Now that the original d-pad patent has expired, a controller without a good d-pad is a non-started IMHO. Analog controls are great, and this new design looks cool, but for certain uses, a nintendo style d-pad has basically proven to be the best 8-direction digital interface ever conceived...and it's amazing how much the experience suffers when it's just a little bit off.
Asymmetry. It's not an accident that movement is on the left and aiming is on the right, both on controllers and PC. On PC, though, you can move the mouse to the left side of the keyboard and rebind your movement keys if you want to.
I came here to post this, but with "Sega" instead of "Nintendo". The Genesis/Saturn D-pad is still king, as far as I'm concerned. Easier to roll the pad than a Nintendo one and it isn't a cross-shaped cutout from the plastic so diagonal presses are more comfortable.
I guess it is subjective but for me, being a cross-shaped cutout is precisely what makes the Nintendo D-pads superior. It means that you have obvious tactile feedback to tell "diagonal" from "non-diagonal" directions. In Sega-like D-pads, I often find myself pressing a diagonal when I wish to press a non-diagonal, and vice versa; that's practically impossible in Nintendo controllers.
I've heard that before, but Sega D-pads have a raised cross with rockers in the corners. I grew up with both, which might be part of it, but I'm not sure how you'd press a diagonal accidentally.
There are millions of great controllers out there with good D-pads you can buy. There are a tiny hadnful that have a decent pointing-device (eg. the Wiimote), and none that come even close to comparing to a mouse.
That's why this pad is important. Anything to do with d-pads is just going to be gravy.
> There are millions of great controllers out there with good D-pads you can buy.
I'm open to suggestions. The Xbox 360 controller I have hooked to my PC is about the best I can find, and the d-pad on it is pretty terrible, but just on this side of usable.
I have drawer full of other old controllers as well because the d-pads were virtually unusable.
The original NES d-pad, which Nintendo has wisely brought forward on all their consoles, is simply the best 8-directional digital control interface ever designed -- it's so good it absolutely ended the age of joysticks as a home control interface.
A few comments here mention the Sega pads which are a very close second IMHO.
About the only device I've found with a reasonable d-pad alternative is my GP2x Wiz, which is weird at first, but ends up being a pretty good control interface. Even Sony's d-pad alternatives, which are better than the 360s, barely compare.
Since it's now basically free to use, there's very little reason for everybody to not just put the Nintendo d-pad on their stuff.
> none that come even close to comparing to a mouse.
True, but a mouse is a terrible interface for platformers, fighters, and basically the entire genre of gaming genres from pre-N64 pre-dual shock times.
That's why, if you're going to offer a controller with a new style of analog interface intended to replace a mouse, the complementary 8-way digital parts better be rock solid awesome.
Get the Saturn USB re-release from about 2006. They are white with blue buttons (ugly, I know -- they should have kept the black and grey). They have a "Play Sega" sticker in the middle. Do NOT get the "saturn-style" knock-offs.
I got a few new off of eBay for about $6 a piece, they are great for classic / MAME / shmups.
The goal of this controller is to be good with most Steam games, which have been designed for computers. Traditionally, console controllers predate the games, the Steam box is trying to be a "console" that goes the other way.
Basically, imagine trying to create a "controller" that works well with Civilization, and you're on the right track. (That isn't the only example, but it's a nice, concrete one to try to think about.)
