Nintendo 64 controller versus psx dualshock
 

I don't know if this kind of poll have been made before so bleh.

Nintendo 64 controller.

good: well-balanced analog joystick.
unique design.
5 buttons plus 1 start button and 4 c-buttons.
d-pad support for many games.
first real right-handed/left-handed controller (as many games
featured an option to swap the c-buttons to the d-pad)
memory card interface enabled quick and easy save game copy to
another memory card. (The concept had later evolved with the xbox
controller which featured 2 memory cards slots per controller)

bad: the analog joystick tend to get loose after a while.
...unique design.
the memory card interface is poorly done, which results in many
memory card failures. (goodbye, end of Duke Nukem: Zer0 hour :( )
external rumble pack which requires batteries
no way to have both rumble pack and memory card at the same time.
left-hand configuration means less ergonomic access to the a and b
buttons.


Sony Playstation Dual Shock controller.

the good: the first controller of its kind to have 2 mini analog joysticks.
way more buttons than the n64 controller could ever dream of. (although the n64 controller theorically have 13 buttons, if you count the d-pad directions as separate buttons. - as seen in duke nukem zer0 h0ur and battle zone: rise of the black dogs)
innovative integrated rumble feature that requires NO batteries.
a select button.

the bad: underdeveloped joysticks that barely have any real analog sensitivity (the mistake was thankfully corrected with the dual shock 2 controller).
underused in many games (compare a game like medal of honor to n64's version of Tom Clancy's rainbow six. the winner is easy to tell.)
the d-pad, which often feels too soft.


So, fellow gff users? what's your pick?

The PlayStation controller is extermely well-designed, and its triangle, square, circle and cross buttons are iconic. There's a reason why Sony has been able to keep it with slight modifications over three generations, while other companies keep fucking around and changing controllers. It's virtually a perfect controller for most games. The only mistake Sony made was removing the vibration functionality from sixaxis, though hopefully that will be corrected soon.

Psx dualshock, because you didn't have to shove a memory card or a big clunky rumble pak on it.

The playstation controller is one of the greatest ever designed in my opinion. You can use it for hours without any sort of cramp or discomfort whereas the N64 pad was a strain to use for anyone with hands bigger than a five year old (Likewise the Gamecube). The N64 pad was also very poorly built and broke far too easily and their vibration pack added as an afterthought was just plain crap.

As Aardark said, there's a reason that the Playstation controller has barely changed in three generations.

MAN! the N64s controller was pretty much crap!
The buttons would stick if used too much, the joy stick controller DIED after playing mario party, or after about a 2 months or so of play, it was awkward to hold if you needed the D-pad, joystick, and A,B,C buttons, and then having to plug the memory card into the controller was and still is a bad idea.

The dualshock, its nice, you can reach all of the buttons from one hand configuration,instead of trying to reach in weird ways to reach everything on the one controller, size was right, the fact that it 'rumbled' was nice. i just like everything about the dualshock. Why do you think the design for the gamecude controller looked almost exactly like the dualshock controller? it was because it was superior

I didn't mind the N64 controller's size because I had big enough hands to use the analog easily with my hand on the left handle which meant I could easily switch between d-pad and analog unlike some of my friends. The playstation controller is very simple and accessible and doesn't look like a bit mess of buttons. It seemed to take bits from nintendo controllers and then just add to it a bit. The basic layout is fairly similar to the SNES controller but with twice the shoulder buttons. The N64 had the analog joystick and then (might not have been in this order) the ps controller had 2.

Dual Shock (called the "DS" from here on, not to be confused with NDS), since it's the better overall alternative. The N64's controller isn't bad for 3d plattformers or Zelda-like action, but overall, it doesn't quite cut the cake for me.

The DS also gets points when it comes to ergonomic and esthetic design in my book, so there's absolutely no questioning why Sony decides to reuse it's design over and over. Why change a near perfect design when you can just modify it slightly for better performance?

