I’ve been at Kotaku Australia for a long time, so I’m certain I’ve asked this question before.
But what the hell, I’m asking it again.
What is your favourite controller of all time?
I have a few…
— Super Nintendo controller. YES.
— Xbox 360 controller. At the time it felt perfect.
— Dual Shock 4. I just love it for some reason.
— Xbox One Elite. Pretty much perfect and feels expensive (because it is expensive).
Okay, now you!
Comments
115 responses to “Tell Us Dammit: Favourite Controller Of All Time?”
The power glove. Definitely the power glove.
It’s so bad
The tech in the finger bending sensors was pure genius, though. And the whole thing eventually wound up as the wiimote.
It was just too far ahead of its time. A VR controller coupled to an 8 bit console was utterly useless.
Almost as useless as a VR label on a 32 bit console 😛
I don’t think it was the console. More the fact it didn’t work most of the time.
The hardware was pretty sound, but the console driving it didn’t have the power to drive it.
It’s like hooking an oculus up to a chromebook.
We used it to make VR rigs back in the very early 90s, and it worked perfectly on PC.
Demonstrate for us then. }:-D
When my hands were smaller I liked the GameCube controller. Right now it has to be the Elite controller.
Dual Shock 4 is definitely my preferred controller. The XBox 360 controller would pip it at the post if it weren’t for the rubbish D-Pad.
I’d agree with the DS4 but for the fact that you’ve surely overlooked the Move Controller and the Move Navigation Controller, both of which feel like sex toys.
Xbox One Elite – Haven’t liked using anything else since…
Is it as clicky as the standard xbone controller? Because I really don’t like the way it makes mouse-button levels of noise every time I jump in a game.
I don’t notice it as much on the Elite – the XB1 controller I found more clicky than the 360 and it was a bit jarring at first.
The ability to dim the X1 logo on the controller was worth the purchase price alone for me 🙂
Wavebird first, followed by the fancy xbox 360 controller with the switching dpad.
Dreamcast controller. ’nuff said. 😛
100% agree, second best was original Xbox (theduke) controller.
SNES controller is probably my favourite controller, but I’m actually really loving my arcade stick at the moment. There’s just something so nice about using the buttons and stick.
Clearly the right answer is the first iteration of the original XBOX controller nicknamed The Anchor.
Never heard that nickname…only knew it as ‘The Duke’.
That controller was like two potatoes with what appeared to be a ‘Trouble’ 80’s board-game style pop-bubble in the middle. Outstanding!
The worst thing for me was that I got so used to it that I didn’t even transition to the (VASTLY improved) Controller-S until years after it came out.
MS have been consistently solid with their controllers… except that one.
That’s being generous, I always saw them as mis-shapened wreaking balls. 😛
I loved the old Duke controller – way more comfortable than the the subsequent ‘controller S’, imo.
The Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital 3d Joystick. That thing was utterly badass.
I remember using that thing all the time. It was built like a cast iron tank and never broke on me. Ever.
And then it got stolen when we had a Lan party by a bastard we never saw again 🙁
I used to have a Wingman Warrior, the one with the red “strafing” knob. That thing was loads of fun. 😀
Ahh those things were amazing, a true marvel of build quality especially when you consider it was the same basic cheap plastic every crap stick was made from
SNES and Dual Shock 3.
I prefer the 3 over the 4, nice and light. The 4 feels like I’m holding a paperweight in comparison.
Nintendo 64. Not for the design or anything, but looking back we were all freakishly adept at that thing. Turned everyone into claw handed gremlins.
The old sega bass fishing controllers or the gamecube RE4 chainsaw were pretty rad as well
The 64 controller is my sentimental favourite controller of all time. For everything it did badly it did something more important very right.
It really is flawed-genius.
Analogue stick: Fantastic idea (that fell apart mechanically after a year or so).
Rumble pak: Genius
Pronged design: The best idea that wasn’t twin sticks. That middle trigger is tremendously satisfying for shooting things in the face.
C-buttons: Cool alternative to a keyboards arrows.
Also you can open a beer with the memory card port. Perfect.
