Gamepro's 11 most innovative controllers of all time.

[Crowquill]

<not sure if it should go in main or consoles, but it's on the main page>

 

As usual, it's another article from gamepro with not much to say and very few good points.

They call the article "The 11 Most Groundbreaking Controllers of All Time". While I know we can get sentimental about our games and controllers (why most of us are here), I think they get carried away. "of All Time" is definitely a stretch. They might as well have called it "my most favoritest controllers ever".

What's innovative about the XBOX controller? It's an improved version of the Dreamcast controller.

The SNES controller is mentioned because it added more buttons. It still doesn't have as many buttons as an Intellivision controller (which still has the record I believe). The INTV controller also was the first directional PAD and even did it with 16 directions.

The Zapper wasn't really innovative (I might've given them R.O.B). My Coleco Telstar has a light gun.

And then they really went overboard stating "Though it requires a flat surface and two hands, the mouse and keyboard is often considered to be the "gold standard" of game controllers against which all other controllers are judged." How many people here have fun playing Super Mario Bros with a keyboard? Anyone?

This article is a fine example of the fluff that Gamepro has been publishing for years. How are they still in business?

[RayB]

I haven't touched a GamePro in about 10 years. Do they still use the little "kid faces" for their ratings? I remember they sucked 10 years ago. I guess it's no surprise they suck now.

[ahofle]

LOL:

"And besides, had Nintendo never released the Zapper, we may never have seen the greatest light gun game of all time -- the classic arcade shooter Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

The greatest lightgun game that didn't use lightguns, they mean? 

[mrjah]

And then they really went overboard stating "Though it requires a flat surface and two hands, the mouse and keyboard is often considered to be the "gold standard" of game controllers against which all other controllers are judged." How many people here have fun playing Super Mario Bros with a keyboard? Anyone?

I wouldn't enjoy playing SMB with a keyboard, but playing a typical FPS with a console controller is not nearly as enoyable as playing it with a mouse and keyboard IMHO.

I used to be very anti-keyboard when it came to games.  In the late 90s I rediscovered FPS's on the PC.  To this day, I haven't found any console controller that comes anywhere close to the flexibility and customization potential you can get from just a standard keyboard and mouse -- to say nothing about the more gamer-centric models.

As they say, the mouse-keyboard combo is often considered to be the gold standard.  Not always.  It's dramatic overkill for more simple games and can be a real benefit for the more complex ones.