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DS4 thumb sticks might have a problem?

I want a DS4 with DS3 caps on the sticks.

A good substitute..

411k1b3ZzyL._SX342_.jpg

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORB-Controller-Thumb-Grips-4-Pack/dp/B00GH7UA32/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384778433&sr=8-3&keywords=orb+analogue+thumb+grips
 

coolasj19

Why are you reading my tag instead of the title of my post?
Yeah, I imagine most of us having this problem push up on the stick like myself (told you I'm a nail biter)
4QJd917.jpg
Outside of the stick rubber, I would suggest you get a thin towel, dampen the edge, and go to town of the base of the stick and the place where it and the casing of the controller meet. The DS4 is one of the most frictionless beast I've ever held and to keep it that way I do that procedure on both sticks once ever 2-3 days.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
Well, looks like my left stick is starting the surprisingly rapid deterioration process. No nachos here.

iWpW7oQygdGMC.jpg
 
Well, looks like my left stick is starting the surprisingly rapid deterioration process. No nachos here.

iWpW7oQygdGMC.jpg

At $60 a pop this is unacceptable. I think the guy on the previous page was onto something with the thumb placement theory. We should get a poll going to see if there's a correlation.
 
At $60 a pop this is unacceptable. I think the guy on the previous page was onto something with the thumb placement theory. We should get a poll going to see if there's a correlation.

I hold my thumb right smack in the middle of the concave area, so no. I think it's a problem with specific fingers, not the way people are holding it.
 
Yeah, I imagine most of us having this problem push up on the stick like myself (told you I'm a nail biter)
4QJd917.jpg


That puts pressure right on the edge where most of the flaking is happening. I would guess it's also mostly on the left stick because aiming on the right stick is mostly left and right movement, and even then you're usually not pushing in one direction for long when aiming.

Thats how I end up using it. You pretty much have to use it that way. It feels bad to keep your finger on the center of the stick when pressing it forward
 

Duxxy3

Member
Thats how I end up using it. You pretty much have to use it that way. It feels bad to keep your finger on the center of the stick when pressing it forward

I think this is also why DS3 took longer to wear down.

With that controller, in that position, your thumb took up a lot of space, and pressure was more evenly spread out.

With the DS4 you're basically just pushing on the bottom left rim, and that's why it is consistently the bottom left that gets worn down before anything else.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
Hope they can get it fixed in a year or so.

I'm going to contact Sony and make sure I get this under warranty. Maybe I can postpone a replacement, because they're likely all prone to have the same fault with current manufacturing.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
Thats how I end up using it. You pretty much have to use it that way. It feels bad to keep your finger on the center of the stick when pressing it forward

I don't play like this at all, and it's happening to mine. It's a matter of friction on a poor choice of rubber, that's all it is. Nothing to really figure out, no theories to be made. It's not gross people, it's not sandpaper, it's not skin oils, it's friction.
 
I don't play like this at all, and it's happening to mine. It's a matter of friction on a poor choice of rubber, that's all it is. Nothing to really figure out, no theories to be made. It's not gross people, it's not sandpaper, it's not skin oils, it's friction.

If your theory is correct, then I assume we should see it happening to basically everyone after a week or so?
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
If your theory is correct, then I assume we should see it happening to basically everyone after a week or so?

Not necassarily, there are varying degrees of friction. so yeah playstyle does have an affect, but it's not where you hold it or w/e, it's just a matter of how much force you apply to the stick. There's no defect on the left stick, there's no reaction to skin oils, there's no conspiracy, it's as simple as the rubber being prone to friction. It'll need some sort of coat over it in future iterations.
 
Not necassarily, there are varying degrees of friction. so yeah playstyle does have an affect, but it's not where you hold it or w/e, it's just a matter of how much force you apply to the stick. There's no defect on the left stick, there's no reaction to skin oils, there's no conspiracy, it's as simple as the rubber being prone to friction. It'll need some sort of coat over it in future iterations.

So you're dispelling the 'bad batch theory' with what evidence again?
 
So you're dispelling the 'bad batch theory' with what evidence again?