I think they should move the analog pads around a bit but otherwise the duel shock / sixaxxis is pretty much perfect. I do prefer the analog placements on the 360's controller though for FPS and the like but the fact is, Sony is probably the only console in a long while that has had a acceptable dpad so I try to let the analog placement slide.

This is about the first gen dual shock, not the ps2/ps3 gen dual shock buddy. ^^;

I know that? They look identical so why does that matter? I was merely saying it was a good design but the analogs weren't placed as well as they could have been. I can comment on that if I want, ya know?

they look identical but they have different features.

dualshock 2? real analog joysticks.

sixaxis? motion captors (I think) and pressure sensitive l2/r2 triggers.

sure they look they same but in the inside they are all different pieces of hardware. :3

Forsety was talking about the layout of the joysticks, which hasn't changed since the original DualShock. What's under the hood has absolutely nothing to do with where things are placed.

I much prefer the Dualshock over the N64 controller. The N64 controller was decent, I guess, but there was really no point in separating the analog stick and the D-pad for different hand positions. I can count the number of times I actually went to use the D-pad on one hand. Also when playing PC fighters or platformers the PS2 pad is my pad-of-choice thanks to a PS2-to-USB converter.

This is really hard to choose. Sony still stubbornly refuse to move the left joystick to where the d-pad is and the N64 joystick grooves give so much more precision. They also help tear down the shitty N64 joystick and I've always hated batteries.

I'll go with the N64 controller though because it was just so bloody comfortable, much more so than the pathetic Dual shock which didn't ahve any idea what it was doing with it's handles.

No. The reason is Sony is too fucking stubborn to change. And when they do offer change (the boomerang PS3 controller was a huge step in the right direction) they have a sook when internet fags make fun of it.
Debateable. Soul Caliber played so much better with the Gamecube button configuration. Any too buttons could be pressed at once otehr than B+X (g+k in Soul Caliber which surprise, didn't do anything anyway) Just try pressing the X and triangle buttons at once on a Playstation controller withoutchanging your grip and using your fingers, it simply can't be done. Hell even pressing X and Square can be a stretch. And don't get me started on the stupid left analoge position, it's like they want my left hand to be uncomfortable in every modern game I play, not that the PSX controller was comfortable compared to the N64 one anyway.
LOL fucking doubt it.

This has got to be the most pointless special ability I've ever heard. Can you name a single N64 game where you had to swap between the crosspad and joystick? Please.

I don't know what you mean by "real analog joysticks", but if you mean that they are physically a bit more resilliant compared to the original DS then, yeah, but otherwise they work in the same way. The "pressure sensitive" (analog) l2/r2 triggers were actually already implemented in the DS2. Try playing MGS2 with DS2 and you'll see for yourself.

I'm going with the dual shock, it was much more ergonomic and easy to use compared to the N64 controller. The dual analog sticks and built in rumble pretty much set the standard of what controllers should be these days(except for the rumble-less sixaxis and the wiimote).

Moving the left stick to where the d pad is on the dual shock is stupid, I never liked the xbox controllers because of that, it just makes the dpad useless. And it's also much easier to reach down and control the analog stick than reach down and press buttons. IMO, the dualshock design is the perfect controller design, the gamecube controller was similar to it and even the 360 has the exact same button layout as the dualshock, the only thing different is triggers and the left stick.

HAHAHA what? Set the standard for today's controllers, except 66.7% of them? Gimmie a break. And the 360 controller has far more in common with the Dreamcast than the Dualshock, which itself borrowed heavily from the N64 and SNES. To call any controller a standard setter is ridiculous.

The dpad is useless. Oh my god! The dpad has been relegated to joke status since Super Mario 64. You cannot seriously tell me you use the dpad for any games except, maybe, fighters.

