Support NeoGAF

[Mentok]

At the Sony store one of the ds4 nubs was cut like this one is. If you dig into it with your nails or use a knife I can see this happening but I really hope this doesn't happen with normal use. I don't think Sony would build a controller this cheap.

I'd love to see a video of some guy rage playing with a knife hahaha!

Controller issues are nothing new. Every single 360 controller I've had wound up with battery issues within a week (until I bought a 3rd party battery pack. To this day I have no idea what I did wrong originally), and I broke a ps3 controller after a few months (Left stick...admittedly, I had tossed that controller a few times from rage quitting). It's scary how fast it happened in this case, but I could break a current gen controller pretty quickly too if I was rough with it.

 

[TrojanBlade]

Wtf ... why is that controller so nasty. Was it being played around smoking and with greasy hands. Even after 5 years, my PS3 controllers look more clean than this sh#t.

Hope this is not an issue for normal folks.

 

[cripterion]

Could be a bad batch?

lol don't know why this made me laugh, all I could think when reading your post is Breaking Bad.

 

[GlassCity]

I've got about 25 hours into my DS4 and it hasn't shown and signs of wear.

The weird thing is...

My ONLY complaint with the DS4 is with that very spot on the one picture. For shooters I found that the bottom left part of the left thumb stick actually hurt my thumb after an hour or so of playing BF3 online. It happens everytime too...

I'm wondering if this might actually be a real thing if you put to much pressure on certain parts of the thumbstick ?

I guess we will find out soon.

 

[msdstc]

Wouldn't developers have noticed this?

 

[snorggy]

looks a bit suspicious to me. would have to be a large amount of friction created by your thumb sliding off the stick to wear the controller down like that.

 

[darkside31337]

Wouldn't developers have noticed this?

Dev controllers aren't exactly the same as final retail units. Something like the final material used for the sticks could have very well changed at some point.

 

[msdstc]

Dev controllers aren't exactly the same as final retail units. Something like the final material used for the sticks could have very well changed at some point.

Ehh I'm finding it hard to believe. Obviously I'l wait and see, but I've used mine quite a bit and it still looks brand new. I just don't understand what the hell he did with his.

 

[Pumpkincutter]

I butcher controllers. I always play with just the corner left/right outside part of the analogs then when I need to go inwards I dig into it with my nail. Pretty much exactly what that picture shows. But it takes me a year to achieve what that guy did.

 

[Valnen]

I butcher controllers. I always play with just the corner left/right outside part of the analogs then when I need to go inwards I dig into it with my nail. Pretty much exactly what that picture shows. But it takes me a year to achieve what that guy did.

Why would you admit to this willingly?

 

[Steel]

That guy must be a southpaw: I've barely worn my left 360 stick after a few years. It's mostly the right one that goes.

My right stick is always fine oddly on my 360 controllers and it's the left stick that goes. Aiming is more gentle than jamming movement in one direction.

Anyway worse case scenario with this controller thing, they just release a controller redesign. No biggie, not like the old controller spontaneously explodes if the plastic gets worn.

 

[Pumpkincutter]

Why would you admit to this willingly?

Lol idk, it's just how I play. I have yet to ever place my thumb directly over an analog. This goes back to even the ps1. Only one I used normally was the 64 controller. I think it's cause I have long lanky ass fingers.

 

[Deadstar]

Like I said earlier I only played on two demo stations at the Sony store. One of the controllers looked like this, the other was fine. I'd be interested to know what % of controllers at the Sony store have these issues.

 

[Lucent]

There seems to be some scratches on the left stick. I feel like he did something that wasn't normal to make that happen. There's no reason your skin should be able to scratch like that. =l

 

[Amentallica]

That controller looks like shit

 

[Broank]

The one thing I was wondering about with the DS4 was the texture of the sticks looking kinda cheap.

 

[simplythebest]

Considering the state I see some preowned games in, some people just do not take care of their stuff.

I had a sixaxis and it took 5 years of almost constant gameplay for it to break and considering how robust the DS4 is I can't see this being true.

 

[Farslain]

The only problem here is the sand paper used on that thumb stick. As the owner of large rough hands I've never worn down a thumb stick in my life.

You can see the scratches left on top of the stick.

And even worse than that you can see the white dust left everywhere on the pad from sanding the fucking thing.

The shit people do for attention on the internet.

