site is just some guy's opinions on the most popular game controllers (which, as we can see already, are quite debateable), while the Family Tree shows many more controllers and lets you see where they draw their inspiration from. Plus, the photos of prototype controllers are pretty interesting (like a PS1 controller with 6 face buttons, and a GC controller WITHOUT a d-pad).
  • This article is worthless without mention of the Intellivision controller. Especially as they slam the old Atari one some much. Where the Atari's was simple, the Intellivision's was a complicated affair with a weird disk and a keybad that you could attach overlays too. Check out In Defense of the Intellivision Hand Controller [classicgaming.com] for an interesting look at this oddball of a controller.
    Also worthy of retro note is the bizarro Bally Astrocade [geocities.com] gun grip controller which could function as both joystick and paddle.
    • The only problem I had with the Intellivision controller was that the overlays would often wear out from constant/excessive/frantic rubbing, which excited teenagers were wont to do. But it was a nifty one, I agree.
    • This article is worthless without mention of the Intellivision controller.

      They'd already mentioned the Colecovision controller, so it would've been repetitive. Intellivision's might have been a better choice, though, because its design was even worse than that of the Colecovision's controller.

      Rob
      • The only way the two controllers are similar is in the inclusion of the number pad.
        I'm just saying it would have been more interesting showing some of the weirdo concepts that were used before the advent of the dpad (intellivision's disc, Bally's paddle/joystick).
    • The other legacy of the Intellivision controller: it makes it very difficult to play many of its games on the Intellivision Lives compilation, which could have been really cool except for that problem.
  • There is no controller more comfortable or better suited for playing games than a SNES controller. Any game that needs more buttons is not fun to me. Also, any game that has more buttons is bigger and bulkier = not worth my time.

  • Powerglove (Score:4, Funny)

    by TD-2779 ( 840642 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @04:09PM (#12934897)
    No mention of the powerglove? That was about the only exercise my right arm got until puberty.
  • bring 'em back. They were perfect for sports games...
  • The only problems I had with it are that he gushes over the weak Dreamcast controller like Nerdshoe [somethingawful.com], and the Dual Shock part looks like it was written by a completely different person from the Dual Shock 2 one (I agree with the former, though I disagree with his verdict concerning the Select and L3 buttons). Besides that, I think this is pretty good, especially since he has the courage to speak the truth and say that the GameCube controller sucks.

    Rob
    • The gamecube controller doesn't suck though. In fact it's very, very good (not perfect, but far better than most).

      The article was clearly written by a drooling sony fanboy, given that it glosses over the huge honking flaws in the dualshock controller. Not just the painful split d-pad, but the absurdly unergonomic placement of the most important part, the main control sticks. "Cappuccino"? Maybe that wacky "cappuccino like product" you can buy in little packets at the super-market.

      Basically, Sony is No
      • It's possible for both Sony and Nintendo to have made bad controllers for this current generation, because they have. Just because the Dual Shock 2 is pretty bad doesn't nullify the general badness of the GC controller. It's not a monopoly-style position!

        (And speaking of monopoly, a lot of people would argue MS screwed up with their first Xbox controller, too. Thankfully they at least fixed that...)
      • Or maybe he's not a Sony fanboy and instead you're just a Nintendo fanboy, like a number of the other posters under this article. The Dual Shock has problems (mainly the ones you described, though I would also add the convex thumbpads and the difficulty of using all four shoulder buttons effectively), but it's still better than anything else that's out right now, with the arguable exception of the XBox S. And since the Dual Shock was designed long before the XBox S was, that's not too shocking; in fact, a
        • Let's put it this way: both the dualshock (2) and the gamecube controller have various flaws which are fairly well agreed upon:

          GC flaws:
          • Overly small d-pad (a flaw only for "d-pad oriented" games; many games actually use this simply for item selection etc., which doesn't depend on the size).
          • Non-symmetrical sticks/too-small C-stick (for games which need two sticks)
          • Small and hard to press z-button

          DS2 flaws:

          • Painful and hard to use d-pad (a flaw for d-pad oriented games -- but it's pretty strange that su
          • The GC controller flaws seem to result from a certain over-emphasis on a particular style of controller usage -- certain controls are emphasized at the expense of others -- but it's pretty clear that Nintendo thought through their preferred control scheme and made the controller work well for that case.

