thread closed

[chrisbid]

The SNES beat the 7800 with its trademark Super Power last round

 

the updated braquet... (now with links to previous threads and full days supply of vitamin C)

 

1 Playstation Dual Shock (1 & 2) - 6

16 Atari 5200 - 0

 

8 Nintendo Entertainment System - 1

9 Sega Saturn 3D pad / Sega Dreamcast (essentially the same design) - 12

 

5 Sega Genesis (six button) - 8

12 Colecovision - 2

 

13 Atari 7800 - 1

 

3 Atari 2600 (CX40)

14 Nintendo 64

 

6 Micorsoft X-Box (S-type)

11 Sega Master System

 

7 Nintendo Gamecube

10 Atari Jaguar

 

2 Sega Saturn (Japan Style 6 Button)

15 Intellivision

 

 

Next round....

 

3 - Atari 2600 (CX40)

 

 

-vs-

 

14 - Nintendo 64

 

 

 

VOTE GET!

[liquid_sky]

cx-40. The n64 controller was the worst controller ever, too damn thin couldnt get a grip and the stupid analog pad was too small and the range of motion wasent too good

[Raijin Z]

N64. I have no nostalgia for the CX40. It was a painful controller to use. I couldn't bend my wrists for two days after surpassing 2,000,000 points in Asteroids. I rather like not having for hold the controller in place. The N64 pad, as awkward as it was, didn't make your hands compete against each other.

[Gabriel]

This is another no brainer. The Atari 2600 wins, no contest.

 

The N64 controller is a goddamn piece of shit.

[Brian R.]

Atari 2600!

 

Anyone who votes for the controller for the world's second 64-bit system should be taken out back and beat up.

[Scooterb23]

Atari 2600, not even close...I do not enjoy the N64 controller, even though my hands are large enough to use it efficiently.

[phantom24_2]

Ok Hi, this is my first post ever. But I have to vote for the N64... it's the best controller I've ever used. Ths Atari controller is a peice of shit. And yes I know I'm gonna' get a lot of 'sassmouth' about my vote, but there you have it.

[JagMX]

Atari 2600 all the fuking way - i dont know how anyone can vote for an N64 controller - the WORST fuking controller ever designed - yeah i think its even worse than the 5200 - fukin horrible - it sux

[DriftChamp]

I'll vote for the Atari CX40. The N64 controller sucked. The analog stick was extremely fragile and always broke. Also, it felt too awkward (it was positioned too close to the buttons).

[Scooterb23]

sassmouth???

[JagMX]

sassmouth???

 

 

 

as far as the N64 controller goes - originally the 3DO M2's controller was designed similair to it- but when Matsushita abandoned it and went with Nintendo to help design and make the N64 the took the M2's controller idea and changed it bit -

it also had the bottom "trigger" button underneath the middle shit and the L and R buttons

[JagMX]

that picture was blatantly stolen from an m2 website

[Agent X]

OK, this one actually requires some thought.

 

The Atari 2600 joystick was easy to figure out (merely a stick and one fire button), reliable, and durable. It was the standard that other controllers aspired to be for several years.

 

The Nintendo 64 controller combined a digital joypad, an analog thumbstick, and six face buttons, all of which were appealing features to have at the time. It was a great controller--for certain games (mostly Nintendo first-party games). It seemed like Nintendo built a controller with just a few particular games in mind, rather than planning ahead and designing something that was truly comfortable and easy to use with a diverse range of games (a mistake that was later made with the GameCube controller).

 

The 2600 joystick might not have all of the gee-whiz doodads that the N64 pad sported, but on the other hand it worked really well for the types of games that were out at the time. Therefore, the 2600 joystick gets the vote here.

[PuddWakkr]

My vote goes for the 2600. The N64 controller was alright but the damn yellow arrow buttons are terrible. 2600 is nice and easy to use.

[liveinabin]

When I worked in a games store I'd find myself often instructing people how to hold the N64 controller at the demo pod. Learning the button layout of a controller sometimes takes a while, fair enough, but you should at least be able to hold the thing correctly without help.

I vote Atari, it was a simple controller with a simple, obvious layout.

[JaySeaver]

CX40. I don't quite love it as much as I did as a kid, but it beats the weird N64 thing.

[Raijin Z]

Tainted by nostalgia, all.

[+Sauron]

Sorry guys, but the N64 controller wins, no contest. I think people are remembering the CX40 with a little too much fondness. I went through so many of those at the beginning that I ended up having to wise up and order the repair kits from Atari, just to save some $$$. The only problem with that was that only 1 part was ever needed to be replaced, which was the stick itself. While it worked fine, it was no marvel of engineering, like the N64 controller, which I still maintain is one of the best of all time. The only N64 controller I ever lost was due to me slamming it down in fits of rage whenever my brother would hand my ass to me at Mortal Kombat.

