Sony should consider an alternate controller with asymmetrical analog sticks

[zerocool84]

Is this another opinion stated as fact, or do you have a legitimate piece of research to back that up (meaning, not a sample of 20 people on a forum)?

It's futurefields, he has nothing to bad it up. Plus if that was true, so many people wouldn't have bought a PS4 instead of an Xbone.

 

[dguy6789]

People on the fence bought the PS4 because it was cheaper. This turned around almost immediately with the recent Xbox price drop.

I also doubt controller alone would make people choose one console over the other.

I don't think it is farfetched to say most people prefer the Xbox 360/One controller.

 

[sze5003]

I like both of the system controllers. The ps4 controller fits my hands better but I have no qualms about either one except the ps4 controller battery life. Was about to buy a 1800 battery and place it in there but I'm waiting to see if they design one with a better battery.

 

[purbeast0]

i like both controllers this gen.

ps4 one is fine but if i had to pick one it'd definitely be the x1 controller. analogs on ps4 are still in the wrong spot, and due to that my thumbs can easily touch when using dual analogs. while they did make the problem better with concave analogs, my thumbs still tend to slide off of the analogs after a short while if using them, so i have to readjust often with ps4 controllers by replacing my thumb on the analog.

i'm also not used to the touchpad button at all. pretty much every time i want to press the start button i've pressed the touchpad in. but it's not really a big deal at all.

the light on the controller is also awful. i play on a projector where i have no ambient light in the room so seeing this bright ass light off the front of the controller can mess up the contrast for me even if it's ever so slightly.

dont really care about battery life as i have a usb extension cable so i can keep it plugged in if need be.

ps4 controller is a huge step up over the ps3 controller though.

 

[cmdrdredd]

People on the fence bought the PS4 because it was cheaper. This turned around almost immediately with the recent Xbox price drop.

I also doubt controller alone would make people choose one console over the other.

I don't think it is farfetched to say most people prefer the Xbox 360/One controller.

There have been polls on the internet that said the opposite. As scientific as that is lol

 

[cmdrdredd]

i like both controllers this gen.

ps4 one is fine but if i had to pick one it'd definitely be the x1 controller. analogs on ps4 are still in the wrong spot, and due to that my thumbs can easily touch when using dual analogs. while they did make the problem better with concave analogs, my thumbs still tend to slide off of the analogs after a short while if using them, so i have to readjust often with ps4 controllers by replacing my thumb on the analog.

i'm also not used to the touchpad button at all. pretty much every time i want to press the start button i've pressed the touchpad in. but it's not really a big deal at all.

the light on the controller is also awful. i play on a projector where i have no ambient light in the room so seeing this bright ass light off the front of the controller can mess up the contrast for me even if it's ever so slightly.

dont really care about battery life as i have a usb extension cable so i can keep it plugged in if need be.

ps4 controller is a huge step up over the ps3 controller though.

The analog sticks just get slick after some time. Skin oils simply rub off on the sticks. The PS3 was way worse with that. I don't see how someone can have their thumbs touch with the PS4 controller though. The analog sticks have quite a bit of space between them. Maybe it's because of how I use analog sticks in general. I never place my thumb in the center of the stick.

 

[Blanky]

Buying a higher mA (1800 or so) aftermarket PS3 battery to replace it with is the best option, or get one of those cell phone battery packs like this

The heck. I have a USB charger that puts out enough amps to charge an iPad but when I plug it into my ps4 controller absolutely nothing happens. I thought for some reason Sony had only allowed these to charge when plugged into the ps4. Guess not.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The heck. I have a USB charger that puts out enough amps to charge an iPad but when I plug it into my ps4 controller absolutely nothing happens. I thought for some reason Sony had only allowed these to charge when plugged into the ps4. Guess not.

I don't see why your charger wouldn't work. It should do the same thing as those charging docks.

 

[sze5003]

The heck. I have a USB charger that puts out enough amps to charge an iPad but when I plug it into my ps4 controller absolutely nothing happens. I thought for some reason Sony had only allowed these to charge when plugged into the ps4. Guess not.

I charge mine using my phone charger all the time. To charge it from the system you have to place the ps4 in rest mode. I power my Xbox one all the way down since its in power saver mode and it still charges the controller while it's off.

 

[Rezist]

I would buy a controller if they made it similar to the 360 controller, I've had my PS4 since black friday and I still like the 360 style controller more, the PS4 controller is better then the PS3 controller however

 

[Anteaus]

It's an interesting debate, especially if you view it objectively. If you ignore the feel of each controller and focus on technical features, I believe the XB1 controller is superior. There are three primary features which I believe are important, at least to me:

1. WIFI Direct versus Bluetooth 2.1 (Current PS4 version)

This one is obvious to me. Wifi Direct transfers at up to 250 mb/s compared to the 3 mb/s of Bluetooth 2.1 While it doesn't translate to less latency, it does mean that the XB1 has the ability to move a lot more data over wireless, and thus translates to higher potential headset/mic quality as the XB1 matures and codecs get updated. Bluetooth 4.0 does use the same 802.11 standard as Wifi-Direct and thus can hit the same speed; however, Sony decided to go with the older standard. Perhaps Sony might upgrade it in a future revision.

