• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Concave Sticks, I fucking hate you (>___<)

I don't really hate concave sticks or anything. But I'm definitely in the crowd that prefers convex. Wii U pro controller is so good.

Also I'm just gonna come out and say it. Triggers suck. Give me all digital shoulder buttons any day.
 

Sinople

Member
I'm totally with you OP. Concave sticks are uncomfortable and actually hurts my thumb if I play for too long.

Coupled with the terrible D-pad, I seriously think the 360 controller is a really poor product.
Dual shock 2 for life <3
 

RedAssedApe

Banned
convex isn't terrible but concave is better at least for the left stick and grip. these halfsies sticks on the ds4 are annoying. it isn't a true concave stick. it would be so much more comfortable without the bump in the middle. almost wish that my ds4 starts wearing away in the center to make it feel more like a concave stick.

360 sticks still da best. i could stick sprint all day on that thing whereas doing it on a convex of the halfsie ds4 makes you feel like your thumb is slipping off after awhile
 

stryke

Member
I don't particularly like the DS4 thumbsticks and my preferences don't particularly fall in line with whether it's convex or concave (as I'm fine with the 360 sticks).

I think it's because with the DS4 thumbsticks, the feeling on the thumb gives the impression that the area of contact is discontinuous whereas using the DS3 convex sticks or the 360 concave stick, the contact area between the thumb and thumbstick is one continuous area.
 

Jawmuncher

Member
I just don't like the concave on the XONE controllers. They're so small and make shit getting into them way too easy. So you need to clean them.
 

Carl

Member
I agree, i much prefer convex sticks. As much as i think the DS4 is a pretty great controller, i HATE the concave (well, almost concave) sticks. They're so uncomfortable and i can't get used to them at all
 

linko9

Member
Agree with OP. More surface area of the stick is in contact with your thumbs if it's convex; with concave it's basically a point in contact with your thumb if you push it in any direction, which is less stable and less comfortable. In practice I don't really mind the 360 sticks, but I definitely prefer convex ones.
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
My thumbs have always been either uncomfortable as shit with ridges digging into the fleshy bits of my digits, or i'm just loosing grip entirely.

i9CtrNnlAOiGC.gif

Just how freaking hard are you pressing on the sticks?
 
Depends on how large the surface is. The PS4 sticks are too small so I hate that ridge. If they were as large as PS3's then it wouldn't be an issue.
 

3DShovel

Member
Have you even held a Wii U Pro Controller? Those sticks are incredible, regardless of this debate.

and I can guarantee you they won't wear out like DS4's do
 

Wanchan

Member
I don't mind the sticks being concave/convex as long as it's not this shit :

968375-n64_controller.jpg


Worst controller ever made, my thumb is still crying.
 

linko9

Member
i9CtrNnlAOiGC.gif

Just how freaking hard are you pressing on the sticks?

Once I played Dark Souls for 16 hours straight with a 360 controller, and my thumbs were in some pain. You're not even doing anything fancy with the sticks in that game. I mean, it's not n64 levels of pain, but it was uncomfortable. Gamecube stick is god; I would play lots of day-long sessions of Smash, and my thumbs never got sore.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
Concave sticks with smooth surface are the devil's creation. You always slip towards the edge of the crater.
Convex and rough surface is the way to go to have optimal control, because it feels like you are actually rolling orbs with your thumb without loosing grip.
 

Sheroking

Member
Convex sticks are irredeemably awful.

If Sony had not made the adjustment, it would have single handedly changed my decision to purchase a PS4 at launch instead of an Xbox One.

Now, if only they'd stagger the sticks.
 
Don't much care, but one thing I will say is that the Xbox One sticks collect finger grime a lot easier because of the ridge on the inside of the concave bowl. That's not so great. But the Dualshock 4 sticks seem fine to me.
 

Durante

Member
I don't really hate concave sticks or anything. But I'm definitely in the crowd that prefers convex. Wii U pro controller is so good.

Also I'm just gonna come out and say it. Triggers suck. Give me all digital shoulder buttons any day.
You're right on both counts.
 

AristoCat

Member
Every time I play with a DS3, I can't focus while playing because I'm always wondering : "is my thumbs gonna slip ?" even if it never actually happened, the thought of it while playing is scary enough for me to feel unconfortable.

I have no such stress while playing with concave stick.
 
I don't really care, but I do prefer the DS4 sticks I think. I do seem to remember occasionally have to correct my grip on the DS3 sticks. But I think I found them more comfortable.
 
I don't have particularly sweaty hands at all (normally they're almost disgustingly dry and cold), but PS3 sticks were SLIP-PER-RYYY, man!

Out of PS3, Xbox360, PS4, Xbox One the 360 is my least favorite console, but it still has the best feeling sticks (sticks! not talking about the whole controller).


EDIT: I think you could make both shapes really well with the right plastic, rubber, diameter outer lips and so on...
 

emb

Member
I can kinda see where you're coming from. I really wish this was the standard:

220px-GameCube_Analog_Stick.jpg


The ridges make for a really comfortable grip, while not expecting your thumb to necessarily move to and rest in the center. The newer Nintendo sticks are alright, with just the one outer ridge. It's just a shame the grip starts to wear out so fast.. mine usually only last a couple years.

DS3/2/1 are the worst of it though. I'd takes PS4/X1/360 over that any day.
 
I hate the 360 pad because of that and makes me perplexed at the love it gets

Yup. The 360 controller is one of the worst I've ever used. I owned a 360 for 6 years and just couldn't get used to the controller. It had everything I hated in a controller: the analog sticks were offset, the triggers were huge and clicky, it was so big it hurt my hands to stretch to the bumpers, and those fucking concave sticks. My thumbs just kept slipping off them. I actually prefer the ds3 to ds4 as well, for this reason. I feel like I perform the best in shooters with the ds3's analog sticks.
 

DSix

Banned
I agree with OP, concave sticks are just wrong and bad for thumbs.

As a result I still mainly use my DS3 as my main PC pad, even if the triggers are shit.
 
Top Bottom