First feedback on the Xbox 360 Controller

[Acert93]

Matt C. from IGN:

And I'm really pleased with the shape and look of Xbox 360. On a side note, I played Need for Speed Most Wanted 360 this afternoon. It was my first chance to use the 360 controller. Having done so, I can honestly write that it's my favorite pad ever. Better than Wave Bird, even, which is a huge accomplishment. Wait until you try it.

He is a big fan of the Wavebird, which I cannot blame him because it is my favorite controller also. I am really picky about controllers (have returned some 3rd party ones because they were too big, and others because of crappy buttons) and for me this will be a serious consideration when I look at what console to buy.

Hopefully Sony's batarang errr controller is really just a prototype and they come up with a better design. Like a KB/MS 8)

 

[jvd]

sounds good . The wavebird is my second fav controller and most likely my fav analog controler . The thing is almost perfect. Though a bit heavy

 

[Brimstone]

Microsoft has done a good job designing the 360 gamepad.


I still don't know if it has rumble feedback or not?

 

[Johnny Awesome]

It does. Both high frequency and low frequecy rumble.

 

[Teasy]

Well its been thought for the last 6 months that Matt might end up as head of the XBox IGN site, hopefully this is a sign that he's on his way out of IGN Cube.

 

[Qroach]

looks like its getting closer then ever now

It's either that or he's out of a job. There's simply isn't a lot of nintendo news to report these days...

 

[DemoCoder]

Why oh why can't they put a trackball or somethign on these controllers for FPS, or some kind of solution that works better than a analog stick.

Hell, for FPS's, it could be a sliding PIN like [-----o-----] that you can move rapidly back and forth like your mouse. Left/right aiming would be very fast. Up/down aiming would be either auto-aim or use a stick.

 

[Qroach]

Yeah I was hoping to see something with a small track ball this gen too.

 

[Teasy]

Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to ingratiate themselves to their new employers. We'll see, maybe its just wishful thinking on my part that he'll leave

There's simply isn't alot of nintendo news to report

Makse it even worse that he fails to report so much of it.

 

[Qroach]

Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to ingratiate themselves to their new employers. We'll see, maybe its just wishful thinking on my part that he'll leave

Possibly. Who knows... it wouldn't suprise me though. I think he'd do the same thing if the situation was reverse.

Make it even worse that he failed to report so much of it.

It's hard to report so little. There's a point where it's not worth the trouble.

 

[Glonk]

Well its been thought for the last 6 months that Matt might end up as head of the XBox IGN site, hopefully this is a sign that he's on his way out of IGN Cube.

If you're not with us, you're against us?

Matt is one of the more non-partisan reviewers I can think of. He grew up with Nintendo consoles and wants to see them do well, but he realizes there's great gaming experiences on other consoles, too.

The prereq for being an IGN Cube editor isn't that you need to be a fanb0y.

Maybe he genuinely thinks it's a good controller?

 

[Teasy]

If you're not with us, you're against us?

Erm no, the fact that I would like to see Matt go isn't because of his comment in this post. I just think his interests lie elsewhere.

 

[kyleb]

Not sure if you ever considered it; but maybe he just honestly like the thing enough that he felt compelled to comment on it?

 

[Teasy]

It's hard to report so little. There's a point where it's not worth the trouble

But he's paid to do it though, partly with my IGN subscription money. When there's a lack of news and he fails to report the little news out there its not good enough IMO.

Kyleb, I have considered that, as I said maybe its just wishful thinking. Anyway I think I should have left this as a discussion about the XBox 360 pad itself. So please continue posting impressions.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2424&p=8

 

[Teasy]

I like the look of it appart from the d-pad and the dreamcast like trigger buttons.

 

[pc999]

Yeah I was hoping to see something with a small track ball this gen too.

Idem.

 

[Goragoth]

Not sure if a trackball would be a good idea, aren't they really prone to clogging up with dirt? Especially on a game controller where its going to see abuse from people using it with greasy fingers (eating snack food while playing).
Anyway, a better solution IMO would be a touch-sensative bubble - what I mean is something like a touchpad or the scrollwheel from the iPod but rounded so it feels like you are using a trackball. It would be small, no moving parts and just really cool. Not sure how comfortable it would be over long periods of time though.

 

[Qroach]

The triggers on the xbox controllers are nothing like the triggers on the dreamcast contorller. The dreamcast triggers are pretty crappy.

 

[Dural]

I wish someone would make analog sticks like on the Saturn 3D controller, for me it is the best feeling and easiest to use precisely. It isn't really a "stick" though, it is like a thumb pad on top of a ball.

Heh, I had to take apart my DC controllers a couple of times to fix the triggers.