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[Deft Beck]

Yep it was showcased with the Direct Xbox, which god knows how the hardware engineers managed to get that into a functional shape

It looks like the components sit horizontally in the middle of the shell and the rest just stands up.

 

[Tripolygon]

Holy Christ, those psx pads lolol.

They are the Play Station pads not PSX.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Given how small it was I have doubts on whether they were ever seriously going to use it

From what I remember reading no one outside of Sony ever got to hold the thing.

It was really that small? Holy shit.

 

[SOR5]

An Xbox Alpha Controller on Microsoft campus, more Sega love and a d-pad that looks like a cottage pie

 

[blame space]

damn they even had the octagonal gates at one point

 

[Poimandres]

There's some cool 3DO M2 stuff out there

 

[SOR5]

god I want all those butt ugly Xbox 360s

Theres a litter of these puppies

 

[BiggNife]

This was Project Cafe slapped together

Likewise, the first DS devkits that were used to make Mario and Luigi: Partners in time literally had a GBA and a GBA SP case slapped together with a Super famicom controller



There isn't even a touch screen on this, which is probably why PiT had very little touch screen usage.

(I feel like there is a higher res version of this pic somewhere but in a classic case of gaf-internet-gaf, I can only find this image at this res on GIS, which links to another gaf thread)

 

[SOR5]

It makes you wonder what the hell is going on with NX

Super Famicom with red lipstick on

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Likewise, the first DS devkits that were used to make Mario and Luigi: Partners in time literally had a GBA and a GBA SP case slapped together with a Super famicom controller



There isn't even a touch screen on this, which is probably why PiT had very little touch screen usage.

(I feel like there is a higher res version of this pic somewhere but in a classic case of gaf-internet-gaf, I can only find this image at this res on GIS, which links to another gaf thread)

 

[ScientificPizza]

Given how small it was I have doubts on whether they were ever seriously going to use it

From what I remember reading no one outside of Sony ever got to hold the thing.

I remember reading a report of someone handling it. they said the stupid looking design was because of ergonomics and it let your wrists rest more naturally instead of having them at a constant 45 degree angle, making it more comfortable to use

I wish I could remember where I read it tho so I could source it

 

[SOR5]

A Sega Saturn controller thats apparently on eBay right now
with a bunch of other rare stuff

 

[SOR5]

A nearly finished Duke, codenamed Dakota

 

[SOR5]

Early Steam Controller

 

[SOR5]

All kinds of early PSX controllers

 

[SOR5]

This thing, so like a DS but you dont know what the hell youre doing

 

[sonto340]

This thing, so like a DS but you dont know what the hell youre doing

The caption says Gameboy color but the picture is a GBA SP help.

 

[SOR5]

A really early 360 controller

 

[Dereck]

I think the console itself looked great though

Incredible

 

[WordAssassin]

All these prototype controllers that have the split/break apart design but never make it to shelves make me so sad.

Say what you will about motion gaming and waggle and all that shit but playing games with a Wii Remote in my right hand, Nunchuk in my left, both hands resting at my sides is THE most comfortable I've ever been while playing a game. Absolutely lazy slouch gaming at its finest.

 

[sixteen-bit]

A 3DS prototype with modular parts

that's neat

 

[blame space]

yeah shit that would have been awesome. current dpad placement is terrible.

 

[Emperor Bohe]

An Xbox Alpha Controller on Microsoft campus, more Sega love and a d-pad that looks like a cottage pie

Never seen this before. Reminds me of the old Sidewinder controllers

 

[CountAntonius]

The Phantom.

 

[New002]

yeah shit that would have been awesome. current dpad placement is terrible.

I picked up that Megaman collection to play on my GFs 3DS XL. Made it like 30 seconds thanks to that dpad placement.

 

[blame space]

the phantom never existed.

 

[Baron Von Beans]

All these prototype controllers that have the split/break apart design but never make it to shelves make me so sad.

Say what you will about motion gaming and waggle and all that shit but playing games with a Wii Remote in my right hand, Nunchuk in my left, both hands resting at my sides is THE most comfortable I've ever been while playing a game. Absolutely lazy slouch gaming at its finest.

I second this...maybe one day in the future is lazy sobs will get our dream comfort controller. Comfortroller. I like it.

 

[Laurel_McFang]

I remember reading a report of someone handling it. they said the stupid looking design was because of ergonomics and it let your wrists rest more naturally instead of having them at a constant 45 degree angle, making it more comfortable to use

I wish I could remember where I read it tho so I could source it

I always thought it was just a design and nothing more. Sucks this never made it to market. Always really liked the design of that controller.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

the phantom never existed.

The controller somehow saw a release, though.

 

[Borman]

They are the Play Station pads not PSX.

No, they are PSX pads. I own one. Seen here with a PS3 and PS4 prototype controller, the latter of which Ive sold on.

An Xbox Alpha Controller on Microsoft campus, more Sega love and a d-pad that looks like a cottage pie

I own one of these too. They were Interact Hammerhead controllers.