2. Independently vibrating analog triggers : These speak for themselves, specifically in driving games.

3. Removable batteries : I have some rechargeable batteries, but the ability to use cheap alkaline single use batteries means I never run out. I bought a 36 pack of cheap AAs for $5 when I bought my XB1 a year ago and I've still got a bunch left.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The vibrating triggers were OK at first, now they are a severe annoyance. Sunset overdrive for example bugs out and randomly vibrates them like crazy when you are standing still in a safe zone. I thought my controller was broken.

The headset point might have something to it but I personally use an astro mixamp which runs from optical. It bypasses the controller on the ps4 by going through the USB. I don't know if there is or will be much of a quality difference from the connection method from the controller to the system.

 

[Anteaus]

The vibrating triggers were OK at first, now they are a severe annoyance. Sunset overdrive for example bugs out and randomly vibrates them like crazy when you are standing still in a safe zone. I thought my controller was broken.

That's a good point, though that says less about the controller and more about the bugs in the programming. Admittedly, any of these features can seem detrimental if they aren't optimized in the game programming.

 

[cmdrdredd]

That's a good point, though that says less about the controller and more about the bugs in the programming. Admittedly, any of these features can seem detrimental if they aren't optimized in the game programming.

No the controller isn't bad for it but I find vibrating the triggers to add nothing for me personally. Sometimes it is more of an annoyance than some type of immersion for me. I can use either controller in any game and have no complaints based on the feel or design. I personally prefer how the DS4 feels when I initially pick it up due to the more rounded handles but after a minute, it doesn't matter what it is.

 

[Lil Frier]

It depends on what you're playing. I found them to be very helpful in determining grip in Forza 5. That's the only game where I found them to matter though, and I honestly don't even know what other genre could meaningfully use the triggers, unless the game used trigger-based QTEs and had them as a physical cue for the player (which I'd hate).

 

[TeknoBug]

1. WIFI Direct versus Bluetooth 2.1 (Current PS4 version)

I don't think the transmit speed matters, I mean the DS4 transmit full game audio no problems (I use a TB PX22 plugged into it) so it obviously isn't troubling with 3MB/s.

And I disable vibration on both systems in everything I can, vibration is extremely distracting to me.

 

[Anteaus]

I don't think the transmit speed matters, I mean the DS4 transmit full game audio no problems (I use a TB PX22 plugged into it) so it obviously isn't troubling with 3MB/s.

And I disable vibration on both systems in everything I can, vibration is extremely distracting to me.

It doesn't really matter right now but in the future it opens doors for peripherals, such as high fidelity wireless surround headphones for one or perhaps a XB1 centric tablet that transmits video directly from the console. Of course USB solutions exist so maybe it won't make a big deal, but I like that the option is there. Perhaps you are right about the long term impact.

By the way...its 3 mb/s, not 3 MB/s. That's equal to 0.375 MB/s versus the 31.25 MB/s that the XB1 can do. Quantitatively, that is a big offset in the XB1's favor if MS can come up with some cool ways to take advantage of it. 🙂

 

[zerocool84]

It doesn't really matter right now but in the future it opens doors for peripherals, such as high fidelity wireless surround headphones for one or perhaps a XB1 centric tablet that transmits video directly from the console. Of course USB solutions exist so maybe it won't make a big deal, but I like that the option is there. Perhaps you are right about the long term impact.

By the way...its 3 mb/s, not 3 MB/s. That's equal to 0.375 MB/s versus the 31.25 MB/s that the XB1 can do. Quantitatively, that is a big offset in the XB1's favor if MS can come up with some cool ways to take advantage of it. 🙂

It's potentially a huge advantage but I don't really see what can make any use of it other than headphones.

 

[smackababy]

It's potentially a huge advantage but I don't really see what can make any use of it other than headphones.

I could see some second screen stuff (which they are already doing over the network) and perhaps better performing wireless controllers. No wireless fightstick has been anywhere near the level of responsiveness as a wired one to date. Wifi Direct might be an improvement (although, with no SF5, it might not matter). We might get wireless storage solutions that are Xbox One specific as well.

 

[zerocool84]

I could see some second screen stuff (which they are already doing over the network) and perhaps better performing wireless controllers. No wireless fightstick has been anywhere near the level of responsiveness as a wired one to date. Wifi Direct might be an improvement (although, with no SF5, it might not matter). We might get wireless storage solutions that are Xbox One specific as well.

I don't see wireless storage at all, especially since it'd have to be Xbox specific and it'd be horribly overpriced.

They could obviously release a WiiU type controller which would definitely benefit from the large bandwidth, since as of right now, they are the only one out of the three with no way to play games without away from the console. They could do the WiiU way and have it stream directly from the console but then, they'd have to do some major updating for that to happen so I don't see that happening for a long time.