Topic: Classic Controller Pro Announced for North America

[NWR_insanolord]

As someone who imported one of these and has spent time using this, let me assure anyone on the fence about this that you definitely want one. If you ever use the Classic Controller, this is totally worth it, an improvement across the board. I don't think I could ever go back to the original Classic Controller, which now needs to be given a stupid/clever nickname (a la DS Phat) to denote its inferiority.

[Caliban]

I hope I can trade in the old classic controllers...

[Kairon]

a stupid/clever nickname (a la DS Phat) to denote its inferiority.

The DS Phat is NOT inferior!

[Chozo Ghost]

I HATE HATE HATE the classic controller, which is a clone of the sucky PS2 controller setup. The analog stick should always be given top consideration. The D-PAD MUST ALWAYS BE SECONDARY. The gamecube controller and the xbox controller got this right. Sony was the only tards who didn't get it.

But now for some reason which makes no sesne at all, Nintendo has abandoned their perfect GC controller setup and copied the Sony controller, which is a low for Nintendo. Stooping to a new low when it has some sort of advantage is one thing, but Nintendo didn't need to do that and this is worse than what they already had with the GC controller.

All they needed to do was make a blue-tooth GC controller for the Wii and everything would have been good. The Classic Controller was absolutely not necessary at all.

[Ian Sane]

I don't think I could ever go back to the original Classic Controller, which now needs to be given a stupid/clever nickname (a la DS Phat) to denote its inferiority.

Classic Controller Am?  Am being amateur in relation to Pro.
 

 The analog stick should always be given top consideration. The D-PAD MUST ALWAYS BE SECONDARY. The gamecube controller and the xbox controller got this right. Sony was the only tards who didn't get it.

I used to think this but I have since completely changed my mind.  D-pad centric is correct.  Why?  Because it's easier to use an analog stick in the non-central position than it is to use a d-pad.  Reaching over to the side to use a d-pad is practically unusable but reaching over to use an analog stick is barely harder at all (and we already do that with the second stick which no one complains about).  When I think of controller design I try to think of something that would work well with the vast majority of games throughout all of videogame history.  The Gamecube fails this test and the classic controller does not.  Sony's rather lazy method of just building onto what was already there has resulted in a very flexible controller.  The PS3 controller works perfectly with all Playstation games.  Nintendo's controllers can't make the same claim at all regarding all of their systems.  Hell, the Wii remote is worthless for anything not specifically designed for it.
 
If Nintendo didn't provide the classic controller the Gamecube controller would have been worthless for any SNES game because of the stupid face button layout (a classic example of fixing what was never broken).  The VC benefits from it.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Are you forgetting something?  Humans have been reaching "to the side" to use the D-pad since the NES.  Nothing wrong with the GC D-Pad placement other than the limited surface area of the pad itself.  Tell me with a straight face that you would hold the GC controller the way you've always done (neatly wrapping the wings, thumbs pointing forward) if the D-pad and the left stick traded places.  That's crazy talk.  Don't tell me you have short-thumb syndrome or something.

Left/Right movement was greatly emphasized in 2D sidescrollers, so having the thumb point mostly sideways on the D-pad made sense.  Forward/Back movement was greatly emphasized in Nintendo's pioneering 3D games, therefore the Up/Down thumb direction has dictated the stick placement for 3 Nintendo generations (N64, Cube, Wii).

To hell with "to the side" analog sticks.

[NWR_insanolord]

I HATE HATE HATE the classic controller, which is a clone of the sucky PS2 controller setup. The analog stick should always be given top consideration. The D-PAD MUST ALWAYS BE SECONDARY. The gamecube controller and the xbox controller got this right. Sony was the only tards who didn't get it.

But now for some reason which makes no sesne at all, Nintendo has abandoned their perfect GC controller setup and copied the Sony controller, which is a low for Nintendo. Stooping to a new low when it has some sort of advantage is one thing, but Nintendo didn't need to do that and this is worse than what they already had with the GC controller.

All they needed to do was make a blue-tooth GC controller for the Wii and everything would have been good. The Classic Controller was absolutely not necessary at all.

Generally I would agree with you, but the Classic Controller is a special case. I use the D-Pad on it way more often than the analog stick, and the way the D-Pad was on the GC controller was pretty bad.

[Chozo Ghost]

Really though, I don't see why you need to use a D-Pad at all, ever. I know a lot of games on the VC were designed for the D-Pad, but what's wrong with just enabling the analog stick to do that job? All Nintendo had to do was build a controller with a stick that was analog for most games, but then resorts to the basic 4 cardinal direction digital functions for VC D-Pad games.

I KNOW this won't be a problem because I have a USB gamepad with the analog stick, and the stick can fill in just as well for D-PAD type games if necessary.