Well I'm dispelling it on the grounds that it's happened with 2/2 of the controllers I've used. This isn't being reported on mainstream sites at all, and this NeoGAF thread is really the only mention I can find of it anywhere. So I don't think it's very common. For me to have 2 controllers from the same bad batch (especially considering that one of them came with the PS4 itself, and one was from a $60 boxed DS4, which were almost certainly not produced in the same batch or even remotely near the same time) is pretty damned unlikely.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
It'd be nice if it were just a bad batch, but I don't think that's the case. I wouldn't be surprised if this starts cropping up more and more as time goes on. Kind of like Nintendo's reaction to Wii's remote slippage. They'll end up sending out new stick covers or something (like Nintendo did with grips and attachments).
 

Sturm

Banned
I still think people need to cut their fingernails. But, I do think I see where some of this can happen. When I'm moving my left thumb down, it catches the bottom left edge really noticeably. And considering how many of the reports are from that exact same spot, I think that's what's happening. When they were QA'ing the controller they might not have played a lot of games that require backwards movement. The solution? Keep the meat of your thumb on the center and not the tip of your thumb.

Lol, that's not a solution. That is handicapping yourself on every game. Sony needs to fix this shizzle ASAP because it's not acceptable.
 

coolasj19

Why are you reading my tag instead of the title of my post?
Lol, that's not a solution. That is handicapping yourself on every game. Sony needs to fix this shizzle ASAP because it's not acceptable.
I hope you mean not for me right? Cause that's just how I naturally play. For other people, yeah, that might be a problem. Sony will probably get on it when it comes to future iterations. Not the current ones though. I imagine the process of replacing the sticks isnt' too bad for them.
FUCKING INBRED!!! CLEAN YOUR FUCKING SHIT!!!
What? That's not that bad... Maybe he forgot to blow on it before he snapped a shot.
 
This is definitely an issue and will pretty much affect everyone at some point, sooner rather than later considering it took all of 3 days for it to happen to me.

Hope Sony does something about it. Really unacceptable for this to have not been noticed given how long the controller has been finished.
 

PBY

Banned
This is definitely an issue and will pretty much affect everyone at some point, sooner rather than later considering it took all of 3 days for it to happen to me.

Hope Sony does something about it. Really unacceptable for this to have not been noticed given how long the controller has been finished.
How did you deal with it?
 
How did you deal with it?

I mean, I've played it a lot since I've gotten it. At least 24 hours worth or so.

But I haven't handled it any differently than my DS3...it's not like I'm actively digging into it.

The material is just rubbing off over time. It's a problem with the stick's material.
 

PBY

Banned
I mean, I've played it a lot since I've gotten it. At least 24 hours worth or so.

But I haven't handled it any differently than my DS3...it's not like I'm actively digging into it.

The material is just rubbing off over time. It's a problem with the stick's material.
I meant like did u send it back?
 
The rubber used on the DS4 sticks definitely feels much softer than any other sticks I've ever used and although they do have a nice feeling grip, much like soft tires provide better grip, they will also wear down more quickly. That just seems like the trade off one would expect from the material. It probably wasn't a good idea to use this particular rubber for the controller.
 
2 hours with the controller and I noticed the material is flaking onto my thumb. Nothing visibly wrong on the controller, but I doubt its going to be long before it starts to show wear and tear. :(

Knack on hard is a bitch btw.
 

Thaster

Member
Hmm. A lot of people seem to be having problems with all parts of the analog sticks. Both the outside parts and inside parts.

Others aren't reporting problems even after using their DS4s like animals with cheeto fingers and stuff.

It might be a quality control issue on the manufacturing side.
 
my R1 button is sticking. I havent played ps4 that much either. Battlefield 4 is not helping with R1 being tag the enemy. Anyone else have the sticking problem?
 

Miguel81

Member
my R1 button is sticking. I havent played ps4 that much either. Battlefield 4 is not helping with R1 being tag the enemy. Anyone else have the sticking problem?

I've had this problem twice, and am returning the second controller for good--until they fix the issue. Dark Souls(PC version) is a bitch on the r1 button. These pads are weak as hell.
 
Just played 2 hours of Resogun and my left analog stick is starting to fall apart. Probably 4 hours total playtime on the controller.

26276_XL.jpg


Good thing I haven't opened the extra controller I picked up. Think I'll return it and wait for Sony to sort out these issues.
 

-MD-

Member
Sigh. Guess I'll send mine back to Amazon and wait then.

Was really looking forward to using it on my computer.
 

foladar

Member
didn't realize it, but after looking at my DS4, I'm having the same thing with about 25 hours of playtime on it. Nothing major yet like the prior poster, but it's basically the same as wiid's photo.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
This doesn't look very good, guys. I think this might be another reason for me to wait until next year before picking up a PS4 (I was already considering that, since I'm not all that interested in any of the launch games beyond Resogun and maybe Killzone).
 

