Controllers: The Real Factor in Console Success?

[Nz17]

I've been seriously thinking about this ever since I got Midway Arcade Treasures Vol. 2, and I think it holds merit: The long-term success of a game system depends largely on the controllers that come with it. Midway Arcade Treasures Vol. 2 made me think of this because I have the GameCube version and its controller absolutely does not work well with the titles in said compilation at all.

This is the series of "controller evolutions" I've seen across the successful video game systems as I see them:
Atari VCS -> NES -> SNES -> PlayStation -> PlayStation 2.

:hmm: But what about the other systems that I didn't mention that were successful?

Consider each generation where there was the a strong competition between the current consoles of the time. (I will reference the Genesis v SNES as I am most familiar with this war.) Both had controller designs that were evolutions of the previous successful controller design (i.e. the NES controller). SEGA went with a Start button and three face buttons, Nintendo went with two shoulder buttons, four face buttons, and a Start and Select button. Either of these designs could be accepted as an evolution of the previous design. This generation was heated and close.

Then the next generation (32/64-bit) was a no contest. Sure, there were lots of possible reasons for this, but controller has a lot to do with it. SONY merely added two new shoulder buttons to the SNES design for the PlayStation, the N64 had a radical new design, and SEGA went with an evolution of their previous controller that had six face buttons instead of three. So why did the PlayStation "win" when the Saturn didn't? In the case of the Saturn, the controller wasn't at fault: the other choices SEGA made were. Had things been more even, I think we could've had a strong war.

So how about the current lot? Microsoft, Nintendo, and SONY all have competent machines power-wise, and that is why I think SONY is winning. Yes, there is the DVD playback, the backwards compatibility, the brand name, so on and so forth. But that only helps a system in the beginning. Once word of mouth starts to spread about how a system itself is, all these points, these features, become null.

Hundreds of hours are spent with the average game system, and the experience taken away is largely dependent on the human interface. Like any complicated work the controller isn't the only factor, but it is the most used factor. Once someone is playing everything else but the controller is equal. Consider that the same audio and video system is generally used for all of one's consoles and after that card/cart/disc leaves from your hand into the system the only interaction you have with the system afterwads until you stop playing the game is the controller.

So is the controller the real reason for a system's market success after the initial stages unless a strong outside influence interacts with it? You tell me. But then, we all tell the retailers when we go to shop.

[FurinkanianFrood]

I've had the same problem with the Midway Collection 2 on Gamecube.

That said, I think that the N64 and Gamecube both have great controllers.

I don't think that the PS contollers are really an evolution of anything from Nintendo. The D-pad and the analog sticks are far from the same quality, though the PS controller admittedly works better for some games.

As much as I hate to admit it, the company that has the games people want will lead.

If Sony falls it will be their own doing, due to mistakes not unlike those made with the Saturn.

Personally I believe that the saturn is 100X what the PS was, but Sega did a good job of making it look bad here in the states. Their mistakes did more than Sony's hype machine ever could.

The PS3 may have the Saturn's price point for instance.



Once word of mouth starts to spread about how a system itself is, all these points, these features, become null.


How did the PS2 get good word of mouth then? I guess people just parroted back what Sony said. The launch titles were a joke compared to the stuff on Dreamcast.

I had a PS2 at launch, and it wasn't exactly impressive.

I think the actual console is meaningless, it's the perception that consumers and developers have of it thats meaningful. In the case of PS2 the developers can't help but go with the system that the public has a good impression of. People thought that the PS2 was powerful and so they responded as such. The reality was somewhat more subdued.

Initial perceptions can be a bigger influence than the console in some cases. It influences developers an awful lot I think.

[jdc]

I don't believe that the design of a controller has much to do with the overall success of a system. It doesn't take long to become comfortable with any controller design and a good gamer will be able to switch systems on the fly and not even notice the controller.

Here's the problem. It wasn't too long ago that almost all games were exclusive to their individual consoles.....so that the controller matched every game that was released. Now? Multi-platform cross-overs will usually leave one of the 3 systems with a controller that doesn't work quite as well for a game.

[goatdan]

I also agree that it has little to do with the success. Gamers adapt to whatever controllers are there to control the games they are playing. If utilized properly in games, the GameCube controller can be amazing. I think the Jaguar controller was really great. The N64 sold very well in the US, but I don't think it was for the controller as much as it was for Goldeneye.

You don't learn that you truly hate a system's controller or love it until you already have the system. By that point, you kinda just have to adapt.

Just my opinion :)

[Snapple]

I don't agree.

I love my N64 controller. The feel of it is just right. The analogy is comfortable, and the trigger Z button feels natural. And yet, I spent 95% of my time playing my PS1 instead. Game library is more important, I think.

[alexkidd2000]

I think this theory is bunk too. You get used to whatever controller you use. When I went to xbox from ps2 i hated the controller, but I got used to it. Now the ps2 pad feels funny.