My itchy trigger finger hates the R1 button

Sarcasticgamer.com wrote: "What is in a trigger? For us arm-chair generals, this usually means our favorite R1 or R trigger buttons on the PS3 and Xbox 360 controllers. In the so-called console war, fanboys flame each other over specs, exclusive games and media medium… But what about the controllers? Specifically, what about the buttons that make stuff go boom? Do you prefer a button or a trigger? A button that's higher on the controller or lower?

Which do you prefer in your shooters? The PS3 dualshock 3 (D3) R1 button, or the Xbox 360 controller's right trigger?

A console war allegory, after the jump..."

[GamerSigma]

Triggers are made for shooting stuff. Nuff said.

[callahan09]

Indeed.

I prefer the PS3 controller's R2 button for my trigger finger.

[thesummerofgeorge]

I was under the impression R2 was more of a trigger button and the 1's were the shoulder/bumper buttons... Maybe I'm nit picking. Kind of a weak article.

[Statix]

I don't know why more games/shooters on the PS3 don't just give you the option to switch between R1 and R2. I HATE using R1 to shoot, when the trigger is right there.

At least COD4 gives you the option.

It's as if Sony made the conscious decision to do "the opposite thing" of what Microsoft is doing, just to be different. And it's annoying the hell out of me as a PS3 owner. When what was widely regarded as the best FPS console, the Xbox 1, was doing it that way, you kind of think it would be a wise choice to emulate them.

[Monchichi025]

The truth is that the MAJORITY of people outside of fanboys prefer the 360 for FPS, TPS and Driving Games.

The PS control is preferred for Platforms and fighting games.

And that's just the COLD HARD TRUTH!!!

[JBaby343]

I don't like using the lower buttons. Just doesn't feel right. I'm too used to R1 maybe. R2 and 360 skinny trigger buttons are uncomfortable in my opinion.

But the best option is being able to configure the buttons any way you want. Haze at least did that right. Every game should give the option for any configuration you want, at least for shooters.

[AceLuby]

Because a 'trigger' is a point at which something is engaged. A button press is much better for this than a 'trigger' button w/ a range in which the trigger actually fires at some point between not pulled and fully pulled. If it's actually fully pulled you would be able to shoot faster w/ a simple button than a 360 type trigger where you would need to pull and release for each shot (think a pistol).

[Tomdc]

i remember my PS2 days... I used to hate wheneva a game asked you to use shoulder buttons! I had neva touched a shooter and played all action / platforming games like Rayman =) so the times I used 'em were rare

Resistance was my first eva go at a shooter and its still my favourite =) now I like shooting games =)

I prefer R1 to R2

[Statix]

All consoles in the past have used the trigger to shoot. All shooters on consoles since the days of the N64 (Z-trigger), the Dreamcast, the Xbox 1... all used the trigger button for you to shoot!

Sony that is straying from the tried-and-true, and not giving gamers the OPTION to use R2 instead of R1 to shoot, and it really stinks for fans used to using the triggers.

At least Insomniac is doing the smart thing by allowing you to use R2 to shoot with Resistance 1 and 2. Same goes for COD4 and GTAIV.

[sonarus]

Triggers are made for shooting stuff agreed but when you have a game that doesn't involve shooting lets say a hack and slash like god of war, those triggers beging to feel very out of place. If you isolate an entire button for one function it won't work well for others. That is why i like PS3 controller for its diversity

[mikeslemonade]

The trigger looks cooler, but is mushy. The R1 button has a nice feel to it. It pops in and out so smoothly...

360 better for FPS? I think most people would disagree. 360 just happens to have more FPS games but most people that play games have a PS2 and they cannot comment on how the 360 feels. 100 million PS1s, 120 million PS2s, and 14 million PS3s in the wild.

[TheColbertinator]

Millions of gamers are just used to it.