The C buttons were awful (arguably if the had a four button layout like the SNES they would have received more fighting game ports in that generation)
But I’ll never forget the experience of playing a Mario or Zelda vs playing something like Tomb Raider on the PSX, In PSX games 3D movement was clunky – on N64 you just pointed the stick and they walked (or ran, or tip-toed) in that direction – it just worked!
Xbox 360 transforming dpad controller, when I upgraded to the Xbox One and put my 360 in storage I actually went out and bought a 360 controller for PC just for the reciever so this controller could become my main PC controller. It has all the benefits of the 360 controller whilst making a fairly decent shot at fixing one of its major issues.
The fact that the controller is still going strong after all this time is the reason I haven’t went out and bought an Elite yet
360 controller. Yet to try an Elite XB1 controller, but it sounds good.
The SNES controllers were great, both the PS4 and XBOX1 controllers are really good now too. I Loved the Wiimote too, sure it wasn’t good for “core” games, but what it could do for a casual game was fantastic. I don’t actually own any of these consoles so I’ll put in one I do own: the Gameboy Advance is still the most comfortable experience I’ve had on a portable.
Dual shock 4, plugging my earphones in out the box, comes with the ability to recharge and feels smooth unlike the 3, it has a nice weight and a cool LED bar that changes colours but can also be dimmed.
If only the battery life was much better. Its a fraction of the DS3 battery life which is one of the only disappointing things about it.
Mine generally do the trick for a good few hours, but if not, there’s always the Orb play + charge cord, or just switch controllers (I keep collecting them for some reason…maybe the sweet colours?)
Yeah but it’s a heaps better controller in every single way bar the battery. Mine lasts a good 6 or 7 hours so I’ve never understood the complaints, if you have lunch/dinner during a big 10 hour game day you can charge it back up.. i plug mine in even if i stop for 20 minutes and I’ve never been unable to play due to a flat controller. The dual shock 3 is an awful controller and feels like a shit aldi tv remote from 10 years ago.
Its definitely hard to go back to the DS3 on the odd occasion. The grips are so much shorter than the DS4.
I have 2x DS4, so its just a matter of swapping them out when the battery dies, but its just something I’ve noticed I do a lot more often than I ever did with the DS3.
My only issues with the DS4 – the thumbstick grips are horrible (solved with a $3 pair of rubber grips/caps off ebay) and the battery life (solved with a $12 replacement battery off ebay and 15 minutes with a screwdriver). Now I can get a good 10 hours out of my DS4… pity I can’t do the same for Sony’s Gold Wireless Headset, which only lasts 4-5 hours max.
Got to be the N64 controller.
That, and probably the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.
I quite liked both for shooters.
I’m not too fond of the 360 controller but it was/is so damn ubiquitous I tend to faff around in games that are built to work with it when I’m not using it and using something else. Except Dark Souls games, I am the opposite, I need a Dual Shock of some description otherwise I’m cactus.
At the end of the day, most of the games I play – and spend the most time in – the controller effectively disappears and therefore I can’t remember explicit examples of why I’d choose what I choose above.
The console experience lives and dies on how the controller feels, and works during play. I can’t really play modern shooters on controllers, I stick to keyboard and mouse. But fighting games? I can’t believe how alien the controllers feel these days to me.
Going from my first Xbox (360) experience to my first Playstation (3) experience, simpe requests like accepting or declining menu/dialog trees were actually quite difficult at first because of the way those two machines used different buttons in the diamond layout for those actions.
I’m playing Persona 4 on PS2 for example, and I constantly press the wrong button when I need to recruit/delist a persona card from my stack. I can choose to blame the controller on this but really it’s on me.
Dualshock 4 is probably the most comfortable controller for me, feels like a huge improvement over the last one – though I remember thinking the same thing the first time I held a PS3 controller…
SNES will always be my favourite though, hardly the most ergonomic design ever but I’ll always love it.
Personally I loved the original NES controllers. The way that sharp little rectangle would cut grooves into your hands if you played too long.
You masochist!