I did like N64 controller I thought it was comfortable I had never had issues with at all like buttons sticking and what not. My analog was loose on it (from bomberman 64 multiplayer) but it didn't give me any problems for being loose. I still had full control over everything. It was but it didn't ever fall in one direction. I probably would go with Dual Shock over just cause I used it on the NGC cause the Gamecube controller was ass for playing fighting games on the gamecube. It was fine for Smash thats was about it. I'm still using an Old dual shock cause it responds better for then the Dual SHock 2. I use the Dual Shock for playing games on my pc (blitzkampf, MB: AC and etc.), I still use it to play games on my Playstation 2. I still use it to play games on NGC. The D-pad on the Dual Shock, it has moments where its a piece of shit though, but it gets the job done. I like it for how much use I am still getting out of it.

Played Symphony of the Night on XBL lately?
Valkyrie Profile 1 & 2...Odin Sphere
Fighting games, obviously
Basically any classic 2d PSX game needs a good d-pad. And the positioning on the 360 controller (as well as the pad design itself) sucks geriatric balls.

I can't think of a moment where I ever needed a d-pad and the dual shock didn't work better than any other d-pad in existence. Hell, it even takes longer for thumbs to get sore because it doesn't have hard edges.

lol, I was talking about the built in rumble and dual analog sticks, which were present in the previous generation as well as the current gen except for the wii, duh. The dualshock was the first to have both. And yes, i do use the dpad when playing fighting games and going through menus, it just feels more natural to me, I hate using the analog sticks when browsing menus. The dpad is not completely useless, it still has its applications.

I meant that the first dualshock, while being analog, feels and plays like digital joysticks most of the time.

What are you talking about? Except for pressure sensitivity, the original Dual Shock controller is identical to the Dual Shock 2.

I doubt playing manhunt with a ds would feel like playing manhunt with a ds2.

I think for the sake of completion the Sega Saturn Nights control should be added :P

Anyway I choose the PS1 control because the N64 control only felt reasonable during Zelda or Mario... anything else and it sucked.

The N64 controller was a bitch to use after a few hours of continuous play.

Dual Shock for the win. Can't even lie about it.

Unless I was playing Goldeneye, Perfect Dark or any of the Mario Party games, I could deal with the N64 controller for hours on end.

Otherwise, the Dual Shock FTW.

The Dual Shock. Two analogs that can be clicked in, 10 buttons and a d-pad makes it the superior choice. It's actually possible to utilize both the d-pad and the analogs at the same time, unlike the Nintendo 64, so designers made use of this. (Although, seems mostly just after the Playstation 2 was released, so maybe that's an unfair comparison.) Using the d-pad as method of movement isn't that common nowadays outside of sidescrollers, shmups, and fighters, but its use as a weapon switcher/quick menu is still damn handy.

The Nintendo 64 controller was alright, I suppose. Except for this one time the N64's hard plastic analog actually peeled off a large layer of my skin playing an analog-intensive mini-game in Mario Party. ...It wasn't particularly pleasant.

Argh. The n64 controllers become worn down incredibly quickly. I like how it fits in my hand, but older controls become unresponsive with the joy stick due to wear and tear. Strangely enough, this is one controller that wasn't built to last, which is strange as Nintendo tends to make some of the most durable equipment on the planet. I've heard so many stories of people running their games over with cars, flushing game boys down the toilet, leaving games outside all winter and then having them work perfectly.

If a mouse farts in a room, the n64 controller breaks down and starts sobbing uncontrollably.

I like the comfort of the ps controller. Dualshock is simple and is comfortable to hold for extended periods. The joystick doesn't get worn down, which is good.

Despite its odd design, I did find the N64 controller worked well for some games at the time. The trigger on the bottom fit FPS games quite well, and the C-buttons worked well enough for camera manipulation and as movement in FPS games that used a Turok-style control system. Unfortunately, many games seemed to suffer from it: trying to play virtually any fighting game with the C-buttons was a chore, not to mention the d-pad section of the controller was practically never used, making it feel like a third wheel.

