"They've got it backwards," I thought, "The A button should be on the left and B on the right. That's how it's always been… I think."

Has this guy been gaming for like five minutes?

Roto13

Here is a neat little site I found awhile back that has like every 1st party controller for consoles ever. [www.axess.com]

lightweaponx

@dowingba: I see where you're coming from with the X-negative O-positive, but I've always assocaited them the other way around for some reason. I've found X to be the "exactly" button, like X marks the spot, or even a crosshair. O, on the other hand, always reminds me of the number 0, or nothing, or no. Kinda strange, I know. :/

Cogito

I HATE the DUALSHOCK3/SIXAXIS Trigger buttons. REALLY.

I got Burnout Paradise again for the PS3(shared account 5 other friends on PSN), and the the triggers hurt like hell when pressing em down to accelerate/break after a bit. Maybe for shooting games where a quick press of the trigger is all that is needed for firing/alt firing it suffices, but for prolonged use especially for racing games...it really doesn't work. And no bitchin' about being able to button map the triggers, i find the 360 great in racing games using the triggers there.

The 360 is probably one of the best feeling controllers out there, my hands just seem to "fit" in, hands down for the ergonomics of it. The D-Pad seems to be it's only problem but other than that, it works pretty well for almost all type of games.

After almost a decade you think Sony would put some research on designing a better controller. Where's the BOOMERANG Controller originally planned for the PS3? While it didn't look so hawt (I don't think any controller really looks good) it would have been perfect in symmetry with hands...like the xbox 360 controller. Way to kill innovation Sony.

vx2

I'm still in love with the dreamcast controllers to this day. They were a step up from the N64 controllers and they really let your hand grip them nicely.

I don't like the original launch xbox (NOT 360) , it was extra extra awful.

I think the current PS3 Dual shock is nice because it has weight and balance. I like the 360 ones because even thrown up against the wall it still works. Now only if we can get that type of durability with the system.

( Last comment , fanboys : please don't feel the need to defend your console. thanks )

휘성

It's also kind of cool to think about how I've come to relate to the buttons themselves. A is the "right" button, the "correct" button, or the "yes" button. I think this is the case not because it's used that way in many western games (it is) but moreso because A is often associate with being correct, or the best. (Bring your A-game, A+, A #1). Because of this it was often used as the confirmation button, so much so that it's become synonymous with it.

Or maybe it has more to do with the fact that when you hold the controller you finger rests naturally on the A button? Sort of like how you rest your finger on the Playstation X?

Who knows? Awesome stuff though. Always a fan, Maggie!

Cogito

@dowingba: Indeed. I love my jap PS3 because to confirm everything you have to use O, instead of the pal one.

togovero

Maybe "A" and "B" in Nes pad are put from right to left for japanese direction of reading.

togovero

Wow, that's actually really interesting. Kind of makes you wonder why A and B were chosen in the first place. Was it some kind of market research? Or did the executives of the time feel like A and B were more natural? Or maybe it was purely arbitrary. I think if I had been designing the original NES controller I would have gone with 1 and 2.

As far as A being on the right and B on the left, this makes perfect sense to me, for a really strange reason. If the buttons were labeled A, B in a left-to-right manner, then the controller would have felt like it was running off the side. Having the buttons labeled with A on the outside forces the player to look inward toward the center of the controller for letter B, and makes the whole thing feel like it is one inclusive model. To put it more simply, the A button is an endcap on the right, while the Dpad is an endcap on the left.

Ah, the subtlety of good design.

Cogito

It's always bothered me when Playstation games use X to confirm and O to cancel. You know, even here in english speaking land, X is traditionally a negative and O a positive.

dowingba

Also, lack of a keyboard/mouse mention in that article is disturbing.

B is to the right of A on PC's setup!

MSW0

@Charlie Kelly:

Good lord I absolutely loved the GC controller, thought it was the best. Aside from that, totally agree on the 360 controller, best ever.