Wiimote and nunchuk. The split controller is so damned comfortable. My man hands need to be more than an inch apart, and resting them on my knees lets me game forever.
The IR sensor makes menus, text input, and fps games usable on consoles. I can’t stand entering text on my xbone.
Even the dodgy little speaker is awesome.
Yup, the wiimote. I use it to play guild wars 2 from my couch.
Here are mine.
– The PS1 controller. Mostly because I still have really fond memories of playing Spyro 2.
– The ORIGINAL X-Box controller. The big bulky piece of crap because it felt more like a steering wheel and I played a lot of racing games.
On a more general note, I like the old controllers better. Not because of some perceived superiority, but because they had those big buttons that made loud clicks whenever you used them instead of the general plastic tap we get these days. They felt more like actual things you held to play games instead of bits of large plastic with a small motherboard and ten different wires.
The dpad on the ps1 controller destroyed my thumb playing tekken. I can still recall the exact pain it wrought.
The DK bongos.
Has anyone done a dark souls run on them yet? So much better than the ddr pad.
Not many people seem to know there were actually two buttons under each pad, one near the centre but another towards the front rim. Always felt disappointed none of the games used them for more complex controls.
Also I’m still salty as fuck over DK Barrel Blast getting pushed over to Wii, and having… that happen to it.
Also I now have Sing Sing Sing playing in my head.
I’ve never liked any of the Xbox controllers.
PS3 controller was pretty good. As was the SNES for its time (it’s really hard to go back and use now though).
Best console controller of all time though MUST go to the Gamecube. That controller was just perfect, and I STILL use it to play Smash.
Oh, and keyboard + mouse.
360 > DS4 > Xbone > Xbox S > DS3 > DS2 > Xbox Duke > N64 > Dreamcast > GameCube > DS1 > Mega Drive > SNES > NES/Master System
I imagine Xbone Elite will top the list when I get around to using one.
Blasphemy! 😛
While the Dreamcast was basically a prototype for the Xbox, the n64 excelled in it’s class while the Dreamcast floundered. I don’t know what that VMU bullshit was about but it was nearly as gimmicky as the Wii U.
I was actually playing around but in terms of the VMU, there is no denying that it was a big time failure of an experiment.
It had potential to extend the UI but even if the DC had a life span of 10 years I don’t think anyone would have found anything better than onscreen elements.
On top of that, I can only recall a few games in my collection that used it; Resident Evil where one had a count of bullets, Dino Crisis where one had a heart rate monitor and Skies of Arcadia where one of the characters pointed out hidden items.
Advanced for its time but some features were solely on future potential that never happened.
In what universe is the Dreamcast controller better than Gamecube (my personal fav)? Do you even have hands? The Dreamcast controller was completely awful. The only one I’ve ever use that was worse is the original xbox controller.
Nostalgia wise and for pure ridiculous-ness, it has to be the N64 controller. I had the limited Goldeneye Edition with the gold controller, and I loved the thing. Looking back on it now, it was such an non-ergonomic shape, but we all made it work.
Close runner up for nostalgia and ingenuity would be the Dreamcast controller. Wish I never sold my console.
As far as comfort and actually using a controller, my favourite would have to be the Dual Shock 4. Such a massive improvement over the DS3.
Wii U pro controller is not only comfortable, but that battery is a beast. I charge like once or twice a year!
I’d also go with N64 because I spent so much time with it.
Real talk though, how often that controller getting used?
A few hours every couple of days for a while, my brother would use it to play Smash Bros with me.
For the last couple of months it’s been used daily since I grabbed a usb adaptor.
I was searching down the list to find this one! Very comfortable and the battery lasts forever. It does have two flaws: the glossy finish and can’t be used in Wii games (why Nintendo?????).
The WiiU pro controller is great but i don’t like its d-pad i much prefer the wii pro controller’s one.
Oh yeah. Where as the ‘tablet’ controller is flat before one unplugs the freaking cord!
EDIT: Site glitched again, this is suppose to be a response to @neon_jackal.
Well yeah, but it has a screen and audio system in it.
