Topic: Original Wii U Design Used Analog Sticks Instead of Circle Pad?

[Kairon]

Kairon, most FPS games do have options to let you change the layout. Sometimes its not always perfect, but there are times where an optional layout will be more to your liking than the default.

Yeah, I know, hence the fact that I lie to the games and say I'm left handed since that usually gets the controls halfway to where I want 'em. But I rarely if ever get fully comfortable with a control setup, and it's a highly frustrating experience for me. I doubt I'll EVER be able to play at 100% with dual analog controls because part of my brain is doing all that re-wiring of my instincts, and of course in FPS' every twitch counts.

[Chozo Ghost]

Every millisecond counts in an FPS game, and that is especially true in multiplayer. One thing you may want to try is using a shotgun because with that you don't really have to aim. Just get in close and let the cloud of lead do its thing. There is still a challenge involved, because you have to find a way to get in close without getting killed, but at least it isn't so much a matter of reflexes.

[Kairon]

After all this now I'm worried about playing Wii U... If at all possible I intend to keep using my Wiimote and nunchuck, but I doubt that option will be widely supported going forward, argh!

[Chocobo_Rider]

However, i have no problem with using my right hand for mouse control, or for Wii Pointer control.

 and hopefully this sort of thing will continue to be the future.

After all this now I'm worried about playing Wii U... If at all possible I intend to keep using my Wiimote and nunchuck, but I doubt that option will be widely supported going forward, argh!

worry not, brotha! the Wii U will support all your wiimotes.  ain't no way they're going to abandon that option for Wii U.  at worst, it will be like all the games that supported both wiimote and GC control options this generation.  but really I think the wiimotes and the tablet will work completely in tandem next gen.

[Ian Sane]

However, I think there is potentially some kind of do or die association that some segments of the game population have with analog sticks.  Particularly "dual analog"... it's like a badge of honor to be a "dual analog" gamer, or a "twin stick" gamer.  I think they feel it was the first time they could really have something tangible to point to and say "see? my mom can't handle this but I can! I'm a serious gamer!"

I really don't play enough FPS games to consider dual-analog a major factor in my opinion of analog sticks.  I actually think more about games like Mario and Zelda since I associate them with the N64 and thus the whole concept of analog sticks in general.  I just think that on the Gamecube and Wii Nintendo has made a really comfortable and functional analog directional control.  I'd say it's the best in the industry.  So to throw that out and go with a circle pad, well, it better be obviously superior.  Not just equal or comparible, it has to be better.  Why should anyone have to get used to something new if it provides no advantage over the old?

[ThePerm]

im thinking they might be kinda like the saturn joysticks. Which im fine with because those weren't bad.

[Mop it up]

So much so that I would think eventually these pads would become the new standard since they allow the same precision but work ergonomically with THUMBS,

I disagree. I find that sticks are easier to use since they provide me with tactile feedback. What I mean by that is, the tilt of an analogue stick lets me know how far in one direction I'm pressing the stick, so it's easier for me to discern what is, say, the halfway point without looking at it. Also, Nintendo's sticks are set inside an octagon, making it very easy to feel out the 8 directions. The slide pad offers no such feedback, so I have to go by what's happening on screen to determine how I'm pressing the slide pad, and that takes longer.

In any case, I don't think it's a matter of one being better or worse than the other. They are both essentially the same thing. One is designed for a handheld, and the other, a home system. There's no reason to switch them.

I remember reading impressions stating that the tablet controller circle pads feel more like actual analog sticks than the one on 3DS.

I recall hearing that too. Hopefully that means that they offer some tactile feedback akin to what I described above.

[MegaByte]

The slide pad offers no such feedback, so I have to go by what's happening on screen to determine how I'm pressing the slide pad, and that takes longer.

There is some feedback, the amount of resistive force against the direction you're pushing.

[Mop it up]

If that is true then it isn't enough for me to notice it.

[Ceric]

There is a lot of resistance in the 3DS pad compared to the first controller I know with that scheme which was the NES Max.  It feels like more then most of my controllers. It just doesn't have that grid that clicks you in place.

[Chocobo_Rider]

@ Mop it up

Sure, sure.... I just don't think the minute level of tactile feedback is worth the balancing act PS3/60 analog sticks require.

I do, however, agree that the octagonal base is nice and that ...

[The wiimote's analog stick is] the best in the industry.