Under Control – Best and Worst Gamepads I’ve Used
I’ve been a gamer for decades now and ever since I have memory, I’ve been playing games. From an Atari and an Intellivision back in my childhood to a PS4, […]
Think Better, Think Bigger!
I’ve been a gamer for decades now and ever since I have memory, I’ve been playing games. From an Atari and an Intellivision back in my childhood to a PS4, […]
I’ve been a gamer for decades now and ever since I have memory, I’ve been playing games. From an Atari and an Intellivision back in my childhood to a PS4, Wii U and a PC today, I’ve handled quite a few controllers and keyboard designs. Some of them I found very comfortable, I could play with them for hours and it wouldn’t matter. Others were the opposite and it tired me to hold them for too long. Finally, there’s a small subset of gamepads that I thought would be uncomfortable as all hell but in reality were kinda nice!
Let me tell you about them.
So there’s the list. I’m keen to see what the next generation of controllers will be like. I want to get my hands on one of the Valve gamepads just to see if they’re as good as it says on the package or if they’re a nightmare to hold!
What are you favourite gamepads? Is there one you really hate? Were you ever surprised by one, on how comfortable they were despite how bad they looked?
I have every Nintendo console that was ever made. I always tell my kid that the Super Nintendo controller is the best one ever made. The Gamecube controller is really good too, though.
That’s good parenting right there! 😉
I think the Nintendo 64 was meant to have two different ways to hold the controller depending on whether you’re playing 2D or 3D games. It’s an interesting idea, but not really one that has held up well in hindsight. Nonetheless, it is a decent controller, though I think the Virtual Console controller is better.
Also, I’ve seen videos showcasing the Intellivision and ColecoVision controllers and they looked even worse than the Xbox and Atari 2600 controllers combined. It doesn’t help that they had more than nine buttons for games that were barely more complicated than Atari 2600 titles.
The Intellivision controller looked like a TV remote, with the same latout of buttons 0-9. I remember playing it as a kid and what made it work well was that games came with acrylic sheets you slid over the buttons, so you knew what each of them represented. So a baseball game (the one I remember vividly) you’d see the bases.
What do you mean with the “Virtual Console” controller?
Never had ColecoVision so I can’t comment on that one hahaha
The ColecoVision controller also looked like a TV remote. It doesn’t look like you could fit an overlay on it though. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/ColecoVision-Controller-FL.jpg
By a Virtual Console controller, I meant the classic controller one can attach to a Wii Remote. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Wii_Remote_%26_Classic_Controller.jpg
The classic controller versions are based on thr SNES and Gamecube. They’re awesome controllers
I like the PS controllers due to their symmetrical design. That may explain why I didn’t like the N64 pad. Controllers should be good for a wide range of games, but I found that Nintendo products to be less than ideal for fighters.
I disagree with you there. The Gamecube controller was very goos for fighters. I remember playing Bloody Roar a lot on Gamecube 🙂
Can’t really comment on the N64. Never used it for fighters