Why the DualShock Sucked

The Mind of Game writes - "People often wonder whether others actually buy games based on controller preference and if it’s a big deal. Well to me, yes, it is a big deal. I definitely buy games on one platform over another purely for the controller feel.

If I’m playing a game, I want to be comfortable doing it and I do not find the DualShock 3 or any of its mildly different precursors to be comfortable. In my view, it was an ergonomic nightmare that is easily supplanted by just about every other first party controller offering since its début with the original PlayStation. It just sucks.

So, what’s wrong with the DualShock? Simple. The DuaShock is nothing more than an original PlayStation controller with two analog sticks slapped on the bottom, reworked L2 and R2 buttons (for the better) and a couple of built-in rumble motors. That’s it. That was my first clue that there wasn’t a lot of time put into this controller design.

[Agent Smith]

"It’s still flawed due to the symmetrical analog stick placement"

Because hands, as we all know, are not symmetrical.

[DigitallyAfflicted]

Are you crazy???? we are symmetrical from top to bottom.

Back to topic. i did like sony controller from the start it might be a personal preference but who cares.

[darthv72]

Hands may be symmetrical but the way we play games is not. One hand controls directional movement. The other controls the action.

Depending on the type of game then you have both hands controlling the movement (character and viewpoint). the argument of which is better will continue on but quite simply the main reason for the dualshock design was sony had an already established dpad / face button layout that worked.

it was easy for them to remold the shape to incorporate the twin sticks more toward the center bottom of the existing design. it has worked pretty good so far.

now what works for one company isnt always going to be the same for another. If you are a gamer that has the experience with various controller layouts then you can appreciate the styles each company has made. From the 2600 on up to current.

[mattdillahunty]

the fact that we are mostly symmetrical doesn't automatically make the Dualshock's stick placement correct. just stand up and let your hands dangle at your sides. the natural state of our thumbs is to run almost parallel to our fingers. meaning the left stick on the Xbox controller is actually a lot more natural in regards to how our thumbs rest than the Dualshock's sticks are. unless you walk around with your thumbs pointing out from your hands, which i doubt.

of course, since the sticks aren't symmetrical on the Xbox controller, people want to use the lame excuse of "our hands are symmetrical!" to make it seem like the Xbox controller got it wrong. no, the Xbox controller got it right with the left stick and wrong with the right stick. but since our right thumb can rest on the face buttons, which we tend to press a lot, it still ends up working out well. the Dualshock gets it wrong with both sticks by making it symmetrically unnatural to how our thumbs rest (but again, since we use the face buttons a lot it's not as big of a deal with the right stick).

the Dualshock is by no means a bad controller, and the DS4 looks to be the best iteration yet, but i will always prefer the more natural layout of the Xbox controller's left stick placement.

[curtis92]

Think he was being sarcastic.

[Sly-Lupin]

Actually, humans are asymmetrical. Externally AND internally.

Look at yourself in the mirror sometime. One eye will be slightly higher or larger than the other; one ear will be shaped differently from the other; one tooth will be too big, the other too small. Etc., etc.

The simple fact is that the asymmetrical 360 controller arrangement is designed to be the most comfortable possible ergonomic design for a specific category of games. Specifically, shooting games.

It is, therefore, not as well suited for EVERY OTHER type of console game as the Dualshock design. There's a reason why the Dualshock is the basis for EVERY modern gamepad design. Both Microsoft and Nintendo emulate Sony's design with their controllers, and there's a reason for that.

Sony perfected the gamepad a long time ago, and every new model post-DS has just been incrementally improving on the basic design.

[scott182]

Is sarcasm really that hard to sense?

[scott182]

For me the dualshock feels much more comfortable to use.

[Aggesan]

According to research regarding beauty made world wide, all over the planet the more a symmetrical a person was the better looking they were considered.

[ZBlacktt]

Still own... just saying.

http://i1199.photobucket.co...

[The_Game21x]

Asymmetrical analog stick placement places the two most important inputs for 3D games (the analog stick and face buttons) directly under your thumbs. Symmetrical placement gets only one of those right (the face buttons).

Which was the point...

[kneon]

The two most important controls for shooters are the analog sticks, and your thumb has less range of motion when the stick is placed in the upper position. So for shooters the best placement is to have the analog sticks both at the bottom position.

[Snookies12]

Directly under your thumbs? For asymmetrical? How do you figure? Does one of your thumbs go up and the other to the side? That just doesn't make sense to me, I'd rather have both of my thumbs in the same relative location if both of my hands are holding onto one object.

[Baka-akaB]

Well by all means let me be an asymetrical weirdo then . They fixed the grip , size , shape and analogs sticks that everyone complained about .

If you want symerical sticks , get another console or a 3rd party pad already

[Rageanitus]

Although I like the Dualshocks, we tend not to play symetrical.

One of the best contorllers IMO was the gamecube, and the analog sticks were not in the same location and the they were NOT the same. Even the key buttons were NOT the same size.

[Eddie20101]

Before Microsoft was around it was considered the best controller design.