The Dual Shock was rather nice, although a bit harder to get used to. The position of the analog sticks isn't quite as comfortable, but the symmetry of them felt natural for many games, including Katamari Damacy. The analog click and just plain number of buttons made almost any game work well enough on it. And of course the built in rumble was nice as well, it's really surprising how often I overlook that until I actually go to play one of the older consoles that doesn't have it built in (or even the Sixaxis, ironically).

Overall, I liked the Dual Shock more, and its design was influential enough to carry on throughout the generations.



No, the Dual Shock did set a standard, it was even given an award for it. After the Dual Shock, every console in the following generation except the Dreamcast adopted a dual analog, rumble-enabled, handle-gripped controller, and the Xbox 360 even went as far as adding in the extra two triggers as well, as well as analog stick buttons. Plus, the Dual Shock design was even adopted on PCs as the main form for gamepad controls, at least until Microsoft started pushing the Xbox 360 controller as the standard.

I liked the Dreamcast/Saturn analog controllers, but the only features from them that were really utilized in other consoles were the analog triggers and basic placement for the left analog stick/d-pad. Too bad the VMU/controller screen didn't live on.

Which is quite ironic, since Super Mario 64 DS relied on a D-pad for control (unless you wanted to use the extremely awkward touch screen controls for the game).

I feel rather torn on this. Granted, the Dual Shock is the more enduring design. However, when the Playstation originally came out, there weren't ANY analog sticks or vibration. The Dual Shock didn't come out until AFTER the N64 did. So if you want to talk about "setting the standards," you have to look at the N64 first.

However, I will admit that the Dual Shock is better-designed, if not as innovative.

Eh. Fuggit, I voted for the N64 before I wrote out this post and thought it through. Guess my inner child which is stuck in his bedroom playing Star Fox 64 to death is still kicking around. :p

Dual Shock. I loved Star Fox 64 as well, but the Dual Shock was superior to the N64 controller. It was smaller, didn't have as many loose parts, and had two analog sticks (sadly I don't remember both being used that much).

I got the Dual Shock controllers (as opposed to the original controllers), but I was young so I never noticed anything wrong with the analog sticks (and I haven't until you guys brought it up). Did the DS have R3 and L3 buttons, or is that only DS2?

Whoever wins, Sony loses. The Dual Shock is just a Super Nintendo controller with more shoulder buttons, analog sticks copied from the N64 controller (though placed in a more ideal layout, to Sony's credit), and bastardized face buttons with shapes instead of letters.

Dual Shock in a deserving landslide:

The only legitimate gripe I've ever heard against the DS is it's awkwardly placed left analog. While I can definitely see that as a problem for some it isn't a problem for me thus it's my dream controller.

Above all the DS murders the N64 controller in fighters. While the N64 didn't have many, if it were to have the same library of them this would be no contest. The D-pad was microscopic and the asymmetric placement and uneven size of the buttons is unfriendly.

In action adventure games I still chose the DS. I like the idea of being able to switch between controls. Take a game like Devil May Cry. While running around the analog stick is fine, but when it comes to fast twitch action I can effortlessly switch to the D-pad; double tapping on a thumb analog is annoying.

Moreover the DS is a dual analog with more quickly accessable buttons. The L3 and R3 make 10 compared to the N64's 8, and if a programmer wants they can use the D-pad as an additional four. The N64 has a d-pad as well, but you have to change grips in order to access it.

Lastly while it's true that the N64 was great for 1st party games it doesn't completely outshine the DS in those same games (emulation).

All of that said in my eyes this is an "Anything you can do I can do better" situation. There's just no type of game I can think of where the N64 controller will be head and shoulders above the Dual shock with the exception of a slow paced game where you can play a majority of it with one hand controlling and one action button. In that case the N64 controller would be marvelous as I'd have one hand free to drink or eat while I'm playing.

It's a bit of both, really. N64 controller was generally excellent, my only complaint was the loose dpad which was far bigger than on the SNES (and then they proceeded to shrink it to ridiculously small sizes from there on). Button placement was excellent and the best games designed for the system made great use of the layout. Sure, it probably sucked for Mortal Kombat, but if you're a dullard who wants to play Mortal Kombat on the N64, you're.. a dullard. It's still the best analogue stick on any controller. My stick never became loose (still using the first controller I had years ago), I've no idea how badly you people abuse your controllers.