PS1 controller has barely evolved at all, and only gets points out of familiarity. Talk about laziness, yeesh.

Markez

@Charlie Kelly: oh forgot to mention that i hate the GC controller...never found it pleasing - although might have been because I didnt give it ample time.

Charlie Kelly

ah..
nothing like he feeling of sharp plastic corners stabing the palms of your hands...

i love my nes to this day...

Strenith

I think my favorite is the xbox 360 controller. I remember the right side D pad on my virtua boy and always thought I loved my DC controller until I recently started playing with it again - too hard to go back after 360..I never really had a problem with the Dual Shock but the PS3 controllers are bad in my opinion - the faux triggers to me are horrible and I feel it takes to much effort to hold them down and not slip off, I think that is the reason that I buy the 360 version of certain games over the PS3 version =(

I would be eager to try an updated boomer rang....

Charlie Kelly

Such a hot, enjoyable, unnecessary read.

MSW0

wat

kwicksilver

@vx2: i agree, if there is one thing i don't like about the ps3 controller is the L and R trigger. its so ugly! i prefer the ps2 controller.

Sintonado

@Charlie Kelly: i LOVE THE GC controller. I don't like the 360 controller because of the D-PAD. Its so bad for fighters. sometimes its going to press down right rather than just down or just right.

Sintonado

When I think back that far, I also think about the Sega Master System controller too.. which went more sensible and used numbers: SMS Controller Pic

As for Nintendo's decision with their NES pad, maybe they took their queue from the Turbo Grafx 16's controller: TG16 Controller Pic

(Sorry for the double post... 1st post got lost in subthread)

ChaoticInfinityX

@dowingba: Traditionally, X has been the main button in PlayStation games. "Pres X to jump, press X to accelerate, press X to talk to this NPC." While this has changed in recent years, I think that it's position on the controller is the reason that Western players associate it with the "confirm" button.

Squamden

@Cogito: My quickest asumption sp? woul be that B is Back and A would be Accept. or maybe Attack and Bounce? a stretch i know, but anyway i still to this day love the NES CONTROLLER more than any others, the 360 controller is a close second. and i agree that the foax triggerson the PS3 lack the concave curvature needed to easily hold or press the triggers with the proper precision needed.

Also "a" and "b'' could just be like the name they had when developing it, and they just stuck with it. ya know like chemical 409 was the sample 409 in the lab, and it worked so good they just kept it named 409 cleaner. thats probly more the case.

Spookie

@lightweaponx: That was a great read. Thanks.

휘성

@ChaoticInfinityX: Whoops.. dunno why this posted as a reply to CK, sorry about that.

ChaoticInfinityX

@Charlie Kelly: Most people think me crazy, but I actually prefer the PS3 controller. I have all three systems, but the first system I ever bought with my own money was a PS2, so I've been accustomed to that controller. Plus, I prefer plugging my controller in to recharge it over going out to a store and buying loads of AAs.

DukeOfPwn

When I think back that far, I also think about the Sega Master System controller too.. which went more sensible and used numbers: SMS Controller Pic

As for Nintendo's decision with their NES pad, maybe they took their queue from the Turbo Grafx 16's controller: TG16 Controller Pic

ChaoticInfinityX

The SNES controller (and by extension, the DS) is my favourite controller. I actually found both the GC and N64 controllers to be ergonomically pleasing. This generation, I'm still in love with the PS3 controller, as I always have been, and get weird hand cramps when I use the 360 controller. Something about it just doesn't fit my hands, but I have small hands for a gamer so that might be it.

Tiger-Fever

I must say that it matter very little what they decide to call the buttons. At leas I can't remember any button layout by the button names. No matter how many years I been playing, if someone says press A to jump I have no idea which one is A unless I look, from there on it's in muscle memory. Same goes to my typing, if I were told to press L I would have to search for it unless I were typing already.

ara

@vx2: "I HATE the DUALSHOCK3/SIXAXIS Trigger buttons. REALLY."