[ambientFLIER]

Well, yeah, naturally. Until something better came along.

[ErryK]

What a ridiculous article.

[Transporter47]

Honestly it was a great controller for a while until the 360 pad came and it did a lot of things right minus the horrible dpad. Now the DS4 is jsut amazing and better then the Xbone pad or as good. Good time to be a gamer!!!

[_FantasmA_]

Really? Hard and heavy plastic? RB and LB? Terrible indented thumbsticks? Why would the left thumbstick be the farthest away from its natural resting spot. Why should I have to stretch my thumb to reach up there. The sticks should be at the bottom, its only natural. DS3 was amazing. I actually still prefer it to the DS4.

[Transporter47]

DS3 is a good controller, the problem I play a lot of Fifa my thumbs would slip off at times, the R2 L2 would slip as well but those didn't matter too much to me. DS4 is superb. Not a single slip so far which I am in love with.

BTW offset or not it doesn't matter as long as the controller works like it should. To me I don't care where they are as long as they work right and are comfortable.

[neoMAXMLC]

You lose all credibility when you complain about the symmetrical stick placement.

[dcj0524]

My left thumb just feels weird when I have to put it higher. Idk mauye its just me. I just have better movement range when it's lower. Probably because I just use Dualshock more. I just HATE how sony made the sticks so loose. The PS2 sticks were better.

[Dante81]

I still like the DS3, it wasn't that comfy but damn was it versatile.

[Kane22]

i never understood the hate Sony's controllers get. i've enjoyed playing games on every PlayStation using there controller with no issues.

[Dante81]

Same here. And unlike the others, they are good for almost every genre under the sun.

[quinten488]

Playstation controllers are better, period. Dual stick and a great d-pad.

[OrangePowerz]

The first controllers had been by far the best on the market at the time. I still play from time to time retro consoles like my N64 and the DC (the original xbox controller) and those controllers are not great. The N64 controller in particular is horrible with the centered analogue stick and very bad to play games like Turok or Goldeneye with. The DC controller was better, but I still don't get why they had only one stick at a time where 99% of the games are 3D.

The DS3 had it's issues thatsw for sure but Sony listened and fixed all of them. I prefer to have the controller symmetrical and the sticks on the same level compared to having the left stick higher placed.

[HappyWithOneBubble]

DualShock is the best controller ever made and that's a fact.

[360ICE]

I think it's a matter of taste. Dpad becomes so useless once it's where it is on 360's controller. That again, could be because 360's dpad was awful.

Anyway, think both the new Dualshock and Xbox One's controller are big improvements.

[Bathyj]

Haha, no it didnt. Stop being Meta.

[SpinalRemains138]

Having the D Pad to the right of the left stick is a nightmare.

Symmetrical sticks are far superior. Why should I hold the controller offset to accommodate the other stick being higher and offset? Dumb.

[MidnytRain]

The people in this thread act like they don't have opposable thumbs. Simply being asymmetrical is a non-issue.

[Hicken]

It becomes an issue when it's a matter of hours with your thumbs either in a symmetrical- and thus more natural- or asymmetrical- and thus unnatural- position.

We do have opposable thumbs, but they are also symmetrically placed; therefore, symmetrical placement of controls seems the most natural, most logical conclusion for a controller.

[MidnytRain]

That doesn't even apply to games that use buttons more than the right stick, which everyone here says it's great for.

I don't get how symmetry is automatically more comfortable. That's like saying putting both sticks at the top would be more comfortable than the Xbox layout.

[hiredhelp]

Ive never had problems since PSX controller i use 360 on PC i can play with both but it is bulky heavy thumb sticks stiffer than of sony however the sticks tend last longer. That said i much prefer sony dualshock for comfort.

[fenome]

It didn't.

~The End~

(That's my article on this topic)

[nevin1]

DS1/2 the best. Every genre plays well. I can't say the same for the rest.

[kevondo]

Who cares I have so much history with my dualshock controllers and that's all that counts.

[_FantasmA_]

People are just brainwashed into think the Xbot controller is better because for 8 years the 360 had shooters, shooters and more shooters in 2 franchises, Halow and Geers. I can't play shooters on Exbox console for long periods of time, but I can play all day and night on DS3 and DS4.

[PersonMan]

Dualshock 3 is great. I have no problems with it's design. However, I'm seeing the Dualshock 4 wear out really fast. Go to the demo unit at the store and see for yourself. The sticks are already wearing down.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

I thinks that's due to the volume people using it and more still that it doesn't belong to them....

[PersonMan]

Really? Then how come I've never seen the rubber wear off of the dualshock 3 in stores? Were people not using those?

[Baka-akaB]

Except the rubber does wear off all the time on DS3 for demo places and places of great affluence like stores . Half the pads our local store went through had issues with the rubber literally falling into pieces and leaking so weird grease (granted most of it was because people are slobs that'd touch a public pad after a big mac)

[pop-voxuli]

Because it didn't.

