Game controllers

#1
Freak

Freak

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#1
For whatever reason, I wondered which was the first controller to have dual analog thumbsticks. A quick google search tells me that it was the PlayStation 1 controller (if there was another one prior, let me know). Anyway, it was quite amazing how similar that PlayStation controller looks compared to the PS4 controller today. Not much has changed except for the touchpad. I owned a PS1 and I wish, for nostalgia reasons, that I still had it.

Better-Dual-Analog.jpeg


I think this came out prior to the controller above. I never owned a N64, for reasons I can't recall. How did this thing even work?

N64.jpeg
 
#2
#2
The headscratcher to me was the Dreamcast controller design. The Dreamcast came AFTER the original PlayStation, where dual analogue sticks had already been established as the standard. Yet Sega decided to produce the Dreamcast controller with just one stick, severely knee-capping the types of mechanics that were possible on that console. Dont get me wrong, I LOVED my Dreamcast! But the controller was baffling to me.

1583960957107.png
 
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#3
#3
Freak said:
For whatever reason, I wondered which was the first controller to have dual analog thumbsticks. A quick google search tells me that it was the PlayStation 1 controller (if there was another one prior, let me know). Anyway, it was quite amazing how similar that PlayStation controller looks compared to the PS4 controller today. Not much has changed except for the touchpad. I owned a PS1 and I wish, for nostalgia reasons, that I still had it.

Better-Dual-Analog.jpeg


I think this came out prior to the controller above. I never owned a N64, for reasons I can't recall. How did this thing even work?

N64.jpeg
Click to expand...
You pretty much never held the handle where the control pad was because the joystick did the same function. This was by far my favorite system that I still wish I had. Lost many nights of sleep playing Goldeneye
 
#5
#5
Brave Volunteer said:
The headscratcher to me was the Dreamcast controller design. The Dreamcast came AFTER the original PlayStation, where dual analogue sticks had already been established as the standard. Yet Sega decided to produce the Dreamcast controller with just one stick, severely knee-capping the types of mechanics that were possible on that console. Dont get me wrong, I LOVED my Dreamcast! But the controller was baffling to me.
Click to expand...
The memory card was great. You could play mini games on it because it has a little screen on it. I remember if you played sonic you could catch a rabbit save it to your memory card and one of the mini games was feeding and caring for the rabbit.
 
#6
#6
Freak said:
For whatever reason, I wondered which was the first controller to have dual analog thumbsticks. A quick google search tells me that it was the PlayStation 1 controller (if there was another one prior, let me know). Anyway, it was quite amazing how similar that PlayStation controller looks compared to the PS4 controller today. Not much has changed except for the touchpad. I owned a PS1 and I wish, for nostalgia reasons, that I still had it.

Better-Dual-Analog.jpeg


I think this came out prior to the controller above. I never owned a N64, for reasons I can't recall. How did this thing even work?

N64.jpeg
Click to expand...
N64 might be my favorite console i ever owned, the controller was funky but it worked.
 
#7
#7
Dustin4Vols said:
The memory card was great. You could play mini games on it because it has a little screen on it. I remember if you played sonic you could catch a rabbit save it to your memory card and one of the mini games was feeding and caring for the rabbit.
Click to expand...
It was cool in concept but frankly it wasn't very practical. The best thing about it was you could pick your plays in NFL 2K from the memory card screen and your opponents wouldn't know what you chose. That was the best implementation by far.

BigOrangeAl 1979 said:
Dreamcast had the best controller
Click to expand...

It was comfortable, but I can't possibly say its the best controller ever when it didnt even meet standards the industry had already adopted. I remember buying a game called Virtual On, which was an arena based mech combat game. It was literally impossible to play on the standard Dreamcast controller because of the missing right analogue stick. I had to import a separate dual arcade stick set up just so I could play the damn thing.
 
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#8
#8
The 64 controller really depended what kind of game you were place. Racing game? You'd wanna hold the joystick handle since you were mostly likely to use it. Fighting game was most likely gonna use the dpad show hold that handle. I love the 64 but the controller was obnoxious as hell. Lol
 
#10
#10
UTK said:
It was solid but the best controller will always be GameCube vs the Xbox 360 to me
Click to expand...

For me, my all time favorite controller...and remember you have consider context and time period here...is the Sega Genesis 6 button controller! The D pad on that controller was so buttery smooth to operate! Plus it always made so much more sense to me to have all 6 buttons on the front of the controller instead of the shoulder buttons on the SNES. It made fighting games an absolute dream to play!

1583961048750.png
 
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#11
#11
Brave Volunteer said:
For me, my all time favorite controller...and remember you have consider context and time period here...is the Sega Genesis 6 button controller! The D pad on that controller was so buttery smooth to operate! Plus it always made so much more sense to me to have all 6 buttons on the front of the controller instead of the shoulder buttons on the SNES. It made fighting games an absolute dream to play!

View attachment 265717
Click to expand...

6 buttom controller was amazing simply because of how terrible at the time it was to have the default 3 button controller. 3 buttons were not enough lmao
 
#15
#15
I always thought the six button Sega Saturn controller was really well done, really under appreciated. That system had my favorite version of mortal kombat by far but nostalgia may be influencing that.
 
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