Nintendo controllers vs. Playstation controllers

[Beast]

Personally I think Playstation had it right, stick with one controller design and make it work. Nintendo went fairly epileptic with it. I loved the N64 design.

My question is.

Which was your preference?

[Zombiliciouss]

Depends. I hated the PS1 design until the dualshock was invented. I love the gamecube controller and wii controllers. N64 just felt a bit akward. Truth be told, Xbox. My hands are huge, so it feels right.

[wowzabunny]

I call them even.
the ps2 controller is symertrical so its easyer

[The Governator]

I call them even.
the ps2 controller is symertrical so its easyer

Well, the PS2 is basically a black PS1 controller, with two new buttons.

Personally, I loath console controlers, I prefer a mouse and keyboard, I feel more at home behind a computer than a console. (though I love the SNES controllers, its a perfect design.)

[Aizmov]

I love Nintendo controllers, they are always innovative, and when it comes to Sony, it is obvious where they got their inspiration for the PS1 controller from (Super Nintendo).

[jtdlives]

I'm pretty bias since I've only ever owned Nintendo systems, but I really like the Wii controller for its simple design. I think simpler is better.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

What? How can anyone, given the choice, possibly pick the Nintendo's controllers? The only standard one they ever did right was the SNES. If you open it up to optional controllers and peripherals, I'll give credit to Nintendo for the NES Advantage, but every other controller is equal parts suck and fail. Track Pad? Wii Balance Board? Super Scope 6? That Mouse you played Mario Paint on? THE GODDAMNED POWER GLOVE?!? Not only shouldn't Nintendo win this poll, but a class action law suit should be filed against them for criminal negligence.

[SigmaSD]

I like the fact that Sony decided to keep the same controller design for the Playstation consoles, but my vote goes to Nintendo. They were willing to experiment with different types of controllers, which helped them improve in the next new console. I really like the Wii controllers.

[l Falling Kite l]

Id say
Playstation: They got it down right after the dual shock nice feel but PS3 needs some wieght to the controller sometimes I feel like Im about to break it.
Nintendo: I like the Gamecube controller. The Wii well is the Wii ^^ I love it
But over all I believe that Nintendo found the perfect format for there controllers ^^

[Khanxay]

SNES: Perfectly good. No complaints from me.

N64: Controller feels great to hold. Lightweight too. Had a weird look and design though. Feels really awkward in my hands now since I'm so used to GC and Xbox.

GC: Like the N64 it looked weird. But no other controller feels more natural in my hands. I hate pressing Z on it. Doesn't feel like a button.

Wii: I hate the Wiimote and the nunchuk. And Wiimote sideways is stupid. I do like the Classic Controller though.

PS1, PS2, Xbox 360: <3

[Opinionated]

I like the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo. Vital buttons are nice and properly under my fingers or within quick pressing distance. But what I really love about it is that it allows me to keep my hands seperate and my arms relaxed. It feels more natural for me to have my hands not bunched up next to each other on the same controller. And there's that, unlike every other controller, the Wiimote can be used with one hand and leave my other hand free for refresments or beverages. But maybe it's just the fact that I'm not used "regular" controllers.

[MomijiTMO]

360 controller ftw!

[if between the Wii and PS3 then the latter is more my style]

[Tasuke]

i am a fan of the PS DUAL SHOCK design. SONY did indeed have it all right, sticking by a largely unchanged controller design through their three consecutive generations of VG system. sadly, SONY has been hell-bent on finding other ways to sabotage the PlayStation family, with unfortunate success via the singularly nasty expiediant of eliminating their greatest ace in the hole: the universal PS family software backward compatibility of the last two generations of the PS console. now NINTENDO, IMO, has done a rather adroit disservice to themselves and their fans with the Wii. the damned, battery eating, wireless VR control system is a liability that all to easily lends itself to the vapid, kitschy games that the Wii is currently drowning in. IMO, technology, and the VG world itself, is simply not ready for home VR video gaming, and old farts like me will never be ready for it...

[Amray The II]

My favourite design to a consoles controller layout and appearance overall was the one for Playstation 2, therefore my answer is obvious.

I found it a perfect design to my preferences.