A nearly finished Duke, codenamed Dakota

Not sure if this is MT's Alamo or Dakota. Have these as well hah.

the phantom never existed.

It does. Or at least, PC's in those cases do.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Even when the first retail model 1 of the DS was released, it looked like a prototype.

 

[Guess Who]

Even the final Xbox controller had very heavy Dreamcast influence - the shape, the triggers, the memory card slots, the multicolor ABXY layout, etc. It was very Dreamcasty.

Don't forget the Wii U gamepad originally had 3DS style analog nubs rather than clickable sticks.

 

[Borman]

For those of you who want to see a bit more of the Nintendo DS prototype, I uploaded video I recovered from a developer archive (including a prototype Harry Potter game)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qtiZtU4z2I

 

[matrix-cat]

Given how small it was I have doubts on whether they were ever seriously going to use it

From what I remember reading no one outside of Sony ever got to hold the thing.

Oh wow, I've never seen that picture before. That's diminutive, like a scale model of a real controller or something

 

[Ric Flair]

Given how small it was I have doubts on whether they were ever seriously going to use it

From what I remember reading no one outside of Sony ever got to hold the thing.

The fuck? It was a tiny model??

I remember reading about it in a gaming mag, seeing the pics and imagining it to be a life-size model. I would love to see how that was set up at e3.

 

[TheYanger]

naw it looks cool as shit, probably not the most comfortable thing though

on the contrary, it looks very similar to the alps interactive PS1 controller, which is BY FAR the most comfortable controller I've ever owned. I always thought the outrage that made them not pursue this was ridiculous, the DS3 ended up being oen of the least innovative controllers around, and this thing looked amazingly comfortable given that I had a vague reference point.

edit: The alps

 

[Tripolygon]

No, they are PSX pads. I own one. Seen here with a PS3 and PS4 prototype controller, the latter of which Ive sold on.

PSX is a PS2 system with built in DVR. Some of those controllers are the Prototype Play Station controllers, later turned to prototype PS1 controllers. The one you own was a prototype PlayStation 1 controller.

Edit: But of course the original PS1 was also called PSX.

 

[Piggus]

I'm surprised someone hasn't 3D printed the PS3 boomerang controller to test weather or not it's actually comfortable to hold.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

An Xbox Alpha Controller on Microsoft campus, more Sega love and a d-pad that looks like a cottage pie

Looks a bit like the old 3Dfx HammerheadFX controller.

Loved that thing. It was huge and kinda flakey but analog controllers were rather new in 1998, especially for PC, and it made playing Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Toy Story 2 an absolutely joy on my PC.

 

[Borman]

PSX is a PS2 system with built in DVR. Some of those controllers are the Prototype Play Station controllers, later turned to prototype PS1 controllers. The one you own was a prototype PlayStation 1 controller.

Edit: But of course the original PS1 was also called PSX.

PSX being the prototype PS1, which is what this would have gone to, yeah. The Play Station refers more to the SNES system at this point, which by all indications used Super Famicom pads with branding. I guess I was just trying to highlight they were more for the PS1 development, rather than the Nintendo deal, despite their funky logos and use of the "Play Station" name.

 

[Fnord]

The fuck? It was a tiny model??

I remember reading about it in a gaming mag, seeing the pics and imagining it to be a life-size model. I would love to see how that was set up at e3.

Here's a good explanation of what Sony was thinking:

http://megagames.com/news/ps3-controller-tutorial

 

[TheYanger]

Here's a good explanation of what Sony was thinking:

http://megagames.com/news/ps3-controller-tutorial

silly article, bitches about steering wheel comfort, maybe it's a bad analogy in terms of comfort, but the hand position is basically spot on, and if a steering wheel could be cut into quarters and just sit in your lap it would be VERY comfortable to hold, the upright position is what makes it annoying, not the shape. Also, japanese controllers are(were?) usually smaller, american version would've surely been bigger.

 

[czk]

I'm surprised someone hasn't 3D printed the PS3 boomerang controller to test weather or not it actually returns.

Fixed

 

[capylikesgames]

Steam Controller:

Would've been interesting if they had kept the trackball. I remember reading about an early prototype that had the ball come out the back for more control, and the way they described it sounded like fun. Glad they went with the trackpad, though.

 

[Shiggy]

 

[Dirtyshubb]

I've always wanted to try that thing, I mean, maybe it was actually an amazing controller. I can't imagine any other reason Sony would create something so obviously dumb looking.

I remember reading at the time that the boomerang controller was actually really comfortable and a joy to use but of course people thought it looked terrible so they went back to the classic ds style.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

Prototype DJ Hero controller before it was redesigned by Fuse Design.

 

[lherre]

I don't remember it these ones are prototypes but the Sixaxis that comes with early ps3 devkits has light in the ps button (not sure why they ditched later).

 

[Judge Magister Zexion]

Early Steam Controller

Say what you want about the Steam Controller, but i would've loved to see what they could've done with the Screen they were planning on implementing.

 

[Mdk7]

who knows how the star would work

Yeah, I honestly wanna know too.