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[psorcerer]

Dualshock is and will always be the most comfortable controller for how I grip a controller. I don't understand how you Xbox people hold your controllers.

Exactly like they hold their PC mouse: in the palm of their hands.
I can't even imagine how strange that grip is, but seen a lot of people doing it...

 

[Cybrwzrd]

Exactly like they hold their PC mouse: in the palm of their hands.
I can't even imagine how strange that grip is, but seen a lot of people doing it...

I wonder how much of it is generational. There is no way someone who learned to game pre-analog can prefer an Xbox controller.

 

[psorcerer]

I wonder how much of it is generational. There is no way someone who learned to game pre-analog can prefer an Xbox controller.

Probably. I think it's because of the finger motoric. People were used to game with their fingers on a controller. Hands were involved only to support these fingers.
Also training fine finger motoric in children accelerates brain development.
And then games opened into wider audience...

 

[wordslaughter]

I prefer to have my analog sticks further apart because thumb collisions are a constant pain in the ass on the DS4. Maybe this is less of a problem if you have smaller hands?

Don't understand the symmetrical hands argument. It's just not a relevant argument IMO. Sure you hands are symmetrical but what you are doing with the left stick and the right stick is not symmetrical at all. The left stick is for movement and the right is for aiming/camera. You need MORE accuracy with your right stick than you do with your left. This is why PC gamers can easily use a keyboard WASD for their left but use a highly accurate mouse for their right. Is there anything symmetrical about the keyboard mouse setup? Of course not.

If you ever get a chance to use the Elite controller you'll understand. You can keep the left stick short while having the right stick long to enhance your aim. There's nothing symetrical about any of this and it's a far better experience because of it.

 

[Cybrwzrd]

I prefer to have my analog sticks further apart because thumb collisions are a constant pain in the ass on the DS4. Maybe this is less of a problem if you have smaller hands?

Don't understand the symmetrical hands argument. It's just not a relevant argument IMO. Sure you hands are symmetrical but what you are doing with the left stick and the right stick is not symmetrical at all. The left stick is for movement and the right is for aiming/camera. You need MORE accuracy with your right stick than you do with your left. This is why PC gamers can easily use a keyboard WASD for their left but use a highly accurate mouse for their right. Is there anything symmetrical about the keyboard mouse setup? Of course not.

If you ever get a chance to use the Elite controller you'll understand. You can keep the left stick short while having the right stick long to enhance your aim. There's nothing symetrical about any of this and it's a far better experience because of it.

Take a picture of how you hold a contoller. Even with large thumbs, I don't see how you have thumb collisions. The center of your thumbtip should be centered on the analog stick. If it is, there is no way they would ever collide.

 

[Moogle11]

I don’t have much of a preference. Slightly prefer asymmetric, but have no issues with the DS4 and other symmetric pads and easily switch among them as a multi-platform gamer.

 

[Rest]

Playstation style is the tiniest margin better, but it honestly makes no difference. It's a bigger deal to me that every controller has trigger buttons these days instead of four shoulder buttons. Triggers are garbage.

 

[Rest]

Take a picture of how you hold a contoller. Even with large thumbs, I don't see how you have thumb collisions. The center of your thumbtip should be centered on the analog stick. If it is, there is no way they would ever collide.

Right on the end of both thumbs. It's sad, really.

 

[wordslaughter]

Take a picture of how you hold a contoller. Even with large thumbs, I don't see how you have thumb collisions. The center of your thumbtip should be centered on the analog stick. If it is, there is no way they would ever collide.

That's not always comfortable. Sometimes I do have my thumbs bent so my thumbtip is poined straight down onto the analog stick. But sometimes it's not and I am using the analog stick with a flat thumb. In this position thumb collisions happen on a DS4, but not on an Xbox controller.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Gamecube invented the Asymmetric...
Poll should be updated

 

[wordslaughter]

Playstation style is the tiniest margin better, but it honestly makes no difference. It's a bigger deal to me that every controller has trigger buttons these days instead of four shoulder buttons. Triggers are garbage.

What a strange opinion. How can you say triggers are garbage?

Triggers allow for granular analog control instead of the binary on/off of a shoulder button. It's best to have both.

