someone said that triangle used to mean FOV (switching between first person and third person, for example))

fair enough. Someone should make a controller with no labels at all and they could just be different colours. I agree with the latter point, I always associate A with the right button, X with the top button.

shame that the big companies don’t use HE…

Oh, interesting. So Sega basically chopped off two buttons from the six button layout to create the Xbox layout, and after Sega stopped making consoles, Xbox used the same layout.

Ah, ok. So that’s why the button switches in the marketing look kind like those low profile keyboard switches. So there is really a fifth one :0

interesting, there’s a fifth one! Replaceable button caps means you can probably change the layout of it, unless they have some stupid notch or something to stop you from doing that (hopefully not though)

Yep that makes more sense. The Supernova is a really good controller as long as you like membrane buttons, while the Cyclone 2 is similar but with TMR sticks and mechanical buttons. 8BitDo’s lineup is confusing (the separation between “Wireless” and “Bluetooth” where the former can still do BT but not with the Switch) but the controllers themselves are great.

I think it’s good that there’s at least a few good controllers that offer physically swappable buttons. The GameSir Supernova looks pretty good for the price, while the Tarantula Pro and 8BitDo Pro 3 look like decent symmetrical stick options.

wait, linked in what article? I don’t think I linked an article.

Yeah, 8BitDo, GameSir, etc. have a bunch of good controllers for a very good price, they have feature-rich sub $60 and $70 models like the Cyclone 2, Ultimate 2, and Supernova, as well as a few really good sub $30 models like the Ultimate 2C and Nova 2 Lite. HE /TMR sticks, HE triggers, trigger locks, signal extender charging docks, a bunch of extra remappable buttons, fun colours (esp. the 8BitDo models) while being cheaper than the first party options. You can’t beat the PS haptics though, they are really nice.

I remember that some guy did a USB-C mod on a ds4. For me though, I just have a micro-USB cable always attached to the controller so it feels more like a wired controller with USB on the end.

That’s fair. Although it is a bit confusing when playing an Xbox game, since I grew ip with the Nintendo layout as a kid, I instinctively think that “A” is to the right and “B” is at the bottom.

Well many prefer the Nintendo layout and are used to it, esp. for Nintendo games.

Interestingly, after a bit of searching, it looks like the Nintendo layout came first, but due to a patent or something, SEGA and later Xbox would swap the ABXY buttons. Not saying that either layout should be the “standard” though. Both should ideally coexist (and that includes the PS layout. You can’t really complain about the PS layout changing all the time, it’s basically the same since the original PS)

Also, what do you mean by A being the “default button”? Do you mean that A is for doing most of the interacting (e.g. dialogue, next, OK) or something like that? Because A does that in both Xbox layout (where you interact with the bottom button) and Nintendo layout (where you instead do that with the right button, at least on “standard” controllers. The GameCube controller kind of did its own thing)

Interestingly, it seems that some PS games interact with X and others interact with O. Apparently this is because in Japan, “O” means correct and “X” means wrong, while this significance of “O” doesn’t exist in the US and Europe, so “X” is accept because that’s where the thumb usually rests. Cool!

I mean, fair enough. The ds4 controller is a good reliable controller and has worked for many years and probably will work for many years to come. Only downside is micro-usb though…

There’s certainly a market for physically swappable buttons, otherwise why would the 8BitDo Pro 3 release with that feature (and advertise it), or the Supernova and the Tarantula Pro. It is definitely a desired feature for some, and I think it’s a bit odd that very few controllers have it, especially given some controllers have very niche (but still useful to some) features (see the numerous controllers with screens, Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot that lets you swap to d-pad centric layout, etc.).

well if you make the playstation layout the universal layout both Xbox and Nintendo layout fans will hate you. Interesting the PS symbols had actual meanings rather than being somewhat arbitrary like with ABXY (though you could argue A means accept/action and B means back)

I think the nintendo layout looks like it makes more sense since it’s AB XY when you read top to bottom, whereas with Xbox layout it’s left-to-right but also bottom-to-top. Idk, I guess it’s all just preference (+ the fact I grew up with nintendo so there is certainly a bias towards that layout)

Yeah, you could software map them, but it feels kind of weird that there’s so few that let you physically swap the buttons

Ooh yeah that looks pretty rough. I will say that there are definitely good third-party controllers nowadays for a pretty good price. There are some sub $30 options from both 8BitDo and GameSir (their Ultimate 2C and Nova 2 Lite respectively both seem really good), and a bunch of good controllers that are around the same price as a ds5, maybe a bit less from all sorts of companies with loads of different layouts and both membrane and mechanical buttons. There’s even a few with the ps-like symmetrical layout like the GameSir Tarantula Pro, their wired Tegenaria Lite, and the 8BitDo Pro series.

I mean this feature is available on a sub $60 controller, and many controllers are over double that. You could make the argument that a screen in a controller adds loads of complexity and most people don’t need it, but it exists, because it’s useful to some people (but certainly not all people).

At least playstation uses a visually distinct set of symbols so you can’t confuse them with the other two. I think it’s really annoying that Xbox and Nintendo both use ABXY, but swapped for some reason. I grew up with Nintendo, so that layout makes “more sense” to me than the unfamiliar Xbox layout, but yeah, I would prefer either a universal layout (maybe neither ABXY or the shapes, perhaps something different that everyone could agree on? Because if you chose the Xbox layout, fans of the Nintendo layout would get mad and vice versa)

What should that universal layout be though? Maybe the cardinal directions, ESNW? Or perhaps something unique like IJKL? Or maybe the starting letters of colours (RGBA? Transparent button would be cool. CMYK? Printer ink buttons!) Or perhaps not letters, maybe symbols? Like mountain (jagged teeth), sea (wavy line), wind (swirly line), and stone (filled in circle)? Or punch, kick, special move (maybe energy blast), and different special move (maybe healing)?

What third party controllers do offer is value (you can get some amazing budget controllers these days) as well as hall effect sticks and triggers (some newer models have TMR sticks, which apparently use lower power) meaning no stick drift and it will last longer.

Speaking of the DS4, I still have one, and I spray-painted it and I think it looks pretty cool! It’s a mix of spray paint (on the body, d-pad, and triggers), 3D printed face buttons, and cheap plastic I bought for that tiny little PS button. Makes it look more unique, but I forgot to tape the electronics and think I snapped one of the ribbon cables, so wireless is borked. I works fine wired though, so it’s all good.