Brashnir

Member
Ouch. I was expecting it to take weeks before we started seeing stuff like this out in the wild, if it happened on a widespread basis at all. A quick inspection of mine shows that the sticks are still fine, but I probably haven't played as much as the people with controllers showing issues.

Sony have been remarkably customer-friendly in the leadup to launch. Hopefully that continues post-launch and they make this right.
 

nib95

Banned
Lol this is ridiculous. Sony, you better sort out replacements quick. My two controllers are part of a bundle so it makes returning just the controller at the store even trickier. Who knows, maybe the EU pads won't have this problem.
 

Metfanant

Member
Lol this is ridiculous. Sony, you better sort out replacements quick. My two controllers are part of a bundle so it makes returning just the controller at the store even trickier. Who knows, maybe the EU pads won't have this problem.

my brother and i have been hammering on our DS4's since release date...HOURS every day so far...neither controller shows even the slightest sign of wear to either stick...
 
Could be a problem, but I'm sure warranties and such will cover the rare instances these things do occur.


I rather not have to deal with warranties. I still have my original 360 and PS3 controllers, and although the rubber looks worn if you look at them closely, they still work perfectly, that's 7-8 years of use!! I can't even calculate the hours and we're talking about a few weeks for the DS4's. They should be able to hold the abuse even if they were played hard.

Do we have any stories on Sony's research and development for the controller? I hope they invested enough on testing. When I heard MS spend 100 million on the One controllers I thought that figure was ridiculous. I wonder how much Sony invested.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/423871/features/the-100m-story-behind-the-xbox-one-controller/
 

nib95

Banned
my brother and i have been hammering on our DS4's since release date...HOURS every day so far...neither controller shows even the slightest sign of wear to either stick...

Then it might be a manufacturing process issue. Maybe certain controller batches have the issue and others do not. Maybe some controllers have a slightly different, or thinner compound or something, or were made at a different temperature or something else. I guess we'll know soon enough.

To the people having issues, does your controller have a manufacturing date or stamp? To the people not having issues, please post yours too.
 

Bedlam

Member
Wow, this actually seems to be a serious issue.

I hope this is resolved when I buy a PS4 in 2014.

But for early adopters it really sucks.

Just played 2 hours of Resogun and my left analog stick is starting to fall apart. Probably 4 hours total playtime on the controller.

26276_XL.jpg


Good thing I haven't opened the extra controller I picked up. Think I'll return it and wait for Sony to sort out these issues.
The rubber material here looks extremely cheap, like rubber crumbs glued together. Hopefully it's only a bad batch.
 

shink

Member
This is terrible. Bad QA. I'm really disappointed with the build quality after hearing about the doa consoles and now the sticks.

I usually think Sony hardware is pretty good but the common occurrence of this particular problem doesn't leave me with much confidence. I'm going to hold off purchasing until maybe mid or late next year.
 
Not necassarily, there are varying degrees of friction. so yeah playstyle does have an affect, but it's not where you hold it or w/e, it's just a matter of how much force you apply to the stick. There's no defect on the left stick, there's no reaction to skin oils, there's no conspiracy, it's as simple as the rubber being prone to friction. It'll need some sort of coat over it in future iterations.


We talked about this in Party Chat the other night. There were 5 of us in the channel and not one of us have this issue. Hell, 3 have used the controller for over 50 hours now and have no symptoms of this issue.

Its likely a bad batch of rubber.
 

Hanmik

Member
have we tried to gather info here..?

like production numbers on the ones that are faulty..?

dualshock4-fcc.jpg


maybe we could find out if the ones that are failing are from the same batch or something..?
 

Metfanant

Member
This is terrible. Bad QA. I'm really disappointed with the build quality after hearing about the doa consoles and now the sticks.

I usually think Sony hardware is pretty good but the common occurrence of this particular problem doesn't leave me with much confidence. I'm going to hold off purchasing until maybe mid or late next year.

what are you talking about??...Sony has already sold over 1 million consoles...to have a 1% failure rate there would need to be 10,000 dead consoles...its not even close to that...and even if it was 1% is WELL within accepted failure rates for consumer electronics...

there are even MORE DS4's out there in the wild and NOBODY is picking up on this story outside of GAF...none of the major outlets seem to have problems with any of their controllers that they have mentioned..
 
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