Yep, ok, mouse and keyboard :p. ASIDE from that.

I'm looking to start some debate on here about controller design and what it has meant for your gaming over the years: look at the Wii now, or the invention of the d-pad, or light guns, or twisty paddles...

I'll start with my favourite (duh my pic gives it away somewhat) - the Namco Negcon. What a beautiful beast! A unique appearance. Intuitive, delicate, sensitive analogue control and analogue buttons years ahead of its time. Gave an advantage over users of other contol pads by genuinely improving a player's ability to input commands, like how with the Negcon you could feather the analogue airbrakes in Wipeout XL (Wipeout 2097). Totally sweet.

New 360 one, ripped off ps2 one with bumper and triggers but i like the size and design more.

NES controller morphed into the SNES controller morphed into the PS1 controller morphed into the PS2 controller and that is where I stand on controllers.

Worst of all time, on the other hand:

N64 - There was no way to fully utilize this controller. no way at all. Multi-armed Hindu gods would have difficulty wielding that contraption.

Gamecube - Nintendo didn't learn it's lesson

Genesis - terrible ergonomics

'The Duke'

I would say Dualshock 2 has been the best I have used.

i like cabegube controllers.however, i dislike the wiimote for now.

Ixus Illwrath:

N64 - There was no way to fully utilize this controller. no way at all. Multi-armed Hindu gods would have difficulty wielding that contraption.
Gamecube - Nintendo didn't learn it's lesson

You must be doing something wrong. The N64 controller can be held in multiple ways and some are just plain wrong. What I don't get at all is how you can dislike the Gamecube controller. That thing was pure perfection, ergonomically anyway.
Besides, nothing is as monstrous as the original Xbox controller. Between the weight and the huge distance between various buttons and sticks, simply using it caused me physical pain. Don't even get me started on the emotional pain.

EDIT: After some consideration, you have a point with the N64 controller. There was really no way to reach ALL the buttons at the same time. Fortunatly, it was rarely necessary.

OctoBush:
i like cabegube controllers.however, i dislike the wiimote for now.

Cabegube is the coolest word I've ever said out loud.

poleboy:

Ixus Illwrath:

N64 - There was no way to fully utilize this controller. no way at all. Multi-armed Hindu gods would have difficulty wielding that contraption.
Gamecube - Nintendo didn't learn it's lesson

You must be doing something wrong. The N64 controller can be held in multiple ways and some are just plain wrong. What I don't get at all is how you can dislike the Gamecube controller. That thing was pure perfection, ergonomically anyway.
Besides, nothing is as monstrous as the original Xbox controller. Between the weight and the huge distance between various buttons and sticks, simply using it caused me physical pain. Don't even get me started on the emotional pain.

Cmon man, I'm convinced Nintendo is on a quest to create an unusable controller.

How do you use the analog stick while using the trigger button and the d-pad on the 64 controller? it's impossible. Offset analog sticks on the 'Cabegube' controller? utter nonsense.

the N64 controller my particular favourite part as the trigger button underneath probably the the best fps controller ever made for a console.

The S Controller for the Xbox. Though the Duke was always good for a laugh.

zirnitra:
the N64 controller my particular favourite part as the trigger button underneath probably the the best fps controller ever made for a console.

I would have to say anything with dual analog made that thing way obsolete. Like WASD+mouse made hitting page up/page down for y-axis viewing obsolete.

I like the SNES controller. Simple but complex with enough buttons for any game of the time.

The Dual Shock is the most enduring and effective design, so I'll be going with that.

Although the N64 controller is a work engineering and design art

j-e-f-f-e-r-s:
The S Controller for the Xbox. Though the Duke was always good for a laugh.

Prefer it to the 360?

Fire Daemon:
I like the SNES controller. Simple but complex with enough buttons for any game of the time.

Yes. My current theory is that the SNES pad unlocked new potential in gaming by introducing new complexity to console control, so I might say that the games of the time could then be designed with better, deeper control systems. Rather than... the other way round.

No matter how many times I edit and re-edit that paragraph I can't seem to make it any clearer.

