Do you think we will see another revolution in console controller inputs that will change gaming?

The immediate future is a step back to a wired DualSense that's less expensive, doesn't require charging and is extremely difficult to connect to a PC.
DualSense is the biggest leap in controllers since the DualShock's improvement on the SNES gamepad.
PlayStation owning the two biggest controller leaps in a row is a massive deal.
The potential for DualSense to deliver a windfall victory to MS (via emulation) at the expense of both PlayStation and Nintendo is massive.
Moving from a PS5 to a PS3/2/1 or GC/SNES/etc. the biggest thing that pops out is the lack of DualSense feedback.
The USB port on the DualSense means that we'll end up getting all of our old games with DualSense one way or another.
Worst case scenario this arrives via modded PS2 and PS1 games, Sony and studios are permanently cut out of the loop and no one's making any money.
This DualSense feedback will likely be generic one-size-fits all feedback that's inferior to the quality feedback studios would implement.
GTA San Andreas with crude DualSense feedback via PCSX2 or a modded PS2 will get in the way of modern GTA game sales.

Sony can get in front of this issue on their end by getting studios to add DualSense feedback to PS2 and PS1 games and
selling a DualSense PS2 where studios can sell those DualSense PS2/1 games via PSN.
Legacy PS games will remain profitable into the future for both PS and game studios.

Nintendo can't add DualSense to their games and PC will end up being how people get DualSense enabled Nintendo games.
Zelda and Mario with DualSense feedback will be better than they've ever been on any Nintendo console.
It will benefit MS by giving emulation the biggest leap since fast affordable internet made it easy to share games.
DualSense Mario will create a situation where the most dedicated Nintendo fans have no choice but to use PC.

Sony should have given DualSense a PS2-style proprietary plug and built-in protections to ensure that DualSense controllers only work on PS HW.
DualSense and PS exclusives are the best reasons to buy a PlayStation console as opposed to a PC.
It doesn't make sense for Sony to give PC the DualSense - creating a dynamic where PC will end up with more DualSense exclusives than PS by virtue of Nintendo DualSense games that will never exist off of PC.
 
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Trackball & Stroll wheel was some of the things I was thinking about that lead me into making this thread.

Momentum based input could add some fun back to gaming . But we would probably end up with a bunch of bowling games
They're too scared to do it. Hell, they're still too scared to make gyro a standard across all console games that use the right stick for camera movement, which is like over 75% of them on modern consoles.
 
Controllers really haven't changed a lot since they got analog sticks and rumble. Haptics and gyro have come along and they are cool sometimes, but not exactly revolutionary. I'm of the opinion that if it ain't broke then don't fix it.
 
Gyro aiming as an option should absolutely be the standard by now.

The other obvious improvement is back paddles.

Neither would exactly allow new types of gameplay though.
It's unbelievable that it is standard on PS4/5 controllers but almost not used and aim assists are still a thing. 🤦‍♂️
 
It's unbelievable that it is standard on PS4/5 controllers but almost not used and aim assists are still a thing. 🤦‍♂️
Literally why I noped out of Genshin Impact after 10 minutes. (They copied so much of the look of BotW but didn't copy gyro aiming for the PS5 version?)
 
An O onQ123 thread? I expected a self-quote where he claims to have invented the d-pad.
You should seek help for your obsession with me

The immediate future is a step back to a wired DualSense that's less expensive, doesn't require charging and is extremely difficult to connect to a PC.
DualSense is the biggest leap in controllers since the DualShock's improvement on the SNES gamepad.
PlayStation owning the two biggest controller leaps in a row is a massive deal.
The potential for DualSense to deliver a windfall victory to MS (via emulation) at the expense of both PlayStation and Nintendo is massive.
Moving from a PS5 to a PS3/2/1 or GC/SNES/etc. the biggest thing that pops out is the lack of DualSense feedback.
The USB port on the DualSense means that we'll end up getting all of our old games with DualSense one way or another.
Worst case scenario this arrives via modded PS2 and PS1 games, Sony and studios are permanently cut out of the loop and no one's making any money.
This DualSense feedback will likely be generic one-size-fits all feedback that's inferior to the quality feedback studios would implement.
GTA San Andreas with crude DualSense feedback via PCSX2 or a modded PS2 will get in the way of modern GTA game sales.

