[Multiplatform] 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?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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

How ya doing, buddy?

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.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

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 was speaking idiomatically.

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.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

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?

FELIPE NO

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.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Forsety

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. ^^;

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Forsety

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

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

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.

How ya doing, buddy?

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.

Originally Posted by Aardark

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

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.

Originally Posted by Aardark

It's virtually a perfect controller for most games.

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.

Originally Posted by Aardark

The only mistake Sony made was removing the vibration functionality from sixaxis, though hopefully that will be corrected soon.

LOL fucking doubt it.

Originally Posted by Somedude2387

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

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 was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Sparkster

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

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.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

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.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by espressivo

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).

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.

Originally Posted by espressivo

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.

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.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

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.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by RABicle

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.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Sword Familiar

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

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Sparkster

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 was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Rock

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.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

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.

How ya doing, buddy?

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.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.