Ixus Illwrath:

poleboy:

Ixus Illwrath:

N64 - There was no way to fully utilize this controller. no way at all. Multi-armed Hindu gods would have difficulty wielding that contraption.
Gamecube - Nintendo didn't learn it's lesson

You must be doing something wrong. The N64 controller can be held in multiple ways and some are just plain wrong. What I don't get at all is how you can dislike the Gamecube controller. That thing was pure perfection, ergonomically anyway.
Besides, nothing is as monstrous as the original Xbox controller. Between the weight and the huge distance between various buttons and sticks, simply using it caused me physical pain. Don't even get me started on the emotional pain.

Cmon man, I'm convinced Nintendo is on a quest to create an unusable controller.

How do you use the analog stick while using the trigger button and the d-pad on the 64 controller? it's impossible. Offset analog sticks on the 'Cabegube' controller? utter nonsense.

Were there any games on the N64 that required you to use all three "arms" at once? Aside from just weapon/item changes etc?

Either the Gamecube or 360 one.

It's got to be the 360's controller. I used to think that the Playstation ones were best but i have since found that the 360 one fits much better in your hands, and concave sticks are better than the convex ones on the Playstation. The triggers definetly feel better than the PS3's R2 and L2.

jacodemon:

Ixus Illwrath:

poleboy:

Ixus Illwrath:

N64 - There was no way to fully utilize this controller. no way at all. Multi-armed Hindu gods would have difficulty wielding that contraption.
Gamecube - Nintendo didn't learn it's lesson

You must be doing something wrong. The N64 controller can be held in multiple ways and some are just plain wrong. What I don't get at all is how you can dislike the Gamecube controller. That thing was pure perfection, ergonomically anyway.
Besides, nothing is as monstrous as the original Xbox controller. Between the weight and the huge distance between various buttons and sticks, simply using it caused me physical pain. Don't even get me started on the emotional pain.

Cmon man, I'm convinced Nintendo is on a quest to create an unusable controller.

How do you use the analog stick while using the trigger button and the d-pad on the 64 controller? it's impossible. Offset analog sticks on the 'Cabegube' controller? utter nonsense.

Were there any games on the N64 that required you to use all three "arms" at once? Aside from just weapon/item changes etc?

Better question would be "Did the controller design allow for such a configuration to exist assuming the developer was sane?"

God I love the 360's controller. I loved the S last gen, but once the 360 paddle came out I knew it would be tough going back. I never got much into the DualShock*'s, but then again I'm mainly an FPS whore.

Ixus Illwrath:

OctoBush:
i like cabegube controllers.however, i dislike the wiimote for now.

Cabegube is the coolest word I've ever said out loud.

Agreed.

shadow skill:

jacodemon:

Ixus Illwrath:

poleboy:

Ixus Illwrath:

N64 - There was no way to fully utilize this controller. no way at all. Multi-armed Hindu gods would have difficulty wielding that contraption.
Gamecube - Nintendo didn't learn it's lesson

You must be doing something wrong. The N64 controller can be held in multiple ways and some are just plain wrong. What I don't get at all is how you can dislike the Gamecube controller. That thing was pure perfection, ergonomically anyway.
Besides, nothing is as monstrous as the original Xbox controller. Between the weight and the huge distance between various buttons and sticks, simply using it caused me physical pain. Don't even get me started on the emotional pain.

Cmon man, I'm convinced Nintendo is on a quest to create an unusable controller.

How do you use the analog stick while using the trigger button and the d-pad on the 64 controller? it's impossible. Offset analog sticks on the 'Cabegube' controller? utter nonsense.

Were there any games on the N64 that required you to use all three "arms" at once? Aside from just weapon/item changes etc?

Better question would be "Did the controller design allow for such a configuration to exist assuming the developer was sane?"

Indeed!

jacodemon:

Fire Daemon:
I like the SNES controller. Simple but complex with enough buttons for any game of the time.

Yes. My current theory is that the SNES pad unlocked new potential in gaming by introducing new complexity to console control, so I might say that the games of the time could then be designed with better, deeper control systems. Rather than... the other way round.

No matter how many times I edit and re-edit that paragraph I can't seem to make it any clearer.

I think the words are 'It feels as natural as riding a midget by his ears'

Ixus, if you insist on comparing every controller to its newest incarnation, this will get old really quickly. It's basically the same as saying that cars are far superior to a horse and buggy.

jacodemon:

Were there any games on the N64 that required you to use all three "arms" at once? Aside from just weapon/item changes etc?

