- Jan 29, 2005
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I've recently been looking for a specific type of gamepad for use with PC games (especially since I bought Street Fighter 4), but the one type I am looking for seems to be quite rare. I always liked two very specific console controllers back then and to this day it still hasn't changed, namely the PlayStation controller (either Dual-Shock or not) and the second Sega Saturn controller model (and to some extent the original XBOX controller model, the "bulky" one for "occidental hands"). The reasons for that are numerous, but it could be compressed into one, briefly said I always preferred a controller with a 6 thumbs buttons layout (think either Sega Genesis or Sega Saturn controllers) more specifically for fighting games. And then comes the PlayStation controller for practically everything else. In the end I like both types (what I consider a "type" is one controller with "only" 4 buttons for the thumb, and another type with 6 buttons, usually placed in two rows of three buttons). I like to call such preference the "6 buttons syndrome", you may think what you wish but honestly it's been like this since... well, since a lot of time, I can't even recall where it started, I think it comes from Arcades or the Sega Genesis days (I've owned a Genesis before the SNES, and I remember that the transition from the Genesis controller to the SNES one was tough for certain games, not all genres however).
Alright, so for the PC I've recently been looking for a USB gamepad (Plug and Play, which requires drivers or not, as long as it's compatible with at least Vista x64) and I might have found one, and only one so far which corresponds to my needs, but there's a problem, it got very mixed reviews from what I've read, some users have been reporting fast degradation over a short period of time, and that the buttons were losing their responsiveness, additionally that the drivers and software provided by Saitek (the manufacturers) for configuration is so bad that the user can't select specific game functions for specific buttons. That one controller in question is Saitek's P990, which by itself is a revision of previous similar Saitek models (such as the P880), it has the exact same physical shape than the PlayStation controller except for minor differences such as the directional pad, the six thumb buttons layout (à-la Sega Genesis) and an extra button (probably a "select" or "start" button) on top of the six thumb buttons rows: http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/p990.htm
It has completely useless blue LEDs when it's on, apparently, and I'm certainly not looking for that kind of superficial extras on a controller that I won't be looking at when playing in the first place, but I don't think I'll have much choice. Basically I'm writing all of this because I wanted to know perhaps from any of you who might know more about PC gamepads if you would happen to know about the exact type of gamepad that I'm looking for. The thing is that I will go with that Saitek gamepad if I can't find anything else, it's not very expensive (depends on where I buy it, obviously, I've seen it for around $15 at Amazon, and as much as $25 or $30 on NewEgg and eBay, at least so far), so if I end up being disappointed I guess it wouldn't have been that much of a loss.
Do any of you have suggestions?
By the way the controller doesn't need to have 10,000 buttons, basically what I want is a 4-way, 6-way or 8-way directional pad (doesn't matter, as long as it ain't too small like the one on the Sega Dreamcast), "select" and "start" buttons. To be honest I am very surprised to see that such controllers for the PC are so rare, I did search for them on Google and after a while and the only one that kept coming back was that Saitek controller, if it wasn't for the several bad reviews I've read of it I would have bought it in a heart beat. If not I might have to look for more obscure custom replicas of console controllers with a USB cord instead (I did spot a nice Sega Saturn replica with a USB cord on eBay, maybe I could think about that one as well, but those controllers rarely have any "official" support nor even any drivers at all).
Thanks for your time and help.
Alright, so for the PC I've recently been looking for a USB gamepad (Plug and Play, which requires drivers or not, as long as it's compatible with at least Vista x64) and I might have found one, and only one so far which corresponds to my needs, but there's a problem, it got very mixed reviews from what I've read, some users have been reporting fast degradation over a short period of time, and that the buttons were losing their responsiveness, additionally that the drivers and software provided by Saitek (the manufacturers) for configuration is so bad that the user can't select specific game functions for specific buttons. That one controller in question is Saitek's P990, which by itself is a revision of previous similar Saitek models (such as the P880), it has the exact same physical shape than the PlayStation controller except for minor differences such as the directional pad, the six thumb buttons layout (à-la Sega Genesis) and an extra button (probably a "select" or "start" button) on top of the six thumb buttons rows: http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/p990.htm
It has completely useless blue LEDs when it's on, apparently, and I'm certainly not looking for that kind of superficial extras on a controller that I won't be looking at when playing in the first place, but I don't think I'll have much choice. Basically I'm writing all of this because I wanted to know perhaps from any of you who might know more about PC gamepads if you would happen to know about the exact type of gamepad that I'm looking for. The thing is that I will go with that Saitek gamepad if I can't find anything else, it's not very expensive (depends on where I buy it, obviously, I've seen it for around $15 at Amazon, and as much as $25 or $30 on NewEgg and eBay, at least so far), so if I end up being disappointed I guess it wouldn't have been that much of a loss.
Do any of you have suggestions?
By the way the controller doesn't need to have 10,000 buttons, basically what I want is a 4-way, 6-way or 8-way directional pad (doesn't matter, as long as it ain't too small like the one on the Sega Dreamcast), "select" and "start" buttons. To be honest I am very surprised to see that such controllers for the PC are so rare, I did search for them on Google and after a while and the only one that kept coming back was that Saitek controller, if it wasn't for the several bad reviews I've read of it I would have bought it in a heart beat. If not I might have to look for more obscure custom replicas of console controllers with a USB cord instead (I did spot a nice Sega Saturn replica with a USB cord on eBay, maybe I could think about that one as well, but those controllers rarely have any "official" support nor even any drivers at all).
Thanks for your time and help.
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