IGN- The Wii U Controller Needs Analog Sticks and Triggers

IGN: "The Wii U controller is, in some ways, more of a traditional controller than the Wii Remote. Its button layout is similar to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 controllers, and Nintendo's own GameCube controller. The biggest difference from other contemporary controllers, besides the giant touch screen, is that the Wii U controller replaces dual analog sticks with dual circle pads, and analog triggers with regular buttons.

This lack of analog sticks on the Wii U controller is especially unusual since Nintendo popularized the analog stick themselves, deeming it the only way to control Mario in 3D space. The purpose of the circle pad on the 3DS is, ostensibly, to save space. It's unclear why the sticks fell out of style on the Wii U controller, since there's plenty of space for sticks -- the thing is massive."

[Misterhbk]

Perhaps not using true analog sticks made it slightly cheaper? Same with the triggers? Idk, just speculating. and since they used the same parts for the 3DS they don't have to worry about pruduction.

[-Alpha]

Would that really cost more to make?

I think it's, like IGN said, a way to save space or something, or to make it look as much as a tablet as possible without having those bumps

I thought it looked weird being above the face buttons. It's sort of strange to see on a console, I also wonder if it can be pressed down for L3 and R3 functions.

[NewMonday]

another weird thing is that the tablet controller needs to be in close range to the console,you cant use it around the home like with wi-fi.

[avengers1978]

the whole thing seems like crap to me.

[Mac is OK]

I think it might be to save on battery use. The sticks are said to hurt battery life considerably, that's why the PSP only had 1.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

But the PSP was launched 7 years ago... Now it's successor is getting 2 all-out analog STICKS with a portable battery... And that's a handheld system, not a controller you gonna use near to the console and which you can probably hook up and still play if you need to recharge.

I don't know man, looks just like a bad design decision, not a technical limitation.

[Ju]

" The sticks are said to hurt battery life considerably, that's why the PSP only had 1."

a) we are a generation beyond that, aren't we.
and b) whoahahahaha. That's the biggest bull I've ever heard. Stick that use battery - as a passive device. Man, we are in fairyland here, me thinks.

Somebody has to explain to me, how to play any shooter with this, as uncomfortable as that controller is. Putting a 6" TFT in and save on sticks and buttons. Is a bit, aeh, hilarious, IMO.

[despair]

so instead of 6 hours battery time we get 5 1/2?? Big deal, I'd rather the analog sticks any day, its just another example of Nintendo being as cheap as possible to keep the profit margin high from launch.

[Rainstorm81]

Circle pads? 1 WiiPad per console? i mean come on, that takes all competitive/cooperative innovation out of the control scheme.

I can only see thee Wii U being a bridge console until the true next gen starts....

Somewhat similar to Dreamcast, funny thing is both have screens on the controller.

[Ravenor]

@Raiinstorm81

That was a VMU mem card with the screen, not the controller itself, although you can say the decision to not add a second analog stick was a mistake.

On topic: Lack of real triggers is what weirds me out the most.

[fr0sty]

You obviously don't know much about how electronics work. An analog stick isn't going to kill batteries. Not enough for anyone to really notice. The screen, speakers, GPU, RAM, and CPU are the battery hogs. All the analog stick does is measure where the stick is oriented and sends a digital signal based upon that (yes, analog sticks in modern controllers really aren't "analog" at all. They still have to convert that analog signal to digital before the system can process it.).

[Active Reload]

I'm not too concerned about it not having analog sticks. I was more worried that it wouldn't have left and right bumpers. As far as I could tell, concerning the triggers, they're not slippery sloped type triggers, so I'm not concerned about those either.

[Maxned]

The problem though, is that there are probably a ton of already-manufactured Wii U controllers with the stupid circle sticks.

[stuntman_mike]

I dont think the design is final. it will still go through some more iterations, nothing drastic but they could still change the sticks and button placement.

[superrey19]

One thing I dont like is how the right stick is above the face buttons. After trying to mimic with my own hands how that would feel, I have to say it feels awkward and uncomfortable... but who knows, it may just be the fact that all major controllers with analog sticks have had the face buttons above them and I'm used to it.

[stuntman_mike]

@superrey19

I wonder if you end up hitting the face buttons much when using the thumb sticks as they seem quiet close.

[Borello-Crompton]

I actually think it's a design philosophy- to make the controller practical for everyone, even children, considering how big the thing is.

A child's hands are much smaller so if analogue sticks were implemented they would risk dropping the Wiipad since they'd have to readjust their tiny thumbs that can't quite lever over the sticks especially if they are to tilt the sticks upwards. With a circle analogue pad however, they don't need to lever their tiny thumbs, a mere push is all it takes for their tiny gestures.

So in a sense this makes perfect sense to house these analogue circle pads instead of the analogue sticks, which will prove to be overly cumbersome along with the Wiipad's over all size.

The other important factor is that with a circle analogue pad, there is less risk of slippage as well. How many times have we had our thumbs slip or having to re-adjust our thumbs for a better grip with the more traditional analogue sticks? And as I pointed out, less change of fidgeting with the adjustments, then there's a less chance of the Wiipad being dropped.