 

[reKon]

I literally said WHAT and proceeded laughing out loud. The amazing gifs are endless

 

[Miguel81]

Now that's gangsta'

 

[Pumpkincutter]

The only problem here is the sand paper used on that thumb stick. As the owner of large rough hands I've never worn down a thumb stick in my life.

You can see the scratches left on top of the stick.

And even worse than that you can see the white dust left everywhere on the pad from sanding the fucking thing.

The shit people do for attention on the internet.

Here's my worst controller. 2 years old. I paint so that's why there's some orange on there. I didn't want people to throw up so I cropped it. You can see where my nail digs in. I don't have long nails. I just play like a Neanderthal. I can't help it.

 

[zoukka]

But are the sticks covered in moisture like with Dualshock3?

 

[xxracerxx]

Here's my worst controller. 2 years old. I paint so that's why there's some orange on there. I didn't want people to throw up so I cropped it. You can see where my nail digs in. I don't have long nails. I just play like a Neanderthal. I can't help it.

Yuck, why is there sauce on it?

 

[Barakov]

Yuck, why is there sauce on it?

There are some things we're better off not knowing.

 

[chewydogg]

My favorite Banderas gif yet.

 

[Hypron]

Some people just use their controllers in a weird fashion. In 2/3 weeks my brother completely destroyed the surface on the left thumbstick on his 360 controller. It was missing all the small bumps that are on there and the entire lower half of the thumbstick was pretty much flattened... On the other hand, my controller is 4 years old and the sticks look almost new. So yeah, unless we get more people having this problem I wouldn't worry.

 

[Heretic]

Ehh I'm finding it hard to believe. Obviously I'l wait and see, but I've used mine quite a bit and it still looks brand new. I just don't understand what the hell he did with his.

You're obviously not using it the right way

 

[silver.tongue]

Looking at the pic all I can think of is: CLEAN YOUR NEW DS4 DAMMIT!

 

[msdstc]

Here's my worst controller. 2 years old. I paint so that's why there's some orange on there. I didn't want people to throw up so I cropped it. You can see where my nail digs in. I don't have long nails. I just play like a Neanderthal. I can't help it.

hahaha wtf!!!!! That is ridiculous lol! Sorry not making fun, but damn I still have my sixaxis for launch, have thousands of hours logged and it looks NOTHING like this hahaha.

 

[Rey]

Here's my worst controller. 2 years old. I paint so that's why there's some orange on there. I didn't want people to throw up so I cropped it. You can see where my nail digs in. I don't have long nails. I just play like a Neanderthal. I can't help it.

I lol'd

 

[msdstc]

uhhhhh, not to add fuel to the fire here, but here's what I just tried.

1. Rubbing the ds3 sticks gently... there's some sort of coating on these sticks it appears that sort of allows your thumb to glide over and reduce friction, nothing happened after about 30 seconds of rubbing.

2. The DS4 sticks are WAY more grippy (feels awesome), but when rubbing even for say 4 or 5 seconds... wow it does seem to make a mark on it. Hell I had some of those white flakes or dust or w/e on my DS after that and it appears worn down now. Hopefully sony's ready, because I'm starting to believe this more. If you don't try it yourself.

 

[nbnt]

Spending $100M on the controller doesn't seem so bad now, eh?

Got mine 3 days ago, not a single issue.

Spoiler

yet

 

[Farslain]

Here's my worst controller. 2 years old. I paint so that's why there's some orange on there. I didn't want people to throw up so I cropped it. You can see where my nail digs in. I don't have long nails. I just play like a Neanderthal. I can't help it.

Then I stand corrected on people being able to murder thumb sticks. Looks like the poor thing bathes daily in turpentine, that is one terrifying photo lol. I'm guessing when friends come over to game they bring their own pads.

I'm still not convinced that in this case, with sandpaper dust all over the pad, that it hasn't just seen some 1000 grit.

 

[msdstc]

uhhhhh, not to add fuel to the fire here, but here's what I just tried.

1. Rubbing the ds3 sticks gently... there's some sort of coating on these sticks it appears that sort of allows your thumb to glide over and reduce friction, nothing happened after about 30 seconds of rubbing.

2. The DS4 sticks are WAY more grippy (feels awesome), but when rubbing even for say 4 or 5 seconds... wow it does seem to make a mark on it. Hell I had some of those white flakes or dust or w/e on my DS after that and it appears worn down now. Hopefully sony's ready, because I'm starting to believe this more. If you don't try it yourself.

Sorry to quote myself but a few comments on this.