So what I'm saying is just eliminate the D-Pad entirely, once and for all. On the GC and most modern systems the D-Pad was seldom ever used as anything except as a way to quickly equip different items or switch weapons. Which made it basically just a glorified set of buttons, really. There's absolutely nothing about the D-Pad that couldn't be handled just as well with an analog stick running in a digital mode.

[broodwars]

I use the D-pad more than the Analog Stick, but mainly because the Stick on the Classic Controller feels really loose (as in "GameCube C-Stick" levels of loose-ness).  If the one on the Pro feels much more solid, I may just revert to using that.  It also makes sense for the D-pad to be where it is on the CC since it is the primary control method for most of the games on the VC service.

As for the idea of removing the D-pad altogether in future Nintendo controllers, that makes no sense for me.  There are times when I need the exact-ness of a digital input, especially now that the D-pad tends to get used for toggling weapons/whatnot.

[Ian Sane]

Are you forgetting something?  Humans have been reaching "to the side" to use the D-pad since the NES.

How the HELL did you ever hold an NES controller?  EVERYONE I know rests their thumb on the d-pad the entire time and the way they hold the controller the thumb naturally rests there.  No one reaches to the side on d-pad centric controller.
 

 So what I'm saying is just eliminate the D-Pad entirely, once and for all. On the GC and most modern systems the D-Pad was seldom ever used as anything except as a way to quickly equip different items or switch weapons. Which made it basically just a glorified set of buttons, really. There's absolutely nothing about the D-Pad that couldn't be handled just as well with an analog stick running in a digital mode.

Do you only play current games?  If you played games that were designed for digital input you would understand how incredibly imprecise and frustrating using an analog stick for the same purpose is.  And if you do play them and don't notice that doesn't mean that the problem doesn't exist.  I can't deal with it.  I don't consider fumbling with controls to ever be acceptable (which is why I give motion control such a hard time).
 
The irony is that if Nintendo went with just the remote without the nunchuk like they originally planned they would have chucked out the analog stick entirely in favour of the d-pad.  Nintendo now makes more d-pad games in the post-analog era than EVER.  So no wonder they made the classic controller d-pad centric.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

"How the HELL did you ever hold an NES controller?"

That's MY question.

[Stratos]

Analog stick does not equal d-pad. I refuse to play games that way whenever possible.

Playing No More Heroes 2 last night made me see why they included CC support, it allows you to more comfortably play the retro mini games.

[Mop it up]

*imagines playing Tetris with an analogue stick*

*passes out from the sheer horror of the thought*

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I'd rather use the Wii pointer and pinch the blocks and rotate them with A+B.

[TJ Spyke]

Puzzle games are the ONLY games I think play better with a d-pad. For every other type of game a analog stick is much better. The analog stick should always have bigger focus than the d-pad on a controller precisely because fewer and fewer games are actually using the d-pad now.

The PS3 controller? Sony has always had the worst controllers in each gen (other than the Xbox "Duke" controller, but the Controller S was better than the DualShock 2). The Xbox 360 controller is perfect.

[Chozo Ghost]

Actually, with Tetris you could probably adapt it to motion controls and basically control the falling blocks by tilting and turnign the wii-mote.

[Ian Sane]

Actually, with Tetris you could probably adapt it to motion controls and basically control the falling blocks by tilting and turnign the wii-mote.

You could... and then you'd lose in record time.  That just sounds like a total recipe for remote throwing rage.

[EasyCure]

Great news, now I just have to decide if I give in and mix n match my wiimotes/CC's with black and white or not. I'll probably end up getting the MHT bundle, because I'll probably find it so comfortable that i'll go out and buy a second CCP, and give my OCC to a cousin who recently got a wii.

[NWR_insanolord]

Actually, with Tetris you could probably adapt it to motion controls and basically control the falling blocks by tilting and turnign the wii-mote.

Tetris on the iPhone has an entirely touch-based (obviously) method of control using quick swipes to move and rotate the piece that works surprisingly well.

[Mop it up]

The Xbox 360 controller is perfect.

Entirely subjective. It's a good controller but I still prefer the GameCube controller. For sheer comfort though, I find the Wiimote + Nunchuk to be the best, largely because of its disconnected design.

[King of Twitch]

That makes no sense

[BlackNMild2k1]

The Xbox 360 controller is perfect.

Entirely subjective. It's a good controller but I still prefer the GameCube controller. For sheer comfort though, I find the Wiimote + Nunchuk to be the best, largely because of its independent design.

there is that better?

[Mop it up]

That probably does work better. I was trying to think of a word to describe it but nothing was coming to me.

[King of Twitch]

It's more comfortable because it's different?

[Mop it up]

Because I can rest my hands anywhere, they are not required to be held so close to one another.