I actually like them, a lot. The first time I held the DS3 I tried to use my middle fingers but that didn't turn out well, with index fingers it's just fine. Nice analog range for very subtle movement, etc. Bit different grip than with the Xbox360 controller but both fit my hands pretty much perfectly.

ara

@vx2: They killed the boomerang controller because so many fans and sites like Kotaku and others attacked it. Saying it was terrible, that they shouldn't do anything new, leave it the same, etc.

Real shame, I thought it would be far more comfortable to use myself.

Kenofthedead

Oh, way to go, JERK. You totally left out the C. C has feelings too! Without C, none of you ungrateful sega gamers would be able to jump! You know, that really hurts C. You know what the C stands for?

Crack.

In an alley.

He could barely get by during the last few console generations. It's sad to see what he's been reduced to. And they skipped WAY the fuck up to those X and Y punks just to rub it in. You ever met X and Y? They're total assholes! Oh sure, he got on the N64, but everyone hated those C buttons! It's not his fault! He's on the wii now, but when's the last time you people actually played your wii? Was it a game you even USED the nunchuk for? He's been torn down to a barely noticeable button on an optional controller. Poor bastard.

Mister_Jack

I wasn't a fan of the Gamecube controller until the Wavebird came out with it's slightly bigger design, wireless function, and better buttons (in my opinion).
C-Stick is still a mess however.

I find the Xbox 360 controller great as well except for two important things. The D-Pad, which is being improved on the PES green controller I plan to import, and the lack of VMU. I'm sorry, but if they went so far to make the Xbox a Dreamcast 2 and the 360 an evolution of that, it really needs the VMU to make it that much more awesome.
Ah Power Stone and your mini-games, Resident Evil CV and your health meter, Sonic Adventure and your tiny Chao, Ikagura and your exploding tiny space ship, good times.

My favourite controller however goes back years and remains the White Japanese Sega Saturn 6-button controller. Felt great in my hands, buttons were all done well and smooth to press down on, and it was far more responsive then even Xbox 360 or Dual Shock today.

Worst controller is the NES one. I could never stand that square box with corners to kill one's hands. Famicom did it better with slightly curved me thinks.

Kenofthedead

@90sKid: Ah yeah, I only hate the DS3's triggers. Ugh.

90sKid

Eh, my favorite controller ever is the N64's =) I know, I can't use the pad if I'm using the stick, but apart from that, I love it.

Now, the 360 controller and the DS3... I love my DS3 and I've never been comfortable with the 360's. I think it's the buttons (ALL OF THEM).

90sKid

@Charlie Kelly: I agree completely about the GCN controller. I hate the button mapping and I was always hitting more than one button with my American man thumbs (with that said I just have normal size hands.)

I used to call the GCN controller Playskool's My First Controller because of the abnormally sized A button. My favorite controller has always been the Sega Genesis Six button controller.

iamspoo

@MSW0: Thats true.

tdreher

X-A-B-Y...Guess where that combination belongs to ^_^.

relic1980

@ChaoticInfinityX: Uh, wasn't the NES before the Turbo-16? Like, some 4 years?

relic1980

@Charlie Kelly: yup! I am not too fond of the GC controller either, but my dislike for it is no where near that as the one for the DC controller! That to me was a horrible design.

1. Just one joystick, even after the ps1 had controllers with two
2. Why in the world was the cord connected underneath the controller?

Joystick was horrible too, but that's just an opinion. It also seemed like sega was trying to design a spacecraft or something when they should be concerned with having it be comfortable to hold.

The best two controllers now are Dualshock2 and the 360 controller. The latter would have been better if it had a good d-pad and the former would have if it had triggers...and no not the one on the DS3, they're horrible!!

tok1879

It might be more because I used the PS2 so much, but I like the DualShock 3. It feels a bit small at first or if you haven't used it in a while, but after playing for a few minutes it feels a bit tighter than the 360 controller. The 360 controller is very comfy, though, and I like the control stick placement for everything other than fighting games. The d-pad's bad, but it's not a massive deal.
Still, I'm one of the few who was pissed and confused by Sony's choice to drop the "Boomerang" design. It was more ergonomic than the DualShock 3 in just about every way. Release a Boomerang controller exactly like the concepts they originally had, add in rumble functionality, and you've got a buyer.