Sony can get in front of this issue on their end by getting studios to add DualSense feedback to PS2 and PS1 games and
selling a DualSense PS2 where studios can sell those DualSense PS2/1 games via PSN.
Legacy PS games will remain profitable into the future for both PS and game studios.

Nintendo can't add DualSense to their games and PC will end up being how people get DualSense enabled Nintendo games.
Zelda and Mario with DualSense feedback will be better than they've ever been on any Nintendo console.
It will benefit MS by giving emulation the biggest leap since fast affordable internet made it easy to share games.
DualSense Mario will create a situation where the most dedicated Nintendo fans have no choice but to use PC.

Sony should have given DualSense a PS2-style proprietary plug and built-in protections to ensure that DualSense controllers only work on PS HW.
DualSense and PS exclusives are the best reasons to buy a PlayStation console as opposed to a PC.
It doesn't make sense for Sony to give PC the DualSense - creating a dynamic where PC will end up with more DualSense exclusives than PS by virtue of Nintendo DualSense games that will never exist off of PC.

Slow down buddy N64 was released with the thumb stick & trigger before PlayStation released the Dual Analog & later DualShock

We also had Sega's 3D controller for Knights that came before Dual Analog



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They're too scared to do it. Hell, they're still too scared to make gyro a standard across all console games that use the right stick for camera movement, which is like over 75% of them on modern consoles.

Sadly 😭 but yeah Sony has to lead the way by releasing games that can only be played with DualSense like Astro Bot

Some of the controls & gameplay in Astro Bot could have full games made around them they could also bring back some rail shooters & use the gyro aim .
 
Capacitive buttons/sticks

You can effectively double the control inputs with no change in form factor. Would be great for gyro set-ups.



Scroll wheels around the gates of the sticks would also be very interesting. Internally captured sticks would prevent any interference.

Like this except instead of a tension adjustment it was a scroll wheel.

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HD Rumble was a gimmick at launch and now it's a prime feature in Sony controllers. Funny how that turned out. Curious how Mario Kart World's haptics will feel.

Controllers will finally pass a milestone when Microsoft stops sitting on their assses and finally add a gyroscope to their controllers. We need full parity.
 
HD Rumble was a gimmick at launch and now it's a prime feature in Sony controllers. Funny how that turned out. Curious how Mario Kart World's haptics will feel.

Controllers will finally pass a milestone when Microsoft stops sitting on their assses and finally add a gyroscope to their controllers. We need full parity.

They really held back IMU (Gyro & Accelerometers) from being standard for 19 years & 3 generations 😭

That's kinda crazy because even Steamdeck has Gyro it's Xbox alone holding it back from being the standard across the board.
 
The only thing possibly left and in the distant future, (not in my lifetime at least) would be a vr helmet with the ability control inputs with mind control (brainwaves I guess). This is probably the thing that will make VR finaly mainstream. Then after that applying the tech to a standard input controller- non-vr.

I believe you can control the Apple VR headset with your eyes. But that's something totally possible. I have a game on Steam that uses your computer camera to register your eye blinks to play the game, but its only about making choices, nothing controller input heavy anyway.
 
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The other obvious improvement is back paddles.
Blows my mind that this wasn't standardized this gen. Even crazier to think Nintendo finally added them to their pro controller but on PS5 the only option as far as I'm aware is to shell out $200 for a DualSense Edge.

If for some reason the PS6 controller doesn't have back buttons...that would easily be worse than Nintendo's insistence on omitting analog triggers.
 