The PS1 controller, or dual shock generations altogether. They have the best dpad of the past few consoles, even though by any other standard the dpad is pretty bad. Yet the other dpads on offer are even worse. GC dpad had the best shape, but small size combined with awful placement made it largely unusable for long periods of time.

Dual Shock's layout was a direct ripoff of the SNES pad, indicative of just how awesome that controller still is. You had two sticks instead of one and no one really had a clue what to do with the other one. These days outside the FPS they still don't seem to, but luckily most third person games have eased us into the need to directly control the camera.

I just wish they'd make proper use of the analogue sticks. Nearly every third person game, even today, only has run, walk and stop as speeds, instead of proper analogue movement like in Mario 64 or Halo. Most of the time the deadzone for stop is far, far too big and the zone for walk around it is really tiny (see Tenchu Kurenai). Manhunt was one of the few PS2 games to make great use of analogue movement.

I'm probably one of the few who thought the Dreamcast's controller was and is an awfully uncomfortable piece of design, even though the analogue stick is good and it gave us triggers. The dpad is a good shape but it protrudes from the controller far too much making it painful to use.

Don't worry, I hate the Dreamcast's controller too! We can form an exclusive club! Cramps my Hulk hands up something shocking pretty much the instant I touch it, even the Jaguar's elevator control panel controller didn't do that! I guess if I have to pick one for this GameFAQs battle deluxe thread, it'll be Cloud Strife. Dual Shock. It wouldn't be very good if I didn't like it, then what would I be playing my PS2 games with? A horse? That would be awkward.

N64's controller was pretty rad though, it's still the only controller I've enjoyed fumbling around with for first person shooters. That's what destroyed mine though, the power of GoldenEye Oddjob slap fight multiplayer nights (also Mario Can't Enjoy This Game Because It Has Primary Colours On The Screen Kiddy Party). Now I have to use this disgusting third party beast that's bigger than my monitor.

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/2...ucks003kf5.jpg
See, huge. But the control stick on this doesn't grind into dust!
It's made of top grade clown meat metal instead of plastic, that's why.

I have to agree, because the Dreamcast controller gave me terrible RSI, and stopped me from gaming altogether for a couple of weeks. The weight distribution was terrible, it was even worse than the XBOX original controller, which is far more widely criticised.

I don't really think the DualShock is as perfect as everyone else seems to think. The tension on the sticks isn't nearly enough, and the positioning of them leaves much to be desired. However, any controller ever would beat the abysmal N64 controller. Not just because it had a bad layout, but also (primarily) because it was so fragile. The only ones I have left have a weak and limp analogue stick. I can compare them directly to Sony pads of a similar age, and they just haven't stood up well, even though the Sony pads have been used more.

Are you kidding? The N64 Dpad was BIGGER than the Dual Shock one. Are you thinking of the Gamecube or something? And I could've sworn that everyone agreed that 6 face buttons was better for Street Fighter style fighters than 4.

Oh a horribly designed 2.5D capcom game that wasn't even playable on the PSX. GOOD EXAMPLE MATE!
Wow you won that point. A game that didn't come out until 2004 or wahtever, we can now retrospecitively realise the genius of the design of the Dual Shock when applied to Katamari Damacy.
Kinda the point. Super Mario 64 DS is pretty much unplayble with a dpad, hence why dpads are entirely irrelevent to anyone who wants to play any form of modern video game.
No. Are you still living in 90s world or something?

This thread makes me want to replay all those N64 classics with a Dual Shock. I clearly remember that when I first laid my hands on the N64 controller, I didn't quite understand how to hold that awkward thing properly. At first, I even tried reaching the analog stick with my left hand thumb from the outer grip.

I probably spent more time figuring out the controller handling for a new game than actually playing it. Still, the controller turned out to be excellent for a few games once you learned how to use it.