Blah8

@Charlie Kelly: Weird, I've never really had a problem with the L2/R2 Triggers on the DS3. I dunno, maybe playing on every Sony console has conditioned me. And as great as the 360 controller is for shooters and the like, you have to admit that the D-Pad is an abomination. That thing is almost as big of a failure as Vampire Rain(yes, I played it... *shudders*).

NarutoSoul

I did love my Dreamcast controller. It had a really nice grip to it. Also the triggers buttons felt like actual triggers.

The position of the analog sticks on my PS2 was perfect. They kept my thumbs in the same area. It was perfect for playing Katamari.

The worst controller has to be the old Xbox controllers. You had to have MASSIVE MAN hands in order to play. Heaven forbid a woman wanted to play or child.

TheDollHouse

@Charlie Kelly:
i have to agree, the xbox 360 controller is the best thus far, as long as you don't need motion-control. not many games use that effectively anyways.

the fact that it's USB easily makes it the best PC gamepad as well.

willyolio

@ChaoticInfinityX: Nintendo couldn't have "taken their queue from the Turbo Grafx 16's controller" because the NES came out before the TurboGrafx-16.

Eltigro

@togovero: Would have been my guess, too. However, Sega have always chosen left-right

Might be a patent issue. Nintendo do have a few on their pad fundamentals, such as the cross shaped pad. Sega had to pay them to use a cross on the DC, apparently.

Mentuss

Didn't Nintendo first develop the D-pad and B/A button layout on their game n watch games? I think some of those came out before the famicon.

puffa469

@MSW0:

but very few pc games ever use B

susurrate

I love the dual shock. i think the 360 controller is awesome and one of the best ever made, but i still grew up with the PS controllers.

suna_suna

The Playstation glyphs were the hardest to get memorized and keep straight, but I like that they don't pair the buttons off into BA, XY, or impose an artificial order on them like 1234.

But the X/O reversal is so stupid. I don't care which is ok, which is back, they should be the same in any country!!! The worst is when you play an import PSP game and maybe the game uses circle for ok, but your firmware uses X, except in some games, but not others.

fuchikoma

@willyolio: I agree I have never really used motion control outside of my wii, and I actually bought a wired 360 controller for use with my PC and then later sold it bought the little dongle so I could just use my wireless ones, and i think its great as well for that.

Charlie Kelly

@iamspoo: Yeah, after having all nintendo boxes, I was a bit lost when I got my hands on the GC controller - to me the buttons were just odd and I guess i never used it enough to become accustomed to it, the little I did play it my fingers always felt confused and lost.

Charlie Kelly

@Sintonado: I agree the D pad is basically trash, but then again I never play fighters so it really doesnt get any use besides controlling some squad commands now and again, or changing views etc. The games I play never require me to depend on it, so it doesnt bother me as much as it could.

Charlie Kelly

@ChaoticInfinityX: I never owned a sega system before the DC - only had Nintendo boxes since each one launched, but I really was / am fond of the SNES controller as well.

Charlie Kelly

@Markez: I agree about the sony controller - I really was excited to think they would redesign and disappointed when they didnt - I think thats part of the greatness of getting a new system, is having just about everything "new" - in my opinion they should at least offer an option....

Charlie Kelly

@DukeOfPwn: just buy a play n charge kit? same thing? - but i have all three too, i never owned an orginal XBOX and had a PS2 since launch, I think the sticks on my PS3 controller are sometimes too lose for my liking and feel like the L2 and R2 buttons should flare out - not in...

Charlie Kelly

Neglected mention:

A and B live on in the same configuration on the Wii through the Classic Controller. So the tradition didn't die just because the Remote puts B in the back.