[kenny_killer]

but every other controller is equal parts suck and fail. Track Pad? Wii Balance Board? Super Scope 6? That Mouse you played Mario Paint on? THE GODDAMNED POWER GLOVE?!? Not only shouldn't Nintendo win this poll, but a class action law suit should be filed against them for criminal negligence.

Some people find that stuff entertaining. Not that I do.

But people find excitement in the possibility to acctually participate in physical interaction with a game. Which seems kinda redundant to me, but hey, I mean if you want a cheap entertainment high from fake skiing, fake sword fighting, and fake gun fights Wii is the way to go.

It can be fun sometimes, with the right friends.

[Diocletian]

After the commercial "You can play it with your as-er butt" I have to say PS1. I don't see how playing with your posterior helps the fun.

[Opinionated]

but hey, I mean if you want a cheap entertainment high from fake skiing, fake sword fighting, and fake gun fights Wii is the way to go.

Referring to video game simulations as "fake" doesn't really work. I could fake ski, fake sword fight, and fake gun fight on any console with a skiing, fighting, and/or action game. Hell, doing any simulation of a real-world activity in a video game is "fake." Call of Duty is fake, Madden is fake, Soul Caliber is fake, and so on and so forth. Controller ain't got nuthin' to do with it.

[Hanamaru Kunikida]

PS Controllers are better imo. Wii Remote is alright, but what it caused it's what I am unhappy. Playing with your butt isn't something out of the blue, it might be funny at first but get boring later...but we are talking about Nintendo here.

[BestFly]

IMO the playstation controller, while it's nice, will never live up to the 64 or such until they change it to have trigger buttons. (Like the n64 z button). Honestly, the 3 pronged n64 controller is probably the best controller.

You really can't compare wii and ps3 controllers. The wii plays totally different then other games consoles.

[kenny_killer]

Referring to video game simulations as "fake" doesn't really work. I could fake ski, fake sword fight, and fake gun fight on any console with a skiing, fighting, and/or action game. Hell, doing any simulation of a real-world activity in a video game is "fake." Call of Duty is fake, Madden is fake, Soul Caliber is fake, and so on and so forth. Controller ain't got nuthin' to do with it.


really? really?
is it that much of an inconvenience for you that you must correct me? You cannot just assume my meaning and be happy with yourself? "Referring to video game simulations as "fake" doesn't really work.", yes, but I speak of the actions you make out on Wii. Those are "fake".

If I had a nickel for every person who could read that and assume what I was trying to say, I would be one nickel short to account of all of mand kind.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

IMO the playstation controller, while it's nice, will never live up to the 64 or such until they change it to have trigger buttons. (Like the n64 z button). Honestly, the 3 pronged n64 controller is probably the best controller.

You really can't compare wii and ps3 controllers. The wii plays totally different then other games consoles.
Sure you can compare them. The Wii-Stick encourages stupid mini-games, and feels floaty and inaccurate ergo the Wii-Stick is made of Suck and Fail. Don't get me wrong, Six-Axis feels stupid too, but at least every game I've ever heard of has it optional so you don't entertain thoughts of terrorism against the relevant companies. It's alright if you insert stupid ideas into your console, so long as you don't make stupid ideas intrinsic to your console like Nintendo likes to do.

[Opinionated]

Eh, forget that post, the point didn't get across there, which is as follows:

No matter what the controller, video game activities are always fake. Shaking the Wiimote is no more or less fake than pressing a button on your 360 controller. Saying video games simulating activities are fake is like saying it's cold in Antarctica and proverty was a huge problem in the Great Depression. Motion controls or no motion controls, it's fake, always, so calling it fake is pointless.

Buuuuttt, I was operating under the assumption that you were joining in with good ol' MP2K in his rant about less common Nintendo controllers(save for the Balance Board).

[kenny_killer]

Eh, forget that post, the point didn't get across there, which is as follows:

No matter what the controller, video game activities are always fake. Shaking the Wiimote is no more or less fake than pressing a button on your 360 controller. Saying video games simulating activities are fake is like saying it's cold in Antarctica and proverty was a huge problem in the Great Depression. Motion controls or no motion controls, it's fake, always, so calling it fake is pointless.

Buuuuttt, I was operating under the assumption that you were joining in with good ol' MP2K in his rant about less common Nintendo controllers(save for the Balance Board).