EDIT: typos...

[fatstarr]

i believe the circle pads make it look way more sexy and i prefer them to the nunchuck sticks for some reason but i like the game cube analog sticks best.

[theIMP]

I could have sworn it had all that stuff.

[Minartis]

The more I hear about it , the less I like it.....

[Jejojaja]

The more i think about it, the more i love it.
Eternal darkness 2 that switches the video output back and forth between the controller at intense moments to annoy the hell ou of you
Star Wars: Rougue squadron, Player 1: pilot view . player 2:gunman view( with wiiu controller)
endless ocean wii u controller acts like a camera.
GTA: performing a driveby shooting with the wiiU controller showing first person perspective out the window while Tv-screen still shows the driving view.
Fatal Frame.
A MMO game with touchscreen having all the spells, could work. But i doubt it'll happen :(
Wii-UBet.
We all bet which kid will win the fight over the one tablet controller.
jokes aside,
Surgery in trauma center could be kinda cool.
Castlevania: http://i52.tinypic.com/2evq...
Imagine dropping a spy drone in a tom clancy game and having the drones view on the controller

Left 4 dead 4 players with wii remotes trying to defend themselfs while the fifth player is the AI director putting out zombies and drawing paths for them to walk on the touchscreen, i'd love that.

There are so many possibilities would be waaay more if nintendo would make more than one controller per console available.

really can't wait to play this console.

[Fallouts]

Great ideas!

To the rest of the haters why can't the wii2 just be it's own thing. Why does it always have to be like the competitors?

The only thing I wish nintendo changes so far is that damn name.

[slate91]

I really like that MMO idea. The touch screen would almost solve all the issues with MMOs coming to consoles. Remember I said 'almost' though...

[jack_burt0n]

Good ideas, hope nintendo PR pay attention, the problem is its going to rely on alot of those ideas being implemented by strong first party titles. And those ideas are also CORE ideas they might not be appealing for the masses.

I hope we do get creative stuff that aint all mii related!

[stuntman_mike]

@Jejojaja
As soon as you mentioned Eternal Darkness 2 my mind went into overtime...

[starcb26]

Smash bros and mario kart will be the only reason I get wii u.

[StarWolf]

it needs pressure sensitive L and R buttons. actual joysticks too. Hell, I already know im gonna buy a Classic controller Pro when I get this.

EDIT: No one has even mentioned anything if the joysticks are clickable. Has any E3 person said anything about this? Ill i've heard is "ooh it feels comfortable!" for the 10 minutes they had with it.

[jwk94]

Doesn't it already have triggers? I agree on the analog stick though, who the hell came up with those sticks they're using on the 3ds and wiiu anyway? Why would you want to use those?

[DarkBlood]

while you would have a valid arguement for the wiiu controller that stick thing makes sense for the 3DS i mean u want to be able to close it proper right? lol but im not complaining about the stick thing so far

we'll just have to see how it actually works then i guess

[jwk94]

Yeah i guess it makes sense for the 3ds, but not for the wiiu controller.

[dubal-e]

I'm sorry but there is no news here

[D2K]

Tell me about it. People will find anything they can to knit-pick. If Nintendo changes that for the final build then people will find something else to complain about.

[strickers]

The analogue sticks are the most important primary control system.Touchscreens are not good enough.
Have you used a 3DS Circlepad?It's better than PSP 1 but nowhere near as good as a stick.
I think it's more of a problem that Nintendo get an easy ride.After the poor Wii,I thought there would be more doubts.

[admiralthrawn87]

I totally agree with IGN on this. I am getting a Wii U for sure, but this would be such a plus. plz don't screw up this bare essential Nintendo :(

[MoreRPG]

once you get used to the controller the design wont matter

[Samus HD]

I only want a New Wii remote and a nunchuck (without wire)

[stragomccloud]

I want nunchuck with Wii motion plus inside!!! Wii remote always seems to respond fine.... but the nunchuck can sometimes be iffy.

[Soplox]

It need sticks just like the Vita. I wont be using this controller(look awful) I'll buy a Classic Controller Pro(hoping for a wireless one) and I hope the console come in color black too

[Pedobear Rocks]

It has analog R2/L2 triggers underneath no?

http://upload.wikimedia.org...

[stragomccloud]

Circle pads are ok.....but, really got to have those analog triggers! After all, Nintendo was the first to do that with the Gamecube controller! Come on Nintendo!!!

[gamingisnotacrime]

it was not the dreamcast?

[stragomccloud]

You know what... I think you're right.

[TruthbeTold]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the circle pad... Especially in games where you'll be able to change sensitivity. Now I can kind of see desiring the analog stick that doubles as a button to press, but honestly, pressing the analog stick as a button is one of the most unintuitive things ever created on a gaming controller. As for the shoulder buttons not being triggers, since there are two of them on each shoulder, perhaps one set should be trigger? But it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference. This controller isn't going to be an Xbox controller. Some of the things some people are used to, aren't necessarily better. Just familiar. That's all there is to it.

[WooHooAlex]

With the tablet controller, its probably easier to rest your thumbs on circle pads than it is on raised analog sticks.