Having used both controllers quite extensively, I can't help but say it takes some serious fanboy bias to prefer the N64 controller over a Dual Shock for most games. The Sony controller is far from perfect, but it's still amazingly comfortable and equally suited to a large variety of games.

I have to second the Dreamcast controller criticism, though my main gripe with it was that the VMU/Rumble Pack positioning made it impossible to comfortably hold that thing.

MK Trilogy wasn't great but Mortal Kombat 4 is the best of all ports in my opinion. as in: better graphics, real shadows (compared to the blocky shadows of the psx and pc versions) and no pixelated blood.

I loved that game ;_;

Also, you could play both mk games with the d-pad and it felt right, although mk4 was nice to play with the joystick. plus you could remap the buttons if you wanted to so you could alway put the snes layout for those games if you wanted.

Additional Spam:
ha I used to own one of these XD

the joystick will get loose in no time! XD

Yes, that is actually the point, since the controller was designed well enough that it could still be used for new and different control schemes even 7 years after it was released. I'd say it's a pretty damn good controller design when games can advance UP to its level while managing to not hinder existing games in the process (which I really can't say for about most of Nintendo's controller designs).


The problem wasn't that it had 6 face buttons, it's that it had 6 face buttons of 2 different sizes and 4 of them were so small it was practically impossible to use them efficiently. The Saturn pad was a great 6 button solution, since the 3 upper buttons weren't much smaller than the main ones and were still easy to use and press. It's clear that the N64's C-stick buttons weren't designed to be used as action buttons, and in that case you'd almost be better off using a 4 button controller with triggers instead.

I, for one, loved the N64 controller. It fit well in my hands and my hand was quick enough to switch between the analog stick and the d-pad when I had to. Ah, the fun times I've had playing Duke Nukem: Zero Hour and Goldeneye 64.

I prefer PS1's controller. Analogue sticks aren't necessary for 90% of PS1/2 games but it's nice to have that available to you.

The 64 controller was fine for things like Goldeneye, KI2, Pilotwings, etc. Did any game specifically make use of holding the dpad and analogue stick positions? I remember watching some video advertising the 64 and the "three positions" but most of the time there were only two.

I think at least one of the wrestling games did, NWO vs. The World or some such abreviation. Also Sin and Punishment had a control layout where you could use the D-pad+analog stick configuration, but then you don't have enough buttons to switch between lock-on and free aiming modes so it was kinda worthless...

Still living in fantasyland where games lose credibility 3 years after they're released?
Why do you even care about which controller is better if you're not going to be using any of them to play games?

The N64 dpad is not bigger than the DS one.

Who is everyone? If everyone doesn't include me (which it doesn't) then why should I care what anyone else likes? I prefer the four button face because I can use my thumb to press the four face buttons and use my index/middle finger to hit the R1/R2 buttons. With six buttons on the face I have to use just my thumb. More fingers over the same amount of buttons = better control.

Furthermore as I explained the buttons on the N64 pad are unevenly sized and asymetrically spaced.

It is a good example. We're talking about the merits of a particular controller when playing games. Egronomically speaking the PS1 and 2 Dualshocks are the identical. Why should I restrict myself to talking about PS1 games?

Shut up, no one cares.

I think I had quoted your comment with the intention of making fun of it but sitting there it was jsut too disgusting to look at so i deleted it and now I can't even remeber whatever worthless shit you had to say. All I heard was that your tried to justify Street Figheter but it sounds like you don't even play with an arcade stick, so you don't even care about fights at all DO YOU HAVE AN AR YOU DONT? FUCK OFF THEN!

Devil May Cry is shit. Full stop. The fact that it works on the dual shock is a strike against the Dual Shock.

Companies copy their competition blatantly all the time. Like the PS3's home button and the Wii's home button copying the 360's home button, etc. It doesn't matter to most people. All people care about is themselves, what they want, their entertainment, and what games they're most likely going to purchase.