The gamepad makes for the best browser and YouTube experience of any console, and the off TV play is neat.
You could pair a phone to the other consoles to do the same, but see how long that battery lasts.
That’s an excuse, not an explanation. The capacity should be large enough to power them for a reasonable time frame which for the most part doesn’t happen.
Nintendo planned the capacity around what their research determined to be a reasonable timeframe. They didn’t just say “oh fuck it, 1500mah is a number “.
This is a company that feels compelled to tell you to take breaks.
Besides, three continuous hours is actually a fair bit of gaming for most people. If you want more, there are batteries for that.
Ok what the shit is going on, I *know* I saw the reply to this one get displayed. And now it’s gone.
But yeah, Cubits basically said the same thing I already did. Mine lasts about 3-4 hours which seems reasonable enough, I can’t imagine most people’s gaming sessions would last all that long. And a 10h battery would add a whole load more weight to the unit, which you wouldn’t necessarily want.
At first I didn’t really notice with the shorter natured sessions of Smash and Mario Kart etc, but once I got games like Xenoblade Chronicles X, that battery became a real nuisance.
I generally have longer game sessions anyway, but with how long, narrow and lightweight the power cord is I don’t consider it much of a hassle to plug in at all.
You can upgrade the battery in it, although that doesn’t excuse it having a crappy one in the first place.
Yeah, unfortunately my Gamepad has basically become permanently fused with the charger and become a wired controller.
Namco’s Negcon!!
I remember seeing it advertised in my Ridge racer manual, but I never bought one.
It looked way ahead of its time, no game then really needed that kind of granularity. It would be a boon in modern racers though!
I can’t believe I’m the first to say the Gamecube Controller! That thing was an ergonomic dream.
Except for that tiny, stiff d-pad and the Z-trigger. But those shoulder buttons, with the extra click! Dem curves that melted into your hand!
The DualShock 4 is the only controller for me that’s gotten close.
A little more specific, but I agreed 🙂
Oops, my bad! I skimmed too hard and too fast. D:
EDIT: Aaaand @swifty2 mentioned it in like… the second comment. I’ve got no excuses.
Other less-loved controllers I think were awesome:
-DS Phat. Comfortable and with damn good buttons, this wasn’t anywhere near matched til the 3DS XL. The DS Lite was garbage.
-Virtual Boy. Only complaint would be the ridges on the d-pads, they can get painful after a while. Great controller otherwise, really feels like the missing link between SNES and 64.
-GH guitar grip. It didn’t work so well in the Lite due to its shallow GBA slot, but we already established that thing was garbage. Worked really well with the proper hardware though.
-Logitech Speed Force. Burnout 2 and F-Zero GX just aren’t the same without it.
-RE4 chainsaw. Ok this is actually pretty awful to use, but I like the sheer ridiculousness of it.
-Circle Pad Pro. Totally underrated, it’s the *only* way to play RE Revelations. And probably Federation Force from the looks of things.
I’m having a love affair with my white/gold XB1 controller. Has the updated bumpers and 3.5mm jack. The rubber grips set it above the other XB1 controllers I have. Haven’t tried Elite.
Prior to that, the 360 with transforming D-pad was my all-time favourite. I had a silver one with silver buttons (wifey couldn’t use it as she couldn’t work out which button was ‘green’).
Prior to that, the original Playstation controller. It felt great, the d-pad was nice and forgiving on the thumbs. Really hated the addition of the analog sticks, so out of place and close together. Easy to slip and rub up against your other thumb, awkward like crossing swords in a threesome.
Xbox One controller. I love the dualshock 4 too but the rubber on the thumb-sticks is made of old coffee grounds.
Elite Controller then the 360
Anyone else with large hands find the DS4 hard to use?
Gamecube controller. It fits so perfectly in your hands. The triggers were curved to fit your fingers and they had depth to them with a “click” at the end. The Button placement felt natural. Only gripes were that the D-Pad was a touch too small and the C Stick should have been gripped the same as the joystick.
Probably the original SNES controller.
Logitech G29, followed by the steel Battalion controller for the Xbox, then Thrustmaster Warthog.