[gamingisnotacrime]

while the Vita gets true analog sticks for a portable, the Wii gets circle pads ala 3DS for a home console

i bet they are using the same circle pads they use for the 3DS

[matey]

Circle pads r more precise than sticks Nintendo invented sticks on N64 i think sticks r rubbish compared to CP im sorry but i play 3ds and find the Circl pad more comfortable and i would prefer them on UPad sticks r junk so is Vita which sounds like some type of bread and the sticks on Vita r shit by the looks of it plus who said sticks r better people r used to stick there not better not a chance oh the UPad has triggers ive read 10 previews and every1 says the UPad is very light very confortable and has triggers that dont have as much depth as the 360 ones but there is still that depth there so IGN are talking crap.

[stuntman_mike]

I for one cant wait till they release the X-Ray version of this controller that lets you see through peoples clothes...cough!!

[mttrackmaster38]

I've seen the triggers in screen shots. The circle pads suck after using them on the 3ds. They just don't offer the same precision that analog sticks do. I can't imagine how cumbersome playing Battlefield with this controller will be.

[Deadman_Senji]

Not every controller needs triggers...

[danielle007]

If they intend the controller to be used for real games, they certainly do need triggers..

[Deadman_Senji]

"real games" are not only First Person Shooters.

[danielle007]

Well, sure, pal. I never said they need triggers for only FPS. However, I do recall a lot of other games that use the triggers that aren't FPS. Like, Assassin's Creed, for instance. Vanquish. Bayonetta. Red Dead Redemption. Grand Theft Auto. LA Noire. The list goes on, my friend.

So, if the Wii intends to play any real games elegantly, they should gimme analog sticks and triggers.

[Deadman_Senji]

Hmm

Fighting Games
Side Scrollers
Puzzle Games
RPGs
Action Adventure games (hack n slash too)

PS1-PS2 controllers didn't have any sort of triggers (PS3 either, R2 and L2 are not triggers) and they did just fine. Yeah, Shoulder buttons might be necessary but these are not triggers.

When did Assassin's Creed NEED triggers? Did GTA need triggers on the PS2? Red Dead Redemption? really? Vanquish doesn't need triggers unless you're playing it on the 360 because the PS3 doesn't have triggers...unless you have a 3rd party controller.

NO Playstation game NEEDS triggers or ever has. Only Xbox games because it's part of that specific controller in just about every model...because the Xbox was made with shooters primarily in mind and the userbase pretty much only plays shooters (3rd person included) and racing games.

None of the games you listed NEED triggers and never had them on platforms other than Xbox.

TRIGGERS are NOT necessary.

The list clearly doesn't go on as you claim because you just failed at listing games other than shooters that ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE there to be triggers on the controller.

[danielle007]

Hell, with your argument we'd have nothing but buttons and dpads. No one needs anything else. We don't absolutely require HD, but it's better. In this industry, growth is important and encouraged and when things get better, they should stick around, and the industry should not move backwards.

I recall that we moved forward from only having buttons and evolved to using triggers as well because they're better than buttons for your front fingers. We moved on from the PS2 and grew.

Triggers are better. Analog sticks are awesome. Why go backwards when it's obviously inferior? Also, the Wii U is supposed to be an all around real console. Guess what? There are going to be shooters. Portal 2 is a FPS. Fallout 3 is a FPS. Elder Scrolls Skyrim is going to be an FPS. Bioshock Infinite is a FPS. It's useful for those awesome FPS and all the games I listed make use of the triggers and since I love triggers, I think it's great and useful and better.

If the Wii wants to play any of the current games or any of the upcoming games - which look amazing - then it will need triggers to be relevant to anyone that wants to use it as their real one single console, instead of just having it for funsies while their real console is still either their PS3 or 360.

[Shok]

*yawn*, just more Nintendo/Wii U hate. Nothing new here.

(The system isn't even done so some things are subject to change anyway.)

[AdrianHD]

Which is why now's a better time than ever to voice what we don't like. Otherwise it won't change.

[DA_SHREDDER]

If thats the case im not getting the WiiU. Whats the point of having a controller if you don't have the proper buttons? Also, I heard that the online isn't gonna be on par with xbl or psn. If thats the case I rather just buy a Wii instead.

[tweet75]

the controllers look cheaply made. Id bet on a rash of breaking controllers just from normal use shortly after the systems launch.

[yamzilla]

i don't think this will be the main controller, this will be a controller for the specific games that utilize it, if they are smart and listen to the gamers, the core games NEDD NEED NEED to support a standard xbox360/ps3 like controller.....there is still room for a cool, inovative controller like this, but it should not be forced upon us,

Some of us just want hot new tech in graphics and system a.i., physics, mobs on screen ect., but are perfectly fine with the traditional controls!!

[256bit]

who can shoot a pistol faster?

a trigger or a button?

[stragomccloud]

Good point!

[TruthbeTold]

Even though a controller trigger may be shaped like a trigger, it's still a friggin button. Come on...

[MasterCornholio]

I hope that Nintendo releases a stadard controller for the Wii U. Because i dont quite agree with the tablet design.