First-party or third-party controllers?

[josekortez]

Anybody here found a third-party controller that was better than the one that came with a system? I just bought a Superpad 64 to replace the Nintendo one that died over the weekend, so I was just wondering if anybody had any thoughts on the subject.

Also, list your pick for the best third party accessory company. I vote for Mad Catz 'cause nobody makes a better steering wheel, and my DC Panther will always have a place on my shelf...

[Mr. NEStalgia]

As for regular controlers, 3rd party ones always feel awkward to me...be it bad design or just a cheap plastickyness feel.

I always just pay the few extra bucks for a 1st party one, but that's just me.

-=Mr. NEStalgia=-

[boatofcar]

Every third party controller asiide from Atari 2600 joysticks I've bought has malfunctioned in one way or another. 1st party controllers are worth a couple bucks more.

[josekortez]

I've gotta admit that the best third-party controller ever, in my opinion, was that Ascii pad for the SNES that had the rainbow colored buttons with turbo for every button.

But I admit to being a cheapo. The only place around here where I found a Nintendo brand controller (Circuit City) had them for $30 each. Of course there were about a dozen still sitting there. Plus there's no guarantee that the first-party stuff won't break. I still have to send this Pikachu set-64 controller back to Nintendo when I find the warranty card, and I just opened the system in December!

But I agree that there are some sucky controllers out there. Just look at the controllers Interact made for the Dreamcast. Those things rival the original Xbox controller in size!

[Charlie]

"just a cheap plastickyness feel."

Bingo. I've never cared for 3rd party controllers aside from one that I had for the SNES that had a little LCD screen and Street Fighter 2 moves programmed into it. When I first got a DC on 9-9-99 the store (Fred Meyers) didn't have any first party controllers so I got a 3rd party controller and it almost ruined what should have been an all day and all night Soul Caliber bash. Had my friend Chris not said "Fuck it" and ran an bought another DC machine for himself, the entire event we had planned would have been ruined.

The same thing happened when I was like 15 and I got an N64 and MK Trilogy. Instead of buying a first party controller for $30, I got a 3rd party one for $20 and it sucked ass. Nobody wanted to use the cursed thing. It stuck around until the 4th of July when we blew it up with a sparkler bomb. Fucker parts of it were at least 20 feet in the air lol.

[Mr-E_MaN]

I've always liked to buy the original controllers. The third party controllers have something about them that just doesn't seem right to me. When I buy something I got to do it right. Go big or go home. (doesn't really sound right in this context but oh well) Plus if you buy an original controller all of your friends will think you are cool.

[Sylentwulf]

I've always wondered why this topic keeps coming up. Third party is NEVER better than first party.

[kingpong]

I've always wondered why this topic keeps coming up. Third party is NEVER better than first party.

Third party is always better than first party when the third party controller is a joystick and the first party controller is a pad. Pad controllers, whether first or third party, rarely warrant a purchase unless you plan on using it for parts.

Of course there are many cases where third party controllers are superior. Nearly any third party NES pad is better than the first party pad. Nearly any third party PSX/PS2 controller will have a better d-pad than the first party controller. It is hard to imagine any GC controller being worse than the first party one. Getting into non-traditional controllers, there are numerous dance pads better than the pseudo first party Konami pads, the third party steering wheels for the Saturn are better than the first party, and so on and so on.

The idea that first party accessories are intrinsically better than third party accessories has provided me with more laughs over the last 10 years than anything else in gaming. Funny that it it really gained steam with the PSX, a product from a company notorious for the low quality of their consumer electronics. Thinking that a third party accessory is bad for a piece of hardware is absurd. Sometimes there are problems when certain hardware specifications change throughout the course of a platform's life and a third party device has issues (like an acceptable voltage range changing to be a narrower band of the former range, with the third party product winding up out of the new range), but these cases are rare.

Now I'm off to play my Odyssey on my Magnavox TV I have just because it only works with those, then I'll check my email on my WinXP box running only Microsoft applications, and I'll wrap up the evening by only using genuine GM replacement parts when I work on my vehicle.

[omnedon]

Generally I prefer first party all the time. However, I've made exceptions with wheels, and PC flightsticks. As far as 3rd party goes, MadCatz isn't bad. The wheel I got from them for my PS2/Xbox/NGC is decent. It even has a 5 yr warranty that the store I bought it from will honour.

First party almost always has better build quality. I never repair 3rd party controllers. I will strip them for parts to repair first parties though, like cables for example.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I dunno. I've gotten a few third-party PS1 joysticks - not pads, but honest-to-God joysticks - that I very much prefer to the PS1 pads for most games, especially retro stuff.