Massive over-sized controllers just give me a good feeling. 🙂
Compensation? 😛
Wiiu..not a bad controller + off tv play + can use to watch nextflix in bed. Any of these others do that ?
I find the DS4 to be the most comfortable controller I’ve played with. Much moreso than the DS3. But I haven’t tried Xbox One or the Elite, mainly because I don’t have an Xbox. I’ve always been more of PS man, despite having owned a 360.
For nostalgia, definitely the SNES controller. Just thinking about those beautiful coloured buttons takes me back to good times.
xbox 360 and the xb1 elite. i dont own an xbone but the one i tried at my friends place was insanely well put together. i like the ds3 a lot but it feels a little cramped with my long skinny fingers.
Of the controllers I’ve used…
Xbox One controller > DS4 > 360 > Duke > N64 > SNES > DS3 > DS2 > Wii waggle. The Wii’s is only so far down because of it’s motion controls getting shoved into everything – ergonomics and non-motion-control functionality put it between the Duke and the N64.
In terms of the one I use the most: keyboard & mouse
In terms of the one I miss the most: The original xbox controller, the huge one that everyone whined was too big. It was made for MY size hands, everything else is far too small
In terms of “Oooh I never thought that would be a thing and now I can’t do without it!”: The TrackIR5. I was so iffy about that thing for the first month of getting it and then it clicked and became incredible. It’s gotten to the point where I have associated wearing my headset (where the TrackIR clips on) with being able to turn the camera using my head so I’ve often found myself turning my head instinctively to try and pan the camera in console games. I even find myself wondering for a second why it’s not working until I remember I’m sitting on the lounge a good 3m from the sensor which is plugged into my gaming PC which isn’t on…
I thought I was going to be the only one saying Keyboard + Mouse. I have never seen the appeal of controllers – basically everything a controller can do, K+M can do better…
Except for being used on the couch.
Well, there is analogue movement, keyboards just can’t do that sadly.
Too many buttons, too close together imo 😛 Or too spread apart, depending on the game you’re playing. Mouse I can understand as a better input device for some games, eg RTS or whatever where you want to directly click on and select things. But not a keyboard. I started out trying to play Guacamelee on keyboard, but just couldn’t do it. The game didn’t like my USB controller so I had to have a go of using an arcade stick instead, that worked much better.
I have never been into either fighting or racing games, so consoles reeeeeeally don’t do it for me.
I also had the misfortune of playing C&C: Red Alert on the Playstation. This was pretty much my reaction:
https://youtu.be/VKcAYMb5uk4?t=8
*has a copy of StarCraft 64*
Also I’ve never really been into fighting games either, nor particularly racing games outside a pretty small handful, so that strikes me as a really odd thing to say 😛
Oh. Guacamelee has ‘melee’ in it so I assumed it was a fighting game!
Turns out, I’m dumb. I do have to admit that platformers just feel better playing on a console, especially handhelds.
But back to the original point – the possibilities with a K+M are just endless, particularly if you take it to the extreme and look at stuff like the Razer Tartarus
Ps4 controller DS4 is good for some games. But, it’s totally crap for street fighter. You accidentally hit the share button when doing moves.
Chun Li moves are Harder to execute for example: down up kick = spinning bird kick…..sometimes it just executes it as a high anti air kick. Frustrating.
That being said, I think a keyboard joystick should be made.
Xbox controller is better in my opinion. I use it for pc gaming.:)
KB/Mouse easily. Some games can only be played with it and it is capable of playing all games comfortably.
As for actual controllers (out of ones I’ve actually used):
DS3 (by a long way) -> DS2 -> Wii U Pro -> DS4 -> XBox 360 wireless -> Wii U Gamepad -> SNES -> Gamecube -> Any Nintendo Handheld -> PSP -> Guitar Hero Guitars -> Giant gaping chasm -> Xbox Orignal/Wiimote + Nunchuck/N64
The dualshock 2/3 were just so comfortable and had none of the problems I have seen from every other controller I’ve used. Points off on the DS2 for being wired.
