Best and worst designed video game consoles/controllers

[rtvc2012]

Which are your favorites and least favorites?

Best console design: original PS3 - hands down the most stylish, sophisticated, and downright beautiful console I've ever seen.  Don't know why so many people hate it.  Runner-ups are original PS2, 360 slim, and Dreamcast.

Worst: Atari Jaguar - it looks like a bedpan.  Runner-up is the VCR-esque Xbox One (although it turns out the PS4 isn't much different).

Best controller: DualShock - there's a reason Sony has barely changed it since 1998.  Runner-ups are the wonderful-feeling Gamecube controller, 360 controller, and Sega Genesis controller.

Worst: N64 controller - plain and simple, it's built for people with 3 hands.  Close runner-up is the Xbox Duke controller (fun fact: it was the result of extensive focus group testing - the test subjects must've all been pro NBA players).

[Osama bin Bambi]

I always liked how GameCube controllers actually fit in my fucking hands. I hate N64 controllers for the same reasons you described.

Xbox 360 controllers are really wide for some reason and my joints always ache after I use them.

[Sleepy]

The Wii U game pad is ridiculous, but I don't know if you can call that a controller.

[Søren]

The best is the xbox 360 controller.  Always comfortable in my hands. Worst is the Nintendo 64, my fingers had to do acrobatics to work that bloody thing

[Alehksunos]

How many Nintendo 64 games actually used the "traditional" '+' control pad? Whoever designed those controllers should have swapped the control stick's location for the control pad, because I really hated handling the center piece of the controller and the other end is almost useless and unnecessary when a lot of games didn't use that damn pad. It's easily the worst controller Nintendo designed that isn't the bulky tablet for the Wii U (which I'm yet to use, but I already dislike it).

The Gamecube, on the other hand, is my favorite, next to the Super Nintendo, which I like mostly out of nostalgia and that it's more comfortable than the original Nintendo Entertainment System's boxy pads.

[Witchyjoshy]

I actually quite enjoyed the N64's controller.

I haven't actually held enough game controllers to make a fair judgment on this, though.  I will say that I hated pressure sensitivity on the PS2's controller for any games that used it (I'm looking at you, MGS3 and ESPECIALLY you Mad Maestro), and the L3 and R3 "buttons" were awkward as hell to use, and I'd end up pressing them by accident.

[Sleepy]

The 360 controller is probably the most comfortable for me, and I prefer those triggers over the L/R on the PS controller.

[chitoryu12]

The 360 controller is probably the most comfortable for me, and I prefer those triggers over the L/R on the PS controller.

Same for me. The triggers are FAR superior to the weird shoulder buttons on the PS3, since it's like they tried to have a button and a trigger but couldn't decide which is better. It ends up basically being a large button that has an awkward angle to push it in.

Also, the offset sticks fit my hands' natural position much better.

I think we can all agree that the N64 controller is the worst. It may be the only controller literally not designed for its target species.

[ThunderWulf]

Gonna have to agree with the 360 having the best controller.  It fits my hands perfectly and I never have stretch my fingers to reach anything.  Holding that controller just feels natural, even more so than the PS3 controller.

[rtvc2012]

Always been a Dualshock fan, but I agree, the triggers suck.  Looks like the PS4 controller will be changing this, though.
I can't say enough how well the Gamecube controller fits in my hand.  The triggers ain't bad either, and they actually register button clicks if you press all the way in.  The 360's got the best triggers, though.

[mellenORL]

360 controller for the subtle resistance in the triggers.  Gotta have that for flying and racing game control. GameCube for it's small form factor. I'm hoping the generation after this, say in eight years or so, will have such small scale chip architecture and super compact memory*, that even a powerful system will be GameCube sized.


*(maybe data storage prisms - http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/86-164912 interesting comments section discussion between pro geeks, mathematicians, and cyberneticists).

[Art Vandelay]

N64 has the worst controller of all time? It was stupid, but nowhere near the worst. That honour would go to one of the broken down pieces of shit like the Atari 5200 or the Intellovision/Colecovision. Something where they had no idea what they were doing, and were just throwing shit at the wall and hoping something sticks. Or perhaps the Wii-mote if you want to go with something a bit more well known.

Best controller I'd say would go to the Xbox 360. It's just the right size and shape for my hands. I'm not a huge fan of the dual shock. That thing makes my thumbs ache after just a few hours of playing.

As for the worst console, I'll go with the Atari Jaguar. The architecture in that thing was a fucking mess, so much so that it was nearly impossible to program for in a way that properly utilised its capabilities. It was 64-bit, but the games were all simpler than what you'd typically find on the SNES.

Finally, my favourite console would have to be the Gamecube. The last home console from Nintendo that isn't a piece of shit. While it didn't get the 3rd party support it deserves, it was both very compact and powerful enough to hold its own against the PS2 and Xbox.

[Witchyjoshy]

The last home console from Nintendo that isn't a piece of shit.

*cough BULLSHIT cough*

[syaoranvee]

I must have been the only person who never had a problem with the N64 controller.  I just held the middle and right part seeing how I never played a game that used the D-Pad on the left ever.

[Witchyjoshy]

I must have been the only person who never had a problem with the N64 controller.  I just held the middle and right part seeing how I never played a game that used the D-Pad on the left ever.

I'm not a person now?