When controlling a car in a racing game, a trigger is far FAR superior for both gas and brake control. Imagine trying to drive your car, if instead of a gas and brake pedal you just had two buttons to step on. No fine control of the gas and no fine control of the brakes, hit the brake button and it's just like slamming on the brakes. It would be horrible. And when shooting, a trigger is again far more natural than pressing a shoulder button.

Maybe you just don't lke triggers because DS4 triggers are your only experience of them?

 

[Cybrwzrd]

That's not always comfortable. Sometimes I do have my thumbs bent so my thumbtip is poined straight down onto the analog stick. But sometimes it's not and I am using the analog stick with a flat thumb. In this position thumb collisions happen on a DS4, but not on an Xbox controller.

I still think it is a matter of hand placement. A flat thumb to control an analog stick seems so strange.

 

[Rest]

Triggers allow for granular analog control instead of the binary on/off of a shoulder button. It's best to have both.

Gamecube did this with shoulder buttons. Hinged buttons suck, they should just go straight in.

Maybe you just don't lke triggers because DS4 triggers are your only experience of them?

Where are you getting that idea from?

 

[ancelotti]

The PS having the dpad in prime position never made sense to me when we're mostly playing 3d games. I also prefer my hands and fingers to be symmetrically placed, which means Xbox style layout. The controller should adapt to me, not the other way around. That said, the Dual Shock is fine and I never complain if I have to use it.

 

[Armorian]

I don't get why people have problems with different analog stocks placement. I'm using controllers with analog sticks since 2001 I think, first one was Dual Shock. Then DS2 (2003), DS3 (2009) and in 2010 I had my first experience with asymmetrical layout (360 controller), since then I don't have any problems with that. Only thing that bothered me was switching from 360 pad do DS3, smaller size needed like ~5min of adjusting. For X1 contoller (I'm using on PC) and DS4 there is no problem with switching at all, I like them both and both have their pros and cons (build quality is better on DS4 and d-pad, X1 have better overall shape).

 

[IfuckinghateReddit]

I can't vote but I will say the PS controller. It's the literal perfect design.

 

[Armorian]

I can't vote but I will say the PS controller. It's the literal perfect design.

Xbox still have better triggers.

 

[Three]

Xbox, duh.

I've never seen or used that Wii controller but it looks even more awkward than the DS4. For anyone who has used it, is it as bad as it looks to use?

Why would doing the exact same thing you do with your left hand on an XB controller be awkward for your right?

 

[Elektro Demon]

Xbox 360 style, asymmetrical.

 

[Tamy]

Depends on the game.

For fighting games, PS is better, however people would use a fighting stick for fighting games anyway, if they are seriously playing.

For everything else Xbox of course, that's why Nintendo is doing the same now.

 

[Ceallach]

Wii U Pro is my absolute favorite ever. And it drives me crazy that the Switch controller was such a fucking step down in every god damned way.

 

[quickwhips]

The real next gen feature would be if your stick placement could have changed by one company on the fly.

 

[BlackTron]

I can play on both configurations without a problem.

In fact I never understood this 'dilemma', my biggest problem with gamepads, is with the Xbox and the stupid layout of A B X Y which is opposed to the classic Nintendo scheme.

Yeah, I regularly use both Xbox and Nintendo pads and there is always an inevitable moment where you press the wrong button, hit B instead on A in the menu and have to start over, or something.

To be fair though. It's not unreasonable to think the bottom-most button to be the "main" or "A" button, and it's a bad look to use the exact same layout as a competitor. Xbox uses the exact same ABXY layout as Dreamcast -Microsoft was working with Sega during that era and the first Xbox can somewhat be seen as its spiritual successor.

Reading all the replies here, I think we're just lucky to have a wide variety of controllers! All three options do some things really well, while being mediocre or sucking at others. You wouldn't ask "What's better, the pistol, the sniper rifle, or the assault rifle"? You'd be glad to have all three in your kit for the right circumstance.

 

[II_JumPeR_I]

Asymmetric
Is the way to go

 

[01011001]

I see only 4.1% were blessed by the glory of the Wii U Pro Controller...

you may disagree, in which case you are objectively wrong, but THIS IS THE BEST STICK PLACEMENT!
I want to think that most simply didn't vote for it because they haven't had a chance to play with it... because Wii U n shit... but I also know there are some heretics among you that voted for a different layout even tho you were blessed by its glory! SINNERS! ALL OF YOU!

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]