Not as far as I know. But on most shoot em ups it had the left face buttons programmed to be identical to the right face buttons. Which made it very handy for lefties playing Winner stays on Goldeneye.

poleboy:
Ixus, if you insist on comparing every controller to its newest incarnation, this will get old really quickly. It's basically the same as saying that cars are far superior to a horse and buggy.

Dude, we still have a 64 at my house, being obsolete is a relative matter.

Ok so there's a bunch of gamers here who care about their controllers, that's awesome.

I first started this thread because I want opinions/sources (from actual gamers...) on favoured controllers for a little piece I'm writing about the importance of control to videogames. I'll be looking at why is a pad a favourite? What makes it good? What makes any pad good? Is there a formula for success? Why are bad pads bad?

The idea came out of a series of recent articles I wrote for fun about my own collection of controllers over at at xboxnewsrumoursandspeculation.com (if you click this link it will take you to the first in a series of five articles) and out of that it's turned into a major project.

The cornerstone is to be ergonomics, marketing, technology and relationship between game and controller, combined with what gamers actually feel about various controllers, good or bad.

If anyone is interested in being a source, for which you will be credited, message me or just post on this board. Obviously I'm absolutely never going to use anyone's two cents without their permission, but I'm trying to seed debate all over the place to get the juices flowing.

The Wiimote is the most innovative controller I've ever seen and usually the best at what it does, however it has spawned countless crap gimmick games. Some things are better with the Gamecube controller which was the best shape ever. It's only flaw was that for fighting games that aren't smash brothers were tough to wrap your fingers around the right way. Fortunately the only one released on the GC was Soul Calibur 2.

I like the 360 controller and the SNES controller.

The 360 one because it is very comftarbowl(and yes that was on purpouse, I needed a good laugh) and easy to use. Easy to memorise, and the triggers make both great buttons and also comftorbol(haha) middle finger rest points and the index rest point is on the bumpers. The SNES one because it's small, easy to hold and few buttons, but just enough.

i love the fact that ps1 2 and 3 have R/L 1 and 2 although the 360 stole that with bumpers and triggers

The 360 controller, by far. I like how it seem to universally fit anyone, and the button layout makes so much sense

Good vibes for the 360 in here. It is a well-engineered beast.

I note no-one is cheering for the Sixaxis.

How about..... The chainsaw gamecube controller to promote Resident Evil 4? Sure, it was impossible to play with, but it was pretty darn cool.

I prefer the Playstation 2 controller with Gamecube running a close race behind. The PS2 fits perfectly, there are no awkward wrist or finger movements to hit all the buttons and every button was in easy reach. The Gamecube controller just looks awesome (to me anyways) even though it does give of a kiddy vibe to most. There are just enough buttons to make conrtoller config easy and not too many to make you feel loaded down with buttons and triggers and thigns that spin. I always found the XBoz controllers (first and 360) to big and clunky to fit in my hands.

EDIT: Sorry, if the PSP counts as a controller, that is ties for worst with the XBox. I realize it is supposed to be small and portable, but after only 30 minutes of playing, I have what Yahtzee also complains of :horrible hooks for fingers. The stick is too small and seems to be made of teflon since my finger keeps slipping off of it.

I don't even own a 360 but I'd have to say it is the best gamepad around, the analogue sticks are just so smooth and precise and it's ergonomically perfect, I can say this after playing 4 times through MGS4 with the six-axis yet only playing 30-min of Gears of war.

Gamecube had a smoother, more responsive and ergonomic controller than the PS2 though the Dual Shock 2 wins due to the increased capability with a wide variety of game types from platformers to FPS to driving games as it could fit a lot of buttons onto it with the force sensitivity being a nice touch for mad dashes though by the PS3 it is seriously showing its age and my big hands are finding it impossible to hold.

Worst controls have to go to the PSP, I mean it offers 6th generation games with controls almost identical to the SNES and an impossible analogue nub. Somehow it works with the TR anniversary/legends and GTA but the 1st/3rd person shooters are impossible without sticking to cover. I have no idea what to make of the DS though.

The Xbox fails for those ridiculous Black and White buttons, so awkwardly placed I have to look at the controller to find them.

Mouse/keys still rule though. Especially with Crysis mouse gestures, genius.