Every other controller I’ve used has either made my hands sore after extended periods, had slippery or stupidly placed sticks/buttons, had over/undersensitive triggers or were just not good for certain types of games. The Gamecube controller was nice but the sticks actually gave me blisters.
And then there is the actual next level of hell reserved for the Xbox Original/Wiimote/N64. I have big hands and the Original Xbox was still uncomfortable to hold. I hate the whole motion control concept that thankfully died prior to the current gen consoles. But the N64 controller has to be the single worst controller I’ve ever used from all standpoints. Rubbish stick, buttons were crap, ergonomics were atrocious, and the worst part is I had to play some of my favourite games with it…
I remember playing around with the Xbone controller at an expo before the console was released and I thought it was the most comfortable thing I’d ever held. When Xbone finally released I picked up the controller and thought “It looks like same but this is no where near as comfortable as the one I used”
Xbox 360 controller. My hands are larger than average, that controller feels right in it.
snes by far . my ideal control would be the dual shock 4 w/touchpad(very cool feature) combined with xb1 standard in the most ergonomic way.
I’m quite fond of the DS4. Initially it felt odd, but now, when using anything else, I can feel how much better it is.
The light bar still sucks, however.
These are mine – I can use each of these without getting cramps, so they’re all automatically awesome.
1 – Sega Saturn Japanese/Model 2 controller
2 – Mega Drive 6-button Pad (the small one)
3 – Dreamcast
4 – Xbox Controller S
5 – Gamecube
6 – Xbox 360/Xbox One (depending on the game)
I really, really love the original Dual Shock/2 controllers, especially for WipEout, but my hands cramp up after using them a little while.
Why did it take so long for MD to be mentioned!? That 6 button controller was the absolute best for fighters.
Almost the absolute best… the Saturn pad dethroned it, hahahaha. They’re definitely close though, absolutely related to each other 🙂
The PS2 Dualshock controller was excellent.
The Xbox One’s controller (with the 3.5mm jack and fixed bumpers) is by far and away my favourite. The Wii U pro controller is probably my second favourite, if only for its battery life.
Speaking of battery life the Wii U gamepad is the single worst peripheral I’ve ever used. You can say what’s a reasonable amount of time to play a game all you want, but the fact is that as long as the battery drains by itself and every single time you go to use it after even just a week of having it sit there and the battery is dead, it makes me want to throw my Wii U in the bin. It’s truly awful. I don’t understand all the ‘yeah, but’s when it comes to that thing. It’s shocking design and Nintendo know that.
You can upgrade the battery in it, i think nintendo realised the gamepad was too expensive so they cheaped out on the battery.
I get 4 hours out of mine, that is plenty.
Why don’t you plug it back in when you are finished gaming?
I don’t have an issue with how many hours you get out of it when you’re using it. My issue purely lies within the fact that the battery in it drains when it’s not being used. I don’t play my Wii U all that much, and I’m not leaving it charging for a week or two on the off chance that I’ll play it. Even if I did charge it until 100% after using it, it’s still without fail dead the next time I want to play the thing.
Edit: I’ll add that it’s a problem because I’m not planning ahead when I want to play a game to ensure everything’s charged. I’m not going to bother with the Wii U when it doesn’t respect my time whilst every single other gaming device that’s ever been made does.
Wii Classic Controller Pro was great.
I still love the 2600 Joystick.
Fingers underneath, thumb on the top of the stick, other hand on the fire button. Pure joy.
who could forget the almighty atari jaguars controller.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Atari_Jaguar_Controller_Pic3.jpg/800px-Atari_Jaguar_Controller_Pic3.jpg
Gamecube. An absolute marvel of design.
Second would probably be the 360 controller, which is just an upgraded Dreamcast controller.
I have a DS4 modified with XBO sticks. It’s the best.
Game pads are fine for racing and 3rd person games, but everything else is M&K all the way.
Most satisfying button mashing, Neo Geo stick, so good.
But, SNES / DS4 top the list for me really, the offset thumbsticks on Xbox controllers hurt my OCD (even if they don’t hurt my hands).