Since the video game industry started, there has always been a challenge to create the best controller of all time. Innovative and ergonomic have always been the firsts when creating a new controller with which the player can spend hours and hours in front of a screen enjoying his passion and if possible without ending up with purple hands. Although there have been many attempts to create the best command according to the needs of the moment, some managed to succeed, others got something decent and more than one stayed in the attempt.
In my playing years (which are not few) I have been able to test in person a large number of systems and controls of the most disparate. From officers who were included in the system, to third party companies that promoted futuristic controllers, but then they stayed in a love and I can not. That is why all the ranting about the controls that I will quote next is part of my experience and opinion as a player.
The first command I would like to name is undoubtedly my preferred command in terms of frustration. This is none other than the pantagruélico The Duke, the Original controller that came out in the first batch of the Original Xbox.
Remembered by many as the command "billet", It is still the worst controller that has been given the go-ahead and more when this console had a very high expectation. Many are the stories about the creation process and we will never know if they are true or not, but what is clear is that unless you have huge hands or are a bit masochistic, this command becomes uncomfortable after 10 minutes of play thanks to the fact that at least in my case, My fingers fall short if I take the remote control correctly, forcing their movements a lot and therefore my hands fall asleep immediately.
Apparently I was not the only one who found it quite uncomfortable and that is why Microsoft decided to renew command for the wonderful S Controller which gives shape and idea to the great drivers that came in later generations. But the fun thing is that in 2018 Microsoft decided to put The Duke up for sale again to be able to use it on both PC and Xbox One and at a whopping price of € 69'90. Does Microsoft really think I'm going to stop using the great and comfortable Xbox One controller to use the "billet" again? I think nostalgia is not as powerful as they think.
Yes, you can say what you want about me for putting the controller of the Nintendo 64 within the worst controls in the history of the game, but as a defense I have to say that although it was novel and quite ergonomic (the bonuses to create the best controller) unintentionally he was pretty sloppy. I will not deny that the three horns and their ways of picking it up were quite clever ideas and more to introduce an analog stick that at the moment we had not played much. The problem with everything comes from how weak the command was.
If I remember correctly, six were the controls I bought for this system for breaking the "new" analog stick. Although it was quite comfortable and precise, the trunk of the stick was quite long and thin, so on more than one occasion and thanks to the vigor of my 15 years, I remember breaking it trying to do a trick in 1080 Snowboarding, trying to win a pod race like Quadrinaros in Star Wars Racer etc. Not to mention the brand that all of us who play Mario Party have.
Removing the stick theme, the N64 controller was quite innovative for selling apart a wonderful and futuristic vibration system, which was installed in a front slot on the controller. The idea was great but of course, Nintendo did not think too well how to execute it, since this accessory added a lot of weight to the front, causing the knob to tend to rotate continuously and more when it was given to vibrate violently. In my case I chose to disconnect the rumble pack.
DreamCast, my dear Dreamcast. Console with incredible potential but that its timeless launch and the tough competition of the time made it perish prematurely, even causing Sega to stop creating consoles to dedicate itself solely to game development.
With Dreamcast, many of us enjoy great titles like Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Skies of Arcadia, Sonic Adventure, Resident Evil Code Veronica, etc. So what problem did the controller have? Well I wanted to cover much more than I could, offering the possibility of expanding the options and worrying little about the basic functionalities.
The position of the crosshead and the analog stick were correct, but unlike its main competitor (the Dual Shock) only one could be used at a time. Not including a second analog stick made the remote a little out of date for the time (1999) and more so when in competitive games we could already use the two sticks. Then the way in which the control was taken made that if we wanted to use the triggers we had to make a strange movement, since the L and R buttons were not at the top of the control but rather in the middle. It must also be said that the materials with which the controller was made were quite cheap and an accidental fall could cause your controller to become a Gruyère cheese.
Now he had good things too, like his two expansion slots where it was possible to connect a vibration pack called the Jump Pack and the VMU visual memory unit, in which a small screen was integrated where additional information about the game was displayed and, if the video game allowed, it was possible to use it as a game unit laptop. And best of all, they didn't add extra weight, even with the two accessories the weight of the remote was fully distributed. Too bad the expansions stayed in the background and we were left with a controller not too well designed for long play.
Dual Shock 1 was a great controller. The innovation of include two analog sticks and internal vibration
The 80s were great in many ways and disastrous in many others. Atari 5200 hit the market Thinking he would eat the world and all he got was horrible design criticism. Taking away that the console was a huge plastic mazacote, its ergonomically speaking command has been one of the worst official controls ever created. It was difficult to grasp, action buttons placed on one side making them uncomfortable to press and introducing the novelty of the numeric keyboard (detail that was already included in the controls of the Intellivision console) that with an exclusive cover for each game (few games made use of this feature) these would do some specific functions.