[LastDance]

i cant remeber what game it was...but R2 was the trigger and it felt good with rumble....I dont mind either way. R1 or R2

Edit; What the hell is this guy talking about?....all of my shooter games on ps2 use the R1 as trigger.....do they hire 12 year olds who's mum wouldnt let them have a ps2?

[GodsHand]

Complain to the developers, for not giving you the option of not mapping out your preferred button assignments. I know Warhawk has R2 as the firing button.

I should make an article about this too. 'The gun that came with Time Crisis is orange, and light, don't fell like a gun at all. I was hoping it to be..... well more like a gun. Maybe when I relaod I dont point the gun off screen, but press a release button to drop a fake magazine, and I reinsert another fake magazine.'

Everyone has their own prefence.

[Statix]

And most PS3 games nowadays don't give you that option (Uncharted, MGS4, Condemned 2, Dark Sector, Battlefield BC, and more... all force you to use R1 to shoot). I have a feeling it's because Sony either recommends or mandates that R1 be the default shooting button. And then developers are just too lazy to implement an alternative control layout.

[P4KY B]

360 controllers are better for FPS, TPS and Driving games.
PS3 controllers are better for Platform, Fighting and playing BluRay Movies.

[LGFreedom]

Of course... TPS reports. Riiiiight.

[Gun_Senshi]

And X360 controller sucks for FPS and TPS compared to FragFX for PS3 and Mouse and keyboard.

[Drekken]

Frag FX OWNS!

[Bolts]

Keyboard+mouse= King of the FPS world, in fact they're the controlers the genre was tailor made for.

The 360's pad is only "ok", and its the best standard controler in the console world for the FPS but it is still rather limited. The PS3 dualshock come in at a distant third. The trigger buttons don't feel like triggers, they behave more like an accelerator for driving games. However the PS3 have the edge, an arkward one, in the FragFX. This is the closest the console world can come to matching the keyboard and mouse.

[Captain Tuttle]

It's holding me back from buying one. As soon as a third party puts out a copy of the 360's controller I'll buy a PS3.

[P4KY B]

100%

[Sez]

i guess after playing 360 games so much. i'm just used to shooting with the r2 botton. the ps3 controller just don't feel the same and i constantly keep pressing the wrong botton just to shoot.

[Monchichi025]

In my own PERSONAL opinion the PS control is bloody AWFUL! Once they make a replica of the 360 for the PS3 I'll buy a PS3.

[JBaby343]

It's one of the main reasons I don't get a 360. No matter how many times I try to use it it's uncomfortable. I prefer the DS3 but to each his own I guess.

[mistertwoturbo]

http://ui12.gamespot.com/93...

that's the closest it'll get

[Dmack79]

the R1 button. Only because I'm used to it and thus it feels natural to me.

[Ali_The_Brit]

Same here, my hands where molded from a kid with the PS1

[Pornlord]

I shoot real guns, I use my pointer finger to pull the trigger on a real gun. I use my second finger to pull the R2 button so I have the option of using the R1 button almost simultaneously. Yeah, that's right, I said it, I like the R1 button as my fire button, You don't fire a real gun with your ring finger, and in the heat of the moment, I always fire with my pointer, and wind up getting killed on the 360 as a result (doesn't happen often, but I prefer my PS3 controller anyday.)

[mindedone]

maybe people who use their middle fingers to fire guns. By all means I like the feel of the Xbox triggers better than I do R2 for PS3. I haven't found a game yet that benefits from having such stiff buttons. However, I wouldn't change using R1 to shoot for anything, for the reason stated by the person above. The R2 button is just too stiff to use, as well as being in the wrong position to simulate a real trigger.

[Cryptech]

I also enjoy shooting irl. I think the way your trigger finger wraps around the controller feels more realistic. I dont shoot with my middle finger or bend my index finger downward to shoot, lol. For me, the R1 just feels correct as a trigger button. I prefer the PS3 R1 over the XBOX 360 controller due to the lack of feel and akwardness of the RT.

[chasuk08]

360s triggers are too sensitive and stiff for me. I prefer the good old R1 button.