Neil Stevens

@Mentuss: Yes, but I've always seen Master System's pad, that is a western-only system.
Wonder if the Sega Mark 3, apparently the first Sega system with modern pad, got "left to right" buttons name too...

Man, I'm such a nerd :)

togovero

@vx2: It is kinda crazy that Sony didn't produce a more usable controller. It's easy to forget that they don't just make Consoles, they make a wide range of consumer electronics and have untold engineering talent at their beck and call. You'd think they could have asked someone before shipping it? Surely the trigger issue must have come up at some point?

shufflemoomin

I loved the Nintendo64 controller. I actually held it the wrong way, I had my hand to the left of the D-Pad and stretched my thumb out to the joystick. I recently thought I was the only one in the known universe to have done this until I recently discovered someone I know did the same.

PuppyGuarder

@togovero: very good thinking there. Even if it turned out not to be the reason, it's still a good thought.

shufflemoomin

@dowingba: I don't think it has to do with the button mapping, more where the button is physically placed. The button that falls under the thumb naturally is usually the button used to select a positive response. Possible because we're more impatient than the Japanese and hammer away at buttons to make things load faster. Or is that just me..?

shufflemoomin

Err... I was kind of hoping for more historical facts, rather than observations...

One thing to note though, the PlayStation buttons
Circle: 1 line
Cross: 2 lines
Triangle: 3 lines
Square: 4 lines

Altima NEO

@tok1879: X360 controller would be my favorite, with the exception of the spongy Dpad. The PS2 controller was good, but not really ergonomic enough for me, if you get what I mean. The worst controller of all time for me would be The Duke. I thought it was shit as first, but after using a controller S at someone's house then being forced to move to The Duke, it was even worse. Iit just ruined the gaming experience for me. Mind you, I have a soft spot for the Sega MS Controller. First console I ever owned. Had a few great gaming moments with a SNES controller in my hand too. Ah, Cannon Fodder...

shufflemoomin

@Blah8: I would love to see an updated boomerang, I think I like the concave sticks of the 360 controller and dislike the "triggers" of the ps3 and thats where my major issues evolve from..

Charlie Kelly

@NarutoSoul: haha, yeah like I was saying I never use the D pad for anything significant so I am not affected by its horrible-ness as much but, I do agree that it needs to be redone.

Ive had all the sony boxes too and all the iterations of their controllers and if anything I would think that would work against liking the new L2 R2 buttons? I dont find it as much of a problem now-a-days but when I first got it my fingers would slip off during games like motorstorm when I needed to constantly hold it down..

Charlie Kelly

The SNES pad will never be beat!

Shiryu

You didnt even mention the Vectrex controller. Which predates the NES pad. And it started the traditional layout of buttons and how its held. It has 1,2,3,4 buttons labeled. Hell its even the first system with an analog stick.

NoBullet

@relic1980: Ah... you're right, my mistake. It's been a while since I played a TG16, all those years are fuzzy.

ChaoticInfinityX

@Roto13: It's an easy mistake. Whenever I install a SNES emulator on a machine and map my 360 controller to the SNES buttons, I can never remember which side A&B and X&Y were on. And I've been gaming way too long, and played the SNES to death. I've played a DS many, many times but if someone had asked me out of the blue which way round the buttons were, I couldn't tell you.

shufflemoomin

@dowingba: i think that generally an x is used as confirmation outside of video games more than an O or circle. for example, forms that say 'select one:' and then they give you two boxes with male or female and you're supposed to either check or x the box. x is the symbol saying 'i select this'. the O or circle as the symbol of selection seems to be employed more when a juvenile is filling out the paperwork, like a test or something in school.

adaorardor

I love my 360 controller to bits. I don't play fighters on it luckily :)

Would be interesting to see next generations controllers. Hopefully the Xbox's D-Pad won't suck and Sony will finally adopt Offset analogue sticks.

Refused

@togovero: Japanese only reads right to left if the text is vertical.

sanyo

Clearly, the author of the article hasn't committed the Konami code to muscle memory - otherwise, it would have been obvious that B was on the left!