I am speaking of Wii games where you are suppose to incorperate physical activity with virtuality. These activites are fake in the sense that you are not interacting with other objects.

If you want to play sports, or do fun outdoor activites you should do them outdoors. Of course there are exceptions, but for the fat kid who now has an excuse for going outside, the sports he plays are fake.

[::Mitchell::]

NES controller, filled with rectangular evil. I hated it.
The N64 controller, which was more confusing than a rubiks cube and broke down FAST.
Game cube: For the win with epicsauce.
I have never put my hands on a classic controller but it looks too hard to push buttons on a ovular (??? I ment to say oval with a ular) surface.
Wii controller in general: Easy layout, but the flipped-on-its-side style is a bit tiny.

Playstation: Its easy to hold and easy to get used too.

[BestFly]

Sure you can compare them. The Wii-Stick encourages stupid mini-games, and feels floaty and inaccurate ergo the Wii-Stick is made of Suck and Fail. Don't get me wrong, Six-Axis feels stupid too, but at least every game I've ever heard of has it optional so you don't entertain thoughts of terrorism against the relevant companies. It's alright if you insert stupid ideas into your console, so long as you don't make stupid ideas intrinsic to your console like Nintendo likes to do.

Sounds more anti-wii/nintedo then anti-controler to me. I'll admit that the wii controllers leave much to be desired when you're playing a game without the motion sensitivity stuff. But I've had a wii since launch, and I've never had experiences where the cursor was inaccurate, except for rare occasions when i'd go out of sensor range.

Also, the motion sensitivity is the Wiis main draw. The system would have never been as popular if they made another game cube.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

Sounds more anti-wii/nintedo then anti-controller to me I'll admit that the wii controllers leave much to be desired when you're playing a game without the motion sensitivity stuff. But I've had a wii since launch, and I've never had experiences where the cursor was inaccurate, except for rare occasions when i'd go out of sensor range.It's anti-Nintendo insofar as the system (i.e. Console + Wii Stick) was designed to enable a type of playing that is stupid. If it had a traditional controller that was the "main" controller, it would have less unplayable cruft per halfway decent game.


Also, the motion sensitivity is the Wiis main draw. The system would have never been as popular if they made another game cube.
I counter and say that the Wii is most popular among Nintendo fan boys and people who are too stupid to operate a traditional controller (which is sad). The Wii doesn't play video games, it's an excuse for people to get together and flail their arms at things. I already have that console- it's called a plastic lightsaber.

[Zombiliciouss]

Thats what ubisoft wants you to believe.

[Opinionated]

I am speaking of Wii games where you are suppose to incorperate physical activity with virtuality. These activites are fake in the sense that you are not interacting with other objects.

If you want to play sports, or do fun outdoor activites you should do them outdoors. Of course there are exceptions, but for the fat kid who now has an excuse for going outside, the sports he plays are fake.
So, in essence, you're telling me to stop having fun playing video games. (http://xkcd.com/359/)

Sorry, no.

Also, I believe MP2K's point is that he's a fatbeard grognard of video gaming who hates the Wii's motion controls because it's not a traditional control scheme, just like tabletop gaming's fatbeard grognards think that anything that's not a first/second edition dungeon crawl isn't real gaming.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

Also, I believe MP2K's point is that he's a fatbeard grognard of video gaming who hates the Wii's motion controls because it's not a traditional control scheme, just like tabletop gaming's fatbeard grognards think that anything that's not a first/second edition dungeon crawl isn't real gaming.
Or that it's a scheme that leads to video toys, not video games. I'd be OK with it if there were more games on the Wii I'd actually want to play, but there's exactly one, Smash Bros.

[Yugure's Goddess]

I like the the Wii-mote and wii games! Mario cart is always fun! It's kind of like an active outlet for gaming addicts who don't tend to engage in physical activity. If they add flashing lights and cute characters, more people are willing to "flail their arms around". And honestly, for some of us that live out in the middle of nowhere, we can't go outside and have a basketball game because for one, there's exactly two people to play with and for two, there isn't even any level ground anywhere near here except on the road to logically place a hoop. Stuff like that kind of presents a barrier.

That aside, flailing your arms around doesn't give you carpal tunnel or tendinitis. So, that's a plus over PS.