[kewlkat007]

I prefer the Xbox 360 Triggers...as opposed to using shoulder Buttons to fire, the Triggers feel REAL to me(It feels like a Damn Trigger Literally), not just pressing a Button with no real feadback.

The DS3 is not ergonomically sound...my hand cramps pretty fast.

It's the spacing and position of buttons. While it's bearable, that's why I do not buy shooters on the PS3. Good thing in MGS4 you can walk around and don't have to take out a weapon unless you want to.

Hey to each his own..

[kai_h]

R1 for Third-Person Shooters (eg. Uncharted), both R1 and R2 for First-Person Shooters, and R2 for Racers are best for me.

[Condoleezza Rice]

Don't bother reading the Article,it's a waste of time aimed at generating a few more hits for them.

There is nothing wrong with the R1 button,wasn't a problem when the Playstation first launched,isn't a problem now :)

[Captain Tuttle]

In your opinion

[JBaby343]

It's always been R1 and now people want to change it. It's worked fine for years and when it's switched I keep pushing the wrong button and when I hit the right button it doesn't feel like I am hitting the right button. Leave it good ol R1 or best of all give the option to configure the buttons.

[Statix]

Well I disagree that it's a nonissue, because I think it's an issue for a lot of people, especially those like me who came from originally being an Xbox 1 owner to switching to the PS3, and playing a lot of shooters on what was considered a very shooter-oriented console. It doesn't feel natural to use buttons to shoot, when you have the triggers right there; plus, using R2/L2 puts your fingers at rest in a more comfortable position, that doesn't cramp up your hand up. R1/L1 are too close to the front.

I prefer to use TRIGGERS to pull the "trigger" in a shooter--would you fancy that? I mean, why the hell else would Sony place TRIGGERS on their controller in the first place if they're not gonna be used as such?

[felidae]

the R2 + L2 button are horrible on the ps3 controller. your fingers glide off the pad so often.

ever played F.E.A.R. on ps3? that svcks major 4ss!

[THE_JUDGE]

was a horrible overrated and ported POS of a game. Don't blame the controller because the game is crap.

[Meresin]

FEAR was a good game. The PS3 version was just a lame port. :P

[Statix]

He's not saying the game FEAR sucked on PS3, he's saying that using the R2/L2 buttons to shoot sucked because his fingers kept slipping off of them. That was basically all he was saying.

[games4fun]

but i love the r1 button mainly because it uses your index finger which you use for shooting real guns with and the distance is about the same for a handle to trigger legnth feels good for me, personally i find the 360 contoller overrated and dont even get me started on its d-pad,

[JasonXE]

don't you use your index finger for the LT + RT button on 360 too? You're not a post to hold it like a ps controller or else it feels awkward.

[Statix]

You're supposed to use your index finger on the L2 and R2 buttons.

[JBaby343]

But they rest on R1 and L1 so it's faster to have those be the triggers.

[Wildarmsjecht]

I Prefer the R1 button for shooting.

[Delive]

I prefer the PS3 controller. I like the 360's size, but the PS3's layout and overall feel. I played Socom on the PS2 and got used to the R1 button for shooting. I played CoD4 on both consoles and can function on either. My preference is R1.

[Aclay]

For me a shooter almost MUST use the R1 button to fire the gun. There's no way a shooter should use any other button but a trigger button to fire the gun.

Anyone that has both a 360 and PS3 will say they like the 360's controller better probably, but since the SNES I've been gaming on ONLY Playstation consoles since the PS1 and I have no issue with the PS3 Dualshock 3. I really think that the Xbox 360 controller was made specifically for shooters and the controller is really only good for playing shooters and that's it.

The Xbox 360 controller design is almost a ripoff of the Gamecube controller by the way the 2 analog sticks are placed, but I would prefer both of my thumbs to be level anyways and not having one thumb way at the top of the controller and another thumb near the center.

