I'm thinking of getting a gamepad for PC, espescially to play co-op games and console ports that just play better that way. My main concern is compatibility and I'm not interested in any fancy feautures that just bump the price. I've been looking for some reviews etc. and it seems that the Xbox 360 controller is my best choice or are there any other suggestions?
Xbox controller all the way then. If a game supports controllers then 99/100 it will be the 360 pad. Its only weakness is a slightly unsatisfying d-pad though I understand even that has been somewhat improved with the latest revision.
a ps3 controller also works (and is my personal preference as someone who has owned all the playstation consoles). if you don't have a personal preference-- i cannot stand the way the xbox 360 controller fits in my hand, for instance-- then the 360 will be easier to use.
Yeah, ps3 controller is fully functional with ds3 tool (which is very easy to use)
You can set it to emulate an xbox controller and all the buttons, analogue sticks, vibration etc work perfectly.
So if you prefer either over the other, you have a choice.
I don't know if this is a feature using the 360 controller or any and perhaps the guys using the ps3 ones can confirm/deny it, but when playing a game like Skyrim, Just Cause 2, GTA, Deus Ex etc etc, you can switch seamlessly between keyboard/mouse and gamepad.
This is great for games with a mix of driving/shooting/on footness as personally I find it impossible to control some vehicles with a keyboard and mouse properly and you can only have ON/OFF when driving using a keyboard.
Wouldn't the PS3 controller have sixaxis, which will make it more expensive at no gain whatsoever?
Yes, the PS3 controller is a little pricier but you can use Sixaxis with MotionJoy's DS3 tool (though personally, I find it clunky and awkward). I find the PS3 controller much more suited to my hands and don't get pain after extended play, which I do with the XBox 360 controller.
Also, there are a couple of mods / unofficial patches which replace the XBox button UI with PS3 buttons. Psychonauts worked extremely well and I believe there's one for Skyrim.
I use a PS2 DualShock pad with a Radioshack "PSX to USB" adaptor (and x360ce for stubborn games).
My controller is a wired XBox 360 and it's the best PC gamepad I've had (out of at least three others). I find that it works really well as a joystick for MS Flight Simulator as well - if it can do that it can do pretty much anything.
Originally Posted by Jesus_Phish
Skyrim (last time I tried it with the pad plugged in) required the XBox 360 pad to be unplugged for the keyboard to work. Most annoying. Not the case with other games I've noticed though.
The main difference is that 360 controller's analog thumbsticks are concave, and the PS3's are (inexplicably) convex. My thumbs always slide off the PS3 controller when I'm playing fifa. I know many people prefer Sony, but I really don't understand why.
The sticks on the 360 are also offset, which is much more comfortable. Note that the d-pad is a piece of shit. Shit. It's shit. If you use the d-pad a lot, get the ps3 pad, because the 360 one is total shit.
I'd advice getting a 360 controller.
Unless you really like fighting games, then you'd probably want something with an actual d-pad. Though if you really liked fighting games you'd probably want a full arcade style fighting stick
What's the difference between 360's dpad and an "actual" dpad?
The 360s "dpad" is really more of a really shitty analogue stick. It basically works on a ball/socket type joint and this means it's very easy to hit UP/RIGHT instead of UP or RIGHT for example. It's not stable basically. The fact that it's a massive single plate doesn't help.
A real dpad, such as one on the ps3 controller, actually has 4 buttons on it that are easy to press individually. They're not all lumped together on one piece of plastic.
I've honestly never had a problem with pressing the right direction with the 360's D-pad but then I never play fighting games so it's rarely crucial. It's not my favourite controller ever, the play in the sticks is just dreadful to the point where I've had to set as much as 33% deadzone in my left stick and 20% in the right, but the native support and the fact that's widely used in many, many games means I'd recommend the 360 pad too. Even if it is a pile of shit. Then again I got mine for £15 and a PS3 pad is £35, if I remember rightly.
It's not much of an issue for most games, but for fighting games it can be dreadful.
Since we're on the topic of the d-pad, last month I received a wired Xbox360 controller. Left and down click decently well, but up and right are mushy. Sometimes I'd miss notes in Sequence because of this lack of precise feedback.
Is this a typical issue of every 360 pad, or should I just have it replaced?
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My 360's d-pad has a mushy up direction. Maybe that's bad luck but I have a feeling (especially in the context of the 360's own issues) that this is rather widespread and just not important enough for most people to bother.
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