Don't get me wrong- I usually prefer video games that require more thought than action, but ... as far as controllers and stuff... Nintendo's got something at least a little nifty. I think it deserves some credit for first, originality and second for trying to do something that every other system is basically trying to contradict 99% of the time.

Aggressively neutral, as always! da da da daaa!

love
dani
dude

[Bulf]

I like Nintendo controllers better. Sony keeps using the same controllers with slight differences, Nintendo's controllers change from game to game, and they seem to match the console better also. Also, Sony's buttons are too small.

[Beezer]

The PS3 controller is ok, the L and R buttons just feel weird to me now. The Wii controller(s) aren't too bad but it gets annoying holding 2 separate things in my hands while playing for hours at a time. I really think the 360 controllers are the most comfortable. All the buttons are layed out nicely and within quick reach and it contours to my hands very well. If we're going previous gen then I'd say the PS1 slightly wins out on the N64, mostly because of those stupid yellow directional buttons. Never quite got used to em.

[Buruku]

N64: Always felt cheap to me, the joystick got worn down pretty easy and probably broke the most out of all the controllers I've had. It felt pretty comfortable as far as where the hand held it at.

Ps1/Ps2: Eh, people are use to them, but I've always thought they kind of sucked. I hate the joystick placement and they stick out awkwardly to me, they're too close to eachother.

Cube: I always liked this one, the c-pad was kind of small though. (My boyfriend is telling me he hated the cube controller, so he sucks too.) Like Khanxay said it feels natural.

Wii: It's ok. I think the Nunchuck and wiimote feel surprisingly good in some games, but I'm not as relaxed in the games that use a lot of motion censor. I haven't used the classic one.

Xbox: Don't remember much aside from it being big and those two black and white buttons being ANNOYING.

360: I love it.

PS3: Haven't used it yet.

[Sanosuke X]

I prefer the PS2 controller...its easy to handle.

[Dogmat]

I've always loved the playstation controller. Nintendo controllers haven't been good for me since the SNES. I find the Wii almost unplayable with the wiimote and nunchuck.

[skinnyp]

I like sony's controllers, especially the PS3 one. Nintendo always had weird controllers that made pushing some button or another weird. The Wii controller is a definite step up, but still, sony wins

[LittleGirl]

I'm down with all the controllers.

[SinOfHeart]

I guess like some of the other people I will just rate each controller individually:

NES: Kinda boxy for my taste but hey it's retro and it was good for the time.

SNES: I really liked this controller, and it worked great for all the games on the console.

N64: The controller felt kind of awkward to hold at first but it grew on me, and overall most companies found ways to use it effectively. Though the d-pad didn't seem nearly as responsive to me as the SNES.

Gamecube: I actually like this controller a lot... although the pressure triggers kind of bothered me in some games, also the d-pad was a travisty... I don't care how small your hands are that thing was worthless.

Wii: This controller is kind of a mixed bag, in some games it feels fairly natural (like zelda and mario), while in others it doesn't feel all that great (like metroid and smash bros. brawl). I don't know if it's just my extreme love and high number of play throughs of Metroid Prime, but to me it felt like the Wii-mote in Metroid Prime 3 just wasn't as good as the controls on the Gamecube for MP (even though the GC controls were kind of strange).

PS1 (no analog): Really no complaints with this controller other than the fact that it was a bit awkard to play the 3D games that came out before analog on it. And I'll agree with an earlier post that it does resemble the SNES controller.

PS1 (analog) and PS2: I think this is one of my favorite controllers of all time because it manages to be effective in every type of 2D and 3D game.

PS3: I again don't really like the pressure triggers on this controller though I've gotten used to them, but it is kind of awkward how you can just slide off the L2 and R2 buttons (whereas the gamecube it at least pushed down into the controller). Also the six-axis just seems like an all around bad idea... at its best it is usually slightly amuzing but most of the time it is just kind of annoying. Also in my opinion the pre-dual shock 3 PS3 controllers felt a bit too light for my taste.

[NorthOfTime]

I would have to say PS3. My hands are a bit small and they fit it perfectly. Plus ive been a PS since it came out. I defected to the 360 back in January 08, but i just couldnt leave the PS3 behind.

[Light Buster]

Playstation. It's great for shooters in my opinion.