Uh yeah it is.

I'm not sure if you've been around a fighting game on the DS lately (Guilty Gear Dust Strikers, Jump Ultimate Stars, etc) but it's a pain in the ass trying to play them with such a tiny dpad.

By DS he meant Dual Shock. But the N64 dpad is still slightly bigger.

As for the pad layout and holding dpad + analogue stick, it was intended to be used by flight simulators and such, but they didn't really make any. Bangai-O was played like that, which was made all the more clear in the DC version (though still playable).

As for the whole playing N64 games on the Dual Shock, that'd feel as uncomfortable as playing SNES games on a keyboard for me. A lot of emulator dudes are fine with it, but it reeks of compromise and it makes me retch. The best games make the best of their hardware and design their controls around the controller. This is why Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time and halol and Viewtiful Joe are so thoroughly excellent. They were built around the interface and work so well.

Sure, you can play Ocarina of Time on a GC pad, and probably on a PS1 pad, just like you can play PC FPS games on a console controller. But it's a compromised solution, a flawed experience. Ocarina playing on the GC pad felt terribly awkward and compromised. Making it an annoying chore to get over with, instead of the natural feeling instrument playing it was in the original.

Same way with most console FPS games. They just lazily dump PC keyboard + mouse controls on the two sticks of a control pad and to a degree it works. You can play it. But it doesn't mean it doesn't still feel horribly awkward, disorienting and floaty most of the time.

This is what I was aiming at with the Mortal Kombat comment, Spark. I didn't mean MK specifically, I meant wanting to play a game not designed, nor suitable for the controller and therefore the hardware.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5...2318jg1.th.jpg

DualShock wins, hands down. Especially when you put it in the ring with the N64 Controller. Way to make a controller that you can't even fully use without having to switch your hands around.

The N64 and Dualshock d-pads are about the same size really, though the DualShock's feels infinitely more refined. Compared to the DualShock, With the N64's d-pad it feels like you're rocking a coin on a ball bearing.

As for stealing or "we had it first!" arguments, I really could not care less who first used an analog stick or vibration function.

[edit] What lix said. Also, fuck Immersion corp.

Dual Shock for me. It is THE game controller. It can handle mostly any time of game [RPG, Fighting, Racing, Flight Sim Arcade etc etc], where as I felt everytime I played the 64 controller, it was only built for shooting games. I was not impressed with it at all. I think Nintendo lets invention and innovation get to their heads too much.

I have always hated the Dual Shock controller, I never owned a PlayStation and when I had a PS2 I already owned a GameCube and the Dual Shock sucks in comparison to the GC controller.

Though I must agree that it's better than the N64 control, let's not forget that the Dual Shock is a re-design. A fairer comparison would be to compare the old PSX controller and the N64 controller, which the N64 would win hands down.

Not really, since Mario 64 was designed around the N64 controller and the old PSX controller wasn't taylored for 3D games (Sony obviously needed something that could handle the rapid change towards 3D games after the system was put out). I always preferred the original PSX controller...It has a nicer grip and was more lightweight than the Dual Shock (which always felt a tad bulky in comparison). I use a non-analog PSX controller for PC emulation and it's easily my favorite "basic" controller (I swear the D-pad on it is better than any Dual Shock I've used...And my pad is 10 years old, with massive abuse and still kicking!).

But Dual Shock vs N64? DS, without hesitation. I never owned an N64, but I never felt as "in control" of things whenever I played an N64 game with the controller. The N64 controller LOOKED cooler, I'll give it that much, but I'm glad I never had to play a Street Fighter game on it...

Nintendo's the main reason why video games evolve. if nintendo wasn't here, we'd only have pac man to play with because video games would have never evolved this far, and would have stayed a temporary fad.

I actually prefer the N64 controller over the Dual Shock, if for the reason that the anaolg stick on the Nintendo 64 had better resistance than the wobbly nobs of the Dual Shock controller. That, and the two pairs of shoulder buttons confuse me.