[McScroggz]

I must admit, some of the arguments for asymmetrical sticks is pretty funny. I mean no insult to you @mattdillahunty, I really don't, but this made me chuckle, "just stand up and let your hands dangle at your sides. the natural state of our thumbs is to run almost parallel to our fingers."

And the natural resting position our thumbs take when holding a controller, whether it be an Xbox controller or a PlayStation one, is at the bottom of the controller where both sticks are on the DualShock. If you don't believe me hold out your hands horizontally like they were holding a controller and your thumbs will lay horizontal like the rest of your fingers, not pointing upwards. And I would argue that the two analog sticks are easily the most important of the four possible sections (sticks, face-buttons and D-Pad) because the three biggest genres rely very heavily on them.

It's obvious the shooters are most reliant on the two analog sticks. I'd argue that likewise action/adventure games often rely on the right analog stick to control the camera. It's certainly not universal, but it's becoming more and more commonplace. In general, the ability to easily and precisely control the camera is more important than a slightly increased input time for the face-buttons. This is just my opinion, but I feel it's pretty logical. Regardless, having the D-Pad even with the right analog stick is only useful for platformers and fighting games (ironically what the Xbox 360 struggles with, whereas the layout of the DualShock is best for shooters but the triggers suck and analog sticks are just ok).

So as far as I'm concerned, even though I think the difference is easily overcome by experience with the controller, I do think the more natural, logical placement of the DualShock controllers is much more suited for modern games. Again, I don't think it's a big difference though.

#TeamSymmetrical.

[kwyjibo]

"And the natural resting position our thumbs take when holding a controller is at the bottom of the controller where both sticks are on the DualShock."

Not true.

The natural position is where the dpad and face buttons are, which is why the controller was designed like that before the sticks appeared.

Seriously, what do you think Sony were on? Look at all the different PlayStation controller prototypes, there's some real crazy ones - but it was a thoughtful process and Sony took their time.

Do you really think they came up with the mold of the controller, looked where players put there thumbs, and thought "let's put nothing there".

No, they put the buttons there.

[Zancruz]

The only thing I hated about the DS3 was the Triggers, But its easly corrected with some of those $5 Trigger attachments... The DS4 is a great improvement over the past Dualshocks controllers.

The 360 Controller triggers was shaped nice, but was to far spaced before trigging a action when pressed. Also the Controller was too big, heavy and the battery compartment was in the way of good finger placement.

Personally one of the best controllers Ive played with was the $100 Madcat MLG Pro controller with its changeable control modules, A person can customize their own setup for any game type....

[ZBlacktt]

The best and second best selling consoles of all time had those. Yep, they sucked.

[mayberry]

Imho, saying the dual shock controller "sucks" is rediculous, it might not be as good as the (re-designed) 360 controller,but is a fine cotroller in its own right. Professional writers that say it "sucks", automatically lose credibility to me! Good day...

[kwyjibo]

The DualShock was a compromise from the start, the article is correct in that it's just an original PlayStation controller with analogue sticks tacked on.

The analogue sticks are not given prime placement of the controller, prime placement is given to the increasingly neglected dpad and face buttons. This has meant that games which require both sticks leave your hands in an unnatural position.

Finally with the new dualShock, Sony have decided to move the sticks apart a bit, I hope this helps.

[Hicken]

Go home, kwyjibo, you're drunk.

[strickers]

Blind drunk.

[kwyjibo]

Go home Hicken, you've failed to come up with any kind of argument.

Just read the argument I wrote at - http://n4g.com/news/1398150...

Agree with it, accept it. And then try to lie to yourself and forget it. And then defend Sony's new pay-for-online stance.

[Hicken]

I read your comment, and it doesn't stop you from being drunk.

My fingers, in a natural position, are actually BETWEEN the sticks and the face buttons. Meaning there isn't much of a move to go to either position.

In either case, that's irrelevant, as that has never been a very significant argument.

What HAS been a significant argument- and has been wrong the whole time- is that the asymmetrical placement of sticks was more ergonomic, and therefore better. Now, obviously, you didn't say anything about that, but if it's more natural for the sticks to be symmetrical, then it can't be THAT unnatural for them to be UNDER the face buttons.

Additionally, how is it that the face buttons are becoming increasingly neglected? Fighting games still use them, and to far greater effect than the left analog stick(can't think of a game that uses the right rather than the face buttons). Racers still use the face buttons, if not the D-pad. RPGs still use the face buttons.

In fact, I think MOST games still use them in some significant capacity, even if they're not ALL(referring mostly to the D-pad, here) as important as they once were.

... oh, wait. You're talking about shooters. Because shooters have become more popular, it means that, by proxy, the two sticks are used more often than the face buttons.

By all means, then, let's have all the controls designed to work best with ONE genre of game- and even this is debatable- rather than have them built to be very good at EVERY genre.

THAT makes so much more sense.

... do I need to add /s to that last bit?

[L0wbanR]

I personally prefer the DS layout. However Sony just never made them heavy/big enough.

My most recent console was a 360 and I loved the pad for the feel in your palms rather than on your thumbs.

My next console will arrive next Friday. I am absolutely ecstatic.