BtownDesignGuy

personally i don't see where all the negativity for the dualshock3/sixaxis triggers is coming from. For me it's good.

I dunno, i prefer the dualshock series over anything else (though i do like a sideways wiimote for classic games), though i have a buddy who swears by his xbox controller. i think it comes down to how big your hands are really. his hands are bigger than mine and i think that's really what it comes down to.

though i've never really liked the joystick towards the top either, except for the dreamcast though i still liked the dualshock over the dreamcast controller.

im sure we can all agree that the very original xbox controller sucked for anyone except the 5 people with hands massive enough to get around it ;D

demonknightinuyasha

@ara:

i actually like them too. nothing against the 360s incorporation of the triggers, which i also like. i just think the ps3 triggers work excellent, ESPECIALLY for racing games.

joeloliol

@adaorardor: Or when you get a wrong answer, it gets a big red X. Or when the survey doesn't agree with you, a big red X inside a square appears on screen.

I think the problem is just that I'm too used to the "Nintendo" way, having played the SNES and DS to death, I'm just way too used to using the right-most button to confirm. It's obviously not that big a deal though. I still do fine in Playstation/Xbox games!

dowingba

@lightweaponx: Man that is an awesome site. I love how the NES controller connects directly to the Wiimote, with nothing in between. It's like coming full circle.

dowingba

@Cogito: Exactly. It's like how, when they mark streets to say "Stop Ahead", they don't literally write "stop ahead" on the road, they write "Ahead Stop" because the eye is moving from bottom to top on a moving road.

1Grand_Marquis

@dowingba: yeah, never liked the shape system the playstation controller had going. Always bugged me. I remember the first time I played a playstation game at a friend's house back in the day, and the in-game instructions told me that to do so-and-so, hit "o", but it was worded such that it just looked like a typo, and I just sat there waiting for the rest of the sentence. When it didn't, I said screw this and we played hungry hungry hippos instead.

1Grand_Marquis

@susurrate: keyboard/mouse is not a controller.

1Grand_Marquis

I see where this article is coming from the DS button mapping sucks, I was playing Mario Part Don't ask why, but when the real time events pop up I always hit the wrong button. because X & Y are backwards as well. Nintendo should suck it up and just match the 360 button naming. Now that the 360 is cheaper good bye # 1 spot for Nintendo.

Assassin_Kensei

they need to mix the PS3 and 360 controllers they would have the best controller ever, The 360 has a good set up and it the perfect sized controller, the PS3 at least the DS3 controller has the best feeling and most responsive buttons and analogue sticks, but it is a tad small for my hands.

if they took the DS3 and made it bigger and move the Analogue sticks up a hair, then added 360 style triggers, I like the guide button on the 360 controller over the home button but that is being picky. Also it would need the concave analogue sticks from the 360 but the range and sensitivity of the PS3 sticks. boom the perfect controller.

sorry if this was hard to read.

Assassin_Kensei

@togovero: I thought that too when I saw the xbox controller was in the left-right direction alphabetically. I suppose Sega's scheme fouls up that idea though.

teraphony

Back when all me and my brother had was an NES, we would play until there were indentations in our hands from the corners, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Then we switched to Duck Hunt to get the indentations out. We enjoyed that more.

Zero_Beat

@Zero_Beat: LOL

togovero

@togovero: My thoughts exactly.
@sanyo: That's not true. Mangas don't always have vertical text, yet most of the time, it's still read right-left.

JackiJinx

@1Grand_Marquis: Umm, it control's the game doesn't it?

SeraphX2

@Mister_Jack: He's on the CLassic Controller, too, which I use quite a bit for Super Mario 64. :D

DorkimusPrime

@JackiJinx: ...If you're talking about pagination, yeah, Manga's still read right to left. However, when the text is written horizontal, its almost always left to right, in the modern era. Not that it matters, as almost all manga *does* have vertical text.

verrius