Although the command was bad, just as there was nothing else to look at at that time, we swallowed with what there was and immediately took control. But the problem of all the control and for which it caused that more than one it stamped the control against the ground, was the movement lever. ** Shortly after using it, one noticed how it never returned to its center ** and if we released it for any reason, our character never stopped moving, causing a life to be lost or the GAME screen to appear on more than one occasion OVER.
Arcade games have always been cool and in the 80s and early 90s everyone wanted to have an arcade machine at home. Some rich people could fulfill that dream, but the vast majority of us settled for buying a controller that simulated arcade controls. The Sega Control Stick was released for the Master System and at first glance it is a fantastic controller. It is robust, the lever allows all movements and also creates that false feeling of playing an arcade machine. But if you look more closely at the details, you can see several design errors that did not please the players at all.
From the outset and the most horrible thing about the design is that the lever is on the right and the buttons on the left. If you were left-handed, things were great, but the vast majority of players did not know how to take this controller. Normally an Arcade Stick usually has a fairly wide base to be able to rest on a fixed base and this controller lacked it and in combination with its light weight, made us have to play it holding it with the left hand and without reaching the buttons well.
Today, the controls with movements are the order of the day and apart they give very good results. Kinect, WiiMote, PlayStation Move are great examples of this. But in the 90s it was a crazy idea straight out of a science fiction novel and Sega who dared with everything invented the Sega Activator. This octagon was designed to recognize up to 16 different movements (Eight movements in height and 8 in the ground) thanks to a ray system. Each side of this octagon was an action button or crosshead direction and promised action in abundance.
All the kids back then freaked out in color when we saw this gadget in the magazines and freaked out even more when the father of a colleague brought it from the United States. The disappointment disappeared immediately, when we realized that this gossip was useless. Removing that it was half playable with Mortal Kombat, Comix Zone and Eternal ChampionsAll other games created a dilemma by not responding to any of the controls. Undoubtedly, a great disappointment that cost an eye to face.
Power Glove… There are no more presentations for one of the peripherals more imprecise, useless and unnecessary (not to mention the parodied and expensive to get today) but at the same time as cool in the history of video games. A glove to master all games with just finger movements. With this you had to enter a specific code for each game, install some sensors to the television, put cool poses and enjoy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Removing the Rad Racer game (which was cooler if we put on the 3d glasses on top) all games are unplayable, to the point of sweating the fat drop to jump a pipe in Super Mario Bros.
In the early 90s, while many of us were freaking out with 16-bit consoles, Atari pulled her 32-bit Atari Jaguar console out of her sleeve and with it his awful command and his ridiculous idea of continuing to put a numeric keypad, although most games did not make use of the numbers. Removing this factor, the control was huge and quite uncomfortable to hold, not to mention a crosshead whose lateral movements were uncomfortable and difficult to do. Another failed aspect was that only had three action buttons And that was an understatement when trying to make the leap to a new generation of consoles. Many developers complained about this flaw when creating or porting games for Jaguar. Atari took the hint and decided to create an improved controller with 6 action buttons.
The fun of this remote was not that although it had 6 buttons, plus the horrible numerical keyboard that made the remote huge and uncomfortable. The funny thing is that this command they took it out a few months after removing the console from the market. Anyway Atari things.
The idea of the WiiU controller could not have liked me more in its day. The use of two screens in the world of video games I have always believed that it is very practical. Dreamcast with Visual Memory or with Nintendo Ds / 3ds already used this system. Games like ZombiU take advantage of the incredible double screen. The controller is great, robust and on top of it allows us to play any game without the need for a television. I just can't fault it …
The problem comes when developers spend a bit of this feature and you eat a huge remote, which runs out of battery in less than two hours and your hands tire in less than one. This is undoubtedly the case of a great idea on paper but when it came to starting it, they did not know how to do well.
I know that many of you will think that I have left a lot to name. There are countless bad or misused controls and if I spoke of all of them it would be like writing Don Quixote in terms of length. In the inkwell I leave controls like the one of Cd-i of Panasonic, 3d Controller of Saturn, the control of Ouya or Google Stadia, Amiga Cd32 or the Negcon and Jogcon of Namco. Perhaps I would like to write a second part and even mix it with the most controversial accessories. And you, have you used any of the controls that I mention? If so, do you agree with me? leave a comment to know your opinions.