[ottoenie]

i like the ps3 triggers for racing games, and some shooter games, but the R1 buttons are my personal shooting favorites.
i also have an x360, but those triggers feel stiff, and not right for me, i am used to the ps controller and i like that one more.

[Salvadore]

Playing Resistance, the R1 buttons just felt wrong and I mapped shooting on the R2 button as I'm used to that. So, did that make any difference? Yes, after 10 min of positioning my fingers on the triggers through trial and error because the triggers are "different".

[AssassinXIII]

the 360's trigger is better 2 be honest

but 360 sux anyways so PS3 FTW

brought 2 u by XAMP®

:)

[proArchy]

COD4 feels freakin' awesome on PS3. R1 = Fire. It just feels wierd when i have to use my index finger to fire on R2 when there is still stuff to do on R1. It makes me want to use my middle finger to fire with, which is absolutely wrong in so many ways.

[Meresin]

It's a pity they never patched in rumble for it.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

lmao people use the 360 triggers with a finger other than the index?

how? why?

[cliffbo]

@ 19

perhaps they use their d*cks?. lol

[ceedubya9]

If I even attempt to play a shooter on the PS3, I always use R1 if I can. The triggers still don't feel comfortable for me. Perhaps if they were curved in instead of out, then it would be different. Maybe if I put more time in it, things will go a bit better in time.

[Jdoki]

For FPS games I prefer R1. To me it feels more natural having index finger on that button.

For driving I prefer the 360 triggers.

I completely hate the R2 and L2 buttons on PS controller, and I hate the D-Pad on the 360's.

Overall I think it's about a tie between them. It comes down to personal preference.

[ceedubya9]

Both have their ups and downs. Neither is perfect. In most cases, personal preference and practice can make either a good choice depending on the situation.

[hill71]

r1 for me

[BLUR111]

RT for me.

[titntin]

I've played the 360 contoller to death since the machine was released, but I've never understood why people insist it is the most ergonomic controller. It consistantly gives me hand cramps when playing for extended periods - particularly in driving games. Ditto for my misses - and I'm 6ft 2" with big hands so its not a small hands thing...

I appreacite the smaller dead spot in the joysticks, but thats about it for me. Its clunky and heavy leaves my hand tired. I don't get the same issues with the DS3.

As for the point of the article - no one uses that finger to pull a trigger. The point of mapping to the R1 button should be obvious to even the most dim witted monkey - you pull that with the trigger finger!!!

Whilst I conceed that the tactillity of the 360 'trigger' is a little better, its position is plainly not ideal if you want it to really represent a trigger!

[LGFreedom]

I switch between R1 and R2 with my pointer finger... I don't think most people use two fingers one for each button when gaming for the same reason that people don't drive with two feet... too easy to cross them up.

[CAPT IRISH]

I don't like the triggers on the ps3 controller

[EnglishPatriot]

I preffer the L1+R1 buttons than the sh!tty L2+R2 buttons because my fingers slide off them nearly all the time.

[infamous-butcher]

PS3s R1 button. if you need to hit R2 to bring up inventory (MGO) or fire a nade in cod its a swift movement of the middle finger. if R2 was the fire button, thats a hand movement, rather than a finger movement, purely tactical, which can remove valuable milli seconds in a battle. it all counts.
R1 is also a better accelerator, as in GT5p and R2 and L2 are great gear changers, they dont need heald just taped.

[BoneMagnus]

clicking a mouse is far less like firing a gun than a 360 controller - I don't care how accurate the mouse is - it just feels weird and lacks that immersive quality.

[troll]

Didn't buy the original xbox because of its awkward controller. I really want the ps3 but after playing it over at my friends I just cant.

Dont mind the price, dont mind the sparse game collection (although steadily growing), but the controller? I really want to play mgs and other ps titles I've been waiting for but not without a decent controller. Cant do it, I want to but no.

[JBaby343]

It's worked well for me ever since the first Socom.

[The Goulet]

360 controller is garbage.

Goulet