It'll be direct brain interface, but god knows which company would be brave enough to try that with a console first.

Mothers won't buy little Timmy something he has to plug into his head.
"But, mooom! All my friends have done cranial surgeries! 😣"
 
the opposite is the case. the buttons are placed like this so that your hands are at a relaxed angle

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong but it looks like your hands need to be so close to each other on those that your pointer fingers would be close to, if not in fact, overlapping. Keeping your hands that close together with pronated wrists is a huge carpal tunnel risk.
 
I would love to see back buttons become standard, but I worry that if one did it without the other it would be a disaster because of the lack of commitment to new inputs. Arguably we need MS to be on board so that Xinput is expanded.
 
it's a bit insane to me that I can't point at menu items Wii-style on all my devices, it feels pointlessly archaic to toggle through screens (even on a Roku etc, much less a game system) with a directional pad or stick

As far as controllers in the traditional range in general, I greatly prefer the Steam Controller and its touchpad over any dual stick ever made. If only that had become the standard for gamepads, we'd be better off.
 
I actually think the Wii got pretty close to replacing the conventional controller. For some games, it works better than a normal controller. It was like a hybrid between a mouse and a traditional controller and for games like Pikmin, the combination of an analog stick and mouse like precision was amazing. If Nintendo didn't have ADHD, they could have made a Wii 2 and refined the controller with more advanced motion.
 
If Nintendo's strategy stays the same, Im sure their next console will be something different but have some similar features of an ordinary controller. I'm sure Sony is gonna enhance their next controller in some way and then there's Microsoft trying to figure out if they want to go handheld, home console, or both so I have no clue what they're going to do. But please at least add gryo to the controller.
 
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Mouse =/= Wiimote pointer.

Switch 1 could have pointer controls like the Wii yet almost no one used it?? o.O
You talked about pointer controls, which is what the Wiimote pointer is. Or do you mean the motion stuff? Afaik, the Joycons can do that as well.
 
In VR it's starting to be common to properly track hands/fingers without using a controller, external camera, etc.

I think this will be polished, and the next big change after it (early versions of it are already working in Neuralink's first test implementations) will be to control games directly with your brain.

But at least for a decade or two it will continue to be common/the main input method to use touchpads for mobile gaming, gamepads for console plus in case of PC also keyboard and mouse.
 
Blows my mind that this wasn't standardized this gen. Even crazier to think Nintendo finally added them to their pro controller but on PS5 the only option as far as I'm aware is to shell out $200 for a DualSense Edge.

If for some reason the PS6 controller doesn't have back buttons...that would easily be worse than Nintendo's insistence on omitting analog triggers.
We didnt even get a back paddle attachment like we got on PS4 and I don't know why. That thing was cheap and good. I actually preferred it to the back paddle setup on the Xbox elite controller...
 
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I don't know what would be updated to improve or revolutionize the controller. We have button input and motion. Motion is essentially dead.
 
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Since 1997, we've been playing with the same controller that Sony created for the first Playstation for almost 30 years. Ergonomics and other details have been improved, but it's basically the same control. In fact, you could play everything today with that controller without any problems, and I don't think they'll change in the future.
 
You talked about pointer controls, which is what the Wiimote pointer is. Or do you mean the motion stuff? Afaik, the Joycons can do that as well.
Just the pointer that was by IR.

Curious that on Switch specs says:
  • IR Motion Camera
...but where exactly is that and why no one uses it like on Metroid Prime 3?
 
I don't know what would be updated to improve or revolutionize the controller. We have button input and motion. Motion is essentially dead.
No it's not motion is being used more than ever now but it's an option instead of being the main control input.
 
PSX-DualShock-Controller.jpg


Since 1997, we've been playing with the same controller that Sony created for the first Playstation for almost 30 years. Ergonomics and other details have been improved, but it's basically the same control. In fact, you could play everything today with that controller without any problems, and I don't think they'll change in the future.
Not Astro Bot
 
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