[JagMX]

i dont think it has anything to do with nostalgia - its simply a question of which do you think it better to use - the fact that if a game used the d=pad and analog you have to move your hand completely and it was so big and odd shaped - pure garabge i see it as - its a good thing the m2 controller was never mass produced and released - looked worse than the 64 or at least in my opinion tired for the worst controller ever -

the 2600 controller is simple - you got a joystick and a button to press - the 64 controller you got too many buttons is all places - i think its a piece of shit that belong in the staten island landfill in my opinion - i think many others would agree with me on that

[liveinabin]

yeah, it's nothing to do with nostalgia. I never had a 2600 when they were big - I got one one not too long before I got the N64.

Last time I used an N64 controller was probably 8 or 9 months ago. I used a CX40 yesterday. Not even a goldfish could call that nostalgia:)

[+kisrael]

This is a tough one, but I think the people who are trashtalking about the N64's controller A. don't understand history and can't see the advances it brought to the table B. can't get over a few flaws to see it as a damn decent controller or C. Are just Nintendo/N64 haters in general.

 

First, the classic Atari stick: it *was* a true classic. Back in the day, someone wrote that with its simple and elegant design "it's the only controller you wouldn't be ashamed to have seen sitting on your desk". In fact, for the old pixeltime site's "technology" section, I made a little 45x45 pixel tribute to it, included here.

 

It was also cool how it set the standard for many 8bit machines, C=64 and Atari 8bits used it directly and the Colecovision and the Genesis built on it. Plus, it could be rewired for lefthanders...

 

That said, it was only so-so as a stick. It was too hard to press, it wasn't fast, it wore down and broke, it was slow. Third party sticks, from the ones that came with the Coleco Gemini (known to me as the Columbia Home Arcade) to the tiny Amiga Power Sticks to the amazingly wonderful Epyx 500XJ all put it to shame.

 

The N64 was a true innovation:

* The re-appearance of the Analog stick. This hadn't been around since like, the vectrex and went hand in hand with the innovation of Mario 64. (and just like the first PSX sticks barely improved on the SNES pad, the Dual Shock ripped off the idea of analog sticks, 'til finally they became standard)

*A lot of buttons, but very intelligently grouped. A vs B buttons were untuitive and not mixed up. Yellow C buttons formed an optional second crosspad, like on the SNES. Z and the shoulder buttons felt right as well.

* 4 ports on the console without a multitap made it THE multiplayer system of the late 90s.

* its expandability, while a little kludgey, allowed later developments like the rumble pack

 

It wasn't perfect. The analog stick would get worn down a bit, and the top could hurt your hand (especially during the infamus "rotate the analog stick" boards on the first Mario Party). Idiots got confused by the 3 prong design. I don't think not being able to use the crosspad while in 'analog' mode was too big a deal though...there were enough buttons that the crosspad would only be needed for secondary functions.

 

I don't think any other controller in history raised the bar so much, or had so many features blatantly copied as this controller. Both the Atari and the N64 were innovations, but the N64 got to benefit from 15 years of (largely Nintendo driven) advances in game controllers.

[chrisbid]

when i came up with the braquet, i thought that this would be the most interesting round, the classic controller with the most praise vs the modern controller with the least amount of praise, and even though the score is a bit lopsided, the debate is excellent, keep it up

[+kisrael]

when i came up with the braquet, i thought that this would be the most interesting round, the classic controller with the most praise vs the modern controller with the least amount of praise, and even though the score is a bit lopsided, the debate is excellent, keep it up

The N64 has its share of supporters, but a LOT of people don't like it too...relatively few people are neutral about it...and I agree that this matchup will be the most interesting matchup of the first round.

 

Interesting--I hadn't heard about the 3D0 controller connection! That was cool to know.

 

Looking back, the Atari design was clasic, but having one button was really limiting. Games that had a guy jumping and firing had to assign jump to pressing up on the controller, tough to get as much precision.

[chrisbid]

current score

 

atari 2600 - 10

n64 - 3

 

btw, what did you vote for kisreal?

[+kisrael]

current score

 

atari 2600 - 10

n64 - 3

 

btw, what did you vote for kisreal?

Sorry, despite my attempt at even-handed treatment, I thought my preference for the N64 was clear. It's a versatile, comfortable stick that raised the bar for controllers across the board.

 

The atari stick was good for its time, but is ultimately hampered by its single button, and was only soso ergonomically.