[123forever]

There was this one 3rd party NES joystick I liked, but I can't remember who made it. It was red and black and kind of shaped like a comma. You held it in your left hand and used its clicky red stick with your right. I only used it for one game, Skate or Die. It was perfect for the vert ramp.

I kinda dug the PSX one handed controller. It was cool for RPGs.

I desperately need a decent Dreamcast joystick.

But all in all, I stick with 1st party.

[CrazyImpmon]

That B&R comma shaped controller could be the Epyx 500xj controller. Quite comfortable to use and with the exception of NES model, quite durable.

Generally I don't like the 3rd party controller as they feel cheap and in some cases they are cheaply made and won't last long. I do make a few exception like the steering controller (why is there never a first party steering wheel??)

[portnoyd]

I've gotta admit that the best third-party controller ever, in my opinion, was that Ascii pad for the SNES that had the rainbow colored buttons with turbo for every button.

Best.... controller.... ever. And the only third party controller I will ever use. First party all the way, otherwise.

dave

[Mayhem]

It is hard to imagine any GC controller being worse than the first party one.

Are you mad? GC pad is one of the best ergonomic pads ever. You must have hands the size of your namesake or something (ergo just about right for Xbox normal pad which IS truly bad... S one is perfect however)...

[bargora]

I've always wondered why this topic keeps coming up. Third party is NEVER better than first party.

Third party is always better than first party when the third party controller is a joystick and the first party controller is a pad. Pad controllers, whether first or third party, rarely warrant a purchase unless you plan on using it for parts.

Of course there are many cases where third party controllers are superior. Nearly any third party NES pad is better than the first party pad. Nearly any third party PSX/PS2 controller will have a better d-pad than the first party controller.

Word up!

[Eternal Champion]

I've always been wary of 3rd party--partly because the controllers just look so cheesy.
I had a decent ASCII pad for Genesis. But the original 3-button Sega pad is so great, why bother? (turbo, sure)
Majestco (sp?), who made the Genny 3 at the end of its life also took over the beloved 6-button and IT IS A PIECE OF SHIT. Unresponsive.
I had a cheap imitation SNES controller--CRAAAAAPPPPPP!!!!!! >
In my experience with NES, SNES, and Genny, the 1st party controllers are the best--especially that Dogbone!!
I can't comment on anything post-SNES.

[Sylentwulf]

Third party is always better than first party when the third party controller is a joystick and the first party controller is a pad. Pad controllers, whether first or third party, rarely warrant a purchase unless you plan on using it for parts.
Etc...etc..etc...

I completely disagree with EVERYTHING you said in this entire post, just for the record. I'm not going to pick apart each point you made, just know that EVERYTHING in that post, I think is utterly banal.

Edit - Sony has low-end electronics eh? lol, now THAT'S gonna provide ME with a great deal of laughter for the next ten years.

[Retsudo]

First party all the way.....but, the DC pad sucks for fighting games, and I cant find a good one to play SF or Soul Calibur with. Any suggestions? I picked up that DC fighting pad by Interact for 87 cents at EB, and its still not that great.

[bargora]

Third party is always better than first party when the third party controller is a joystick and the first party controller is a pad. Pad controllers, whether first or third party, rarely warrant a purchase unless you plan on using it for parts.
Etc...etc..etc...

I completely disagree with EVERYTHING you said in this entire post, just for the record. I'm not going to pick apart each point you made, just know that EVERYTHING in that post, I think is utterly banal.

*prepares to hurl firebomb*

(1) D-cross or D-pad vs. joysticks
Sylentwulf, the D-cross was pioneered for handheld systems, and kingpong and I obviously view the cross/pad as a poor substitute for the stick. While my impulse is to say something incendiary like "you are completely wrong, doodyhead", I'll stick with the less flambent "you are entitled to your preference for inferior controls". Wait. "what I feel are inferior controls." Yeah, that's what I meant.

When's the last time you saw a control pad on an arcade cabinet?

The pain of weeding the good joysticks from the crap is clearly the weak point of this argument, but I would ask "where's the Sony PSX joystick?" At least Nintendo had the good sense to produce the durable Advantage sticks for NES and SNES.

(2) PSX/PS2 first-party vs. third-party
I admit that the PSX/PS2 d-pad isn't that bad if you like to play menu-selection games (oh, the excitement). You know the ones I mean. It's good for selecting DVD options, too. Every time I try to play a good honest action game with the sucker, though, it tears my thumb up. I'd rather wipe my butt with a Chore-Boy scouring towel. If I'm gonna use a D-pad for a PSX game, make mine Madcatz or the silky-smooth Alps.

[Ruudos]

1st party ones.

Except for Atari 2600, those Atari joysticks we got were crappy and not durable. The 3rd party joysticks were much better.