- I've used mine fairly often lately for hotline miami and ni no kuni primarily and no problems. However I was thinking of motions that would cause issues. Anytime you have to rotate the stick in a circle motion it will cause enough friction to start doing some damage, at least from what I can see.

-This being said I play pretty light on my fingers in a sense that I don't really apply too much pressure, however some people really dig in, and I could say this controller collapsing in a matter of weeks, maybe even days (not the whole controller just the stick).

I'm not confirming that this is a "thing" so to speak, but hopefully sony acknowledges this could be a thing, and gets some replacement grips ready or something.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Ever seen a 360 thumb stick get ripped apart?

 

[Warewolf]

I don't know, the physics on this checks out. that is the exact spot my thumb sits on the left stick, it's pretty much the pivot point for moving the stick in any direction. With the new shape those ridges around the edge of the hat would increase the pressure to that spot as you push forward.

There looks like other signs of wear on the controller though, the spaces in between the sticks and the touchpad as well as at the crease where the controller arms meet the body all look kind of polished. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a demo kiosk or show floor controller

 

[msdstc]

I don't know, the physics on this checks out. that is the exact spot my thumb sits on the left stick, it's pretty much the pivot point for moving the stick in any direction. With the new shape those ridges around the edge of the hat would increase the pressure to that spot as you push forward.

There looks like other signs of wear on the controller though, the spaces in between the sticks and the touchpad as well as at the crease where the controller arms meet the body all look kind of polished. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a demo kiosk or show floor controller

Like I said above, read my posts and try it for yourself, this is definitely something the controller is open to. Not feeling too confident about this just disappearing.

 

[Dark Octave]

Still pissed that Sony folded so fast and caved to the internet crybabies about that one. Oh what might have been. Just shove it down our throats, Sony. Teach us what to like.

This would have made the PS3's early situation so much worse.

Some men just want to see the world burn, I guess.

 

[Minions]

Demo units are probably not a good gauge of a controller.... because no one cares if they destroy the controller/are rough with it because they didn't pay/have to replace the controller. I have no doubt if you push these controllers to the limit they will have issues. We will see if they have endurance issues 6~ months from now.

 

[Goodacre0081]

time to by some back ups

 

[Canis lupus]

Are his thumbs made of sandpaper? Look at the left stick, how can a thumb in a game session possibly scratch it like that?

 

[Rebel Leader]

No I have not experience anything like this

 

[Kalamari]

After reading through the reddit comments, there seems to be some question regarding the truth of the story behind this, inconsistent info, changing stories, etc.

It seems odd that only one stick is worn down like that, my sticks seem to wear down at about the same rate. Or else maybe he plays a lot of gran turismo, or other games that only require you to use the left stick most of the time.

 

[msdstc]

After reading through the reddit comments, there seems to be some question regarding the truth of the story behind this, inconsistent info, changing stories, etc.

It seems odd that only one stick is worn down like that, my sticks seem to wear down at about the same rate. Or else maybe he plays a lot of gran turismo, or other games that only require you to use the left stick.

I'll say it again, read my posts above. I can confirm, at least from the little I did, these WILL wear down fast.

 

[xxracerxx]

I'll say it again, read my posts above. I can confirm, at least from the little I did, these WILL wear down fast.

Here let me fix this:

I'll say it again, read my posts above. I can confirm, at least from the little I did, these MIGHT wear down fast.

And I read your comments above.

 

[msdstc]

Here let me fix this:

That's fine, I'm not trying to spread FUD, I'm a big sony fan here, but this could be a serious issue.

 

[Kalamari]

It's good to hear from someone that has firsthand experience with the controller, it will be interesting to see if Sony comments at all on this issue in the future.

 

[msdstc]

It's good to hear from someone that has firsthand experience with the controller, it will be interesting to see if Sony comments at all on this issue in the future.

If you or anybody else in the thread could do me a favor and try it for yourselves. Basically do the motions I did, put just a little extra on it, because honestly there are all varying degrees of how people handle controllers. If you could report back, make sure I'm just not panicking here.

 

[fastford58]

There is no fucking way that pad wore down that fast. No way.

 

[system11]

Just looking at the design it's obvious this will happen over time. Thin rubber coating over a raised edge of a much tougher material.

At the same time, that's how other thumbsticks including the standard 360 controller are made.

I'm putting $5 on 'a real thing', the important question is are they easily replaceable? If so this will be minor to design away and rectify.