            That would be fine if the GameCube was intended to play only Nintendo games, but, whoops, it's not! That's really emblematic of the problems that Nintendo has had in console hardware for the past decade:
        • I own a PS2 and a Gamecube, and I have to say I much prefer the GC controller. It feels better to use and the buttons are different shapes so it's easier to remember which is which. I find I can pick up control schemes much quicker on the GC than on the PS2.
  • He completely skipped alternate controllers from the listing. He didn't mention abysmal failures like U-force and the Powerglove. He also missed out on awesome ones like the NES MAX. Which happens to be my all time favorite NES controller by the way- turbo buttons, good egronomics, and I likes the black rim much more than the traditional Dpad.
  • This little gem seems to have been forgotten, the NES Max. Google image search [google.com]

    Ok, sure it has its flaws, but Nintendo was on the right track here. It's almost like they were thinking of putting an analog stick there, but it just didn't quite make it unfortunately. It's also far more ergonomic than the original NES controller. Unfortunately the d-pad just didn't work too great. I still have one gathering dust somewhere.

  • TFA has some notable problems and oversights. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @05:24PM (#12935837)
    From the Dual Shock 2 segment:

    "This is the current gold standard."

    Wait. Hang on a second. The author says the SNES controller was crap (even though it introduced shoulder buttons). They also say the N64 controller was practically an abomination (even though it introduced analog thumbstick and rumble).

    Now, stay with me here.

    The Playstation Dual Shock controller is very simply an SNES controller with handles, analog thumbsticks, and rumble. How is it that this sets the "gold standard" when all of its components are from such "inferior" products? The beloved Dual Shock is a conglomeration of Nintendo ideas, layouts, and engineering that is almost 15 years old now. Also, it bears mentioning that Sony intentionally violated standing patents and copyrights and included the rumble feature without paying the license fees like Nintendo and Microsoft did. The Dual Shock 2 is a hack and a ripoff, the thumbsticks are poorly actuated, and the d-pad is harsh and uncomfortable. Will someone please tell me how that qualifies it as "the gold standard"? Is it because everyone uses it? Is that what makes it the best?

    Now, a couple other things to think about. Here are a list of things that Nintendo invented:

    D-Pad
    4 Face Button Layout
    Analog Thumbstick
    Rumble Feature
    Viable Wireless

    They invented EVERYTHING that every other company uses. Please explain to me why that makes their controllers the worst available pieces of hardware? See I would have thought that would make their controllers cutting edge, the best available technology at any given time, and the guiding light destined to be copied and copied poorly by whichever other companies are occupying the video game market at the time.

    One other thing to consider. I have a friend who used to have a bit of a temper when gaming. We played lots and lots of PS2 and gamecube. PS2 controllers will shatter under relatively little force - one strike against a refrigerator and they are just toast! However, my friend through my wavebird all the way across the livingroom THROUGH one of our kitchen cupboards, and it only has a slight scratch on the Z-button.

    I just think that says something quality of the Nintendo products.
    • I was waiting for him to get the the PS controllers specifically to see if he said that.

      I've not used a controller that was better. It's the symmetry. Sure these other ones might be better for specific games, but you can't make a jumbled mess of buttons and have it work well for 10 years worth of games.

      That's why the PS3 controller did funky stuff with the handles, but didn't touch the button layout.
  • By and large, I agree with most of the conclusions. It would have been nice to see a little more (or indeed, any) discussion of classic PC controllers, from the era when the joystick was king. Anybody else remember the Thrustmaster F16?

    On the current generation controllers, I think it's maybe a little harsh on the X-Box S-controller. Yes, the white and black buttons aren't brilliantly placed, but it still has a number of advantages over the dualshock. A single set of shoulder buttons, rather than two, feel
    • This means that if I want to play a Gamecube game, I have to pluck the system out of the cabinet and put it in the middle of the floor.

      Uh...

      This [circuitwarehouse.net] seems like a simpler solution.

  • He's wrong about the Dual Shock 2 (Score:4, Funny)

    by metamatic ( 202216 ) on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @05:25PM (#12935854) Homepage Journal
    The fire buttons on the Dual Shock 2 are actually a minor masterpiece of ergonomics.

    The circle button is the one next to the circular right edge of the joystick. The square button is the one next to the square center section. The triangle button points up. So all the symbols relate to the physical feel of the joystick in your hands, without looking at it, with the sole exception of "X" which I don't find hard to remember.

    On the other hand, the GameCube controller does what he suggests, and labels each button with a letter. And as a result, every time a game tells me to push "X" or "Y" I have to pause, look down at the controller, and hunt for the symbols.

    I dunno, maybe "X" and "Y" make sense to people who are long time Nintendo zea^H^H^Hfans, but I can't deal with it at all.

    At the same time, he misses the really big problem with the Dual Shock 2, which is that the L1 and R1 buttons are impossible to keep fingers on comfortably while using the analog sticks. With my thumbs on the analog controls, my hands raise up and my trigger fingers naturally slide down to L2 and R2.

    I did see a third party joystick which had L1 and R1 lower, and L2 and R2 banked slightly behind them, so that the natural grip was to have all four shoulder buttons under fingers, and thumbs on the analog sticks. Unfortunately, my experience of third party joysticks has been pretty negative.
    • The circle button is the one next to the circular right edge of the joystick. The square button is the one next to the square center section. The triangle button points up. So all the symbols relate to the physical feel of the joystick in your hands, without looking at it, with the sole exception of "X" which I don't find hard to remember.

      On the other hand, the GameCube controller does what he suggests, and labels each button with a letter. And as a result, every time a game tells me to push "X" or "Y"

      • You neglect the fact that the GameCube buttons are DIFFERENT SHAPES, which are typically shown in game. so X is curved one way, and Y the other. A is huge, and B is small.

        And once you have to refer to the buttons by shape, you may as well forget the letters, as they're superfluous and unhelpful, which was my point.

    • Re:He's wrong about the Dual Shock 2 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by macshit ( 157376 ) * <snogglethorpe@NOsPAM.gmail.com> on Tuesday June 28, 2005 @08:28PM (#12937384) Homepage
      On the other hand, the GameCube controller does what he suggests, and labels each button with a letter. And as a result, every time a game tells me to push "X" or "Y" I have to pause, look down at the controller, and hunt for the symbols.

      This is confused (have you ever played a game on the gamecube?) -- the gamecube buttons are dramatically different shapes, sizes, and colors, and games inevitably refer to them by showing little pictures of the button in context; you can locate them by feel. As far as I can tell the letters are never used except in online walk-throughs and the like (and for this particular purpose, using letters for each is a fantastic idea).

      Morever, the gamecube has an extremely standard set of uses for the buttons (the "main/fire/activate/confirm" button is always big central button, the "back" button is always the little circular button next to it, etc).

      The playstation buttons, being identically sized and symmetrical, are actually rather easy to get confused -- and games make this worse by being inconsistent about button assignments (if it were always "circle means confirm etc." that would kind of nice, but it's not).

      What's pretty clear is that nintendo puts quite a bit of effort into the ergonomics of their controllers and does a lot of user testing (their most famous developer, miyamoto, is famously obsessed with the subject). Based on the often glaringly obvious problems with Sony controllers (the PSP analogue nub being a great example), it doesn't seem that Sony does much testing at all, and more or less treats controllers as simply another element of the unit's aeshetics.

      The main problem with Nintendo's controllers, as far as I can see, is that they seem to do the bulk of testing with their own game designs, so that the results are sometimes awkward for games ported from other consoles and perhaps certain game genres with well-established controller conventions (e.g. fighting games where everybody is crying out for 17 face buttons...).
      • I own a GameCube, and have put in many hours playing games on it.

        The Zelda "Ocarina of Time" GameCube disc refers to the buttons by label, without pictures of them. That was how I discovered how utterly useless the labels are. If you have to put up a picture of the button, you might as well skip the letter entirely.

        I agree that the GameCube controller has excellent ergonomics. I wasn't criticizing it, I was using it as an example of the uselessness of letters as button labels.

        (Sheesh, some Nintendo fans
  • Nice to look at, painful to use, impossible to keep working. In had much of what we have come to expect from modern controllers (except the D-pad): lots of buttons and an analog stick, with start/select/pause buttons on the controller itself.

    While the fire buttons on the side were somewhat less painful than those of the Colecovision (at least they didn't need two pounds of force from your thumb), and favored either hand (the same two buttons were duplicated on both sides), Atari's bleeding-edge use of fle

    • the 5200 controller was definately over-designed for the system, another huge flaw was that while the contoller sported a fairly nice analog stick, it was exactly the wrong type of controller for a system primarily marketed as an arcade system. Seems that the few games that actually used the controler as an analog one used it poorly as well.
  • Genesis controller better than the SNES? Even a tie? No way. The three button layout on the Genesis controller was a dog and made if hard to reach buttons. The SNES two button layout was much more comfortable, and it was only in the rare games (e.g. SFII) that it was a bit of a pain trying to re-configure buttons (but easy enough).

    In the end it was the SNES controller which has influenced modern controllers, with the button layout and the shoulder buttons. I personally think that the author has too much

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