What is the best controller you’ve ever used? Period.

Which Company Created The GOAT Controller?

  • Nintendo

    Votes: 21 12.9%

  • PlayStation

    Votes: 64 39.3%

  • Xbox

    Votes: 55 33.7%

  • Third Party

    Votes: 16 9.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 7 4.3%
  • Total voters
    163
At any given time, it's been the Xbox controller. I got my original Xbox after they started packing in the S, so the Duke is not included for me. The Xbox S controller was fantastic.

360 controller was just a better version of the original S controller. I loved the bumpers and the updated contours.

DS4 was a step up over the older DS design that would always give me hand cramps, but it was never as good as the 360 and XO. I bought one of those USB adapter things so I could play PS4 games with my XO controller.

DS5 is fine, but the damn thing breaks so easily that I can't justify using it with my PC, even though I like the haptics better than the regular rumble. The current gen Xbox controllers can also be picked up cheaper on sale, so I've been sticking with them.

I've tried a variety of other controllers from Guilikit, 8-Bit Do, Razor, etc. and also the Xbox Elite V2. I always come back to the plain ol' black Xbox controller.
 
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I have never really as much of an Xbox guy as I am with Sony and Nintendo. However, the Elite 2 controller is the best controller I've ever used. I'm not really too bothered as I generally find all modern controllers very much playable.
 
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8bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth. Hands down the best gaming controller. Use it for both Switch and PC
 
Dualshock 2 was always the best one, DS3 is an alright substitute.

Everything else to the trash. Who in his right mind would make concave sticks, or face buttons that have a strong resistance/travel and not flat tops..
 
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Griffon said:
Dualshock 2 was always the best one, DS3 is an alright substitute.

Everything else to the trash. Who in his right mind would make concave sticks or face buttons that have a strong resistance/travel.
Click to expand...
But the DS4 and Dualsense aren't concave? They have a "rim", but the spot where your thumb goes is not concave.
 
I can see some liking the comfort/form factor of the Xbox controller. But tech wise it's dogshit compared to the DualSense. Missing so many features they should be $20 a piece.
 
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I really like the NiGTHS controller for the Saturn. It was super comfortable.

Other than that, I'm a big fan of the Wii controller. It was very appealing and it had the IR pointer that changed everything..
 
Xbox, but their quality has gone down hill ever since the 360 controller. I bought an elite, figuring the QC would be better. Trash, but heavier. Mulling over an 8bitdo once my last Xbox one controller dies
 
PS5 controller. Perfect size, feel and weight for my hands. It's not that past controllers were bad. I could adjust to almost anything. But I always had a feeling the PlayStation controllers weren't weighty enough. Sometimes I choose to play on PS5 just because of the controller.

I'm usually, "So and so thing was *way* better in the past," but that's not true of controllers for me. The best is right now.
 
What makes the 360 controller superior to the XB1/Series controller?

I at first hated the XB1 controller because it's a bit smaller than the 360, but once I got used to it, I don't think I can look back.
 
I contend that the majority of people who express a preference for the DualSense controller likely haven't used an Xbox controller. I say this with five generations of PS controllers.
 
Overall I have to give it to the DS4. If only the sticks weren't so prone to drifting it would be pure perfection.

But after my OG Xbox Elite elite died I took a chance on the Xbox series X controller I must say it has low-key become one of my fav for PC gaming.
 
Just from a nostalgia perspective…the US NES controller…GOAT work horse.


In my "advanced age" the razer Wolverine v3 pro is what I use on PC.

The Razer lever less arcade controller is my go to now for fighting games (old man reflexes etc etc).

I have a customer built lever stick that is amazing but I'm old and slow now.

Mobile - the 8bitdo claim shell or razer kishi v2 mobile controller gets the win.

Switch pro controller 1 & 2 are crazy top tier.

I collect controllers like other folks collect high end sneakers…I don't use them but I do admire them.
 
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Love this controller and I've tried retiring it a couple times, but nothing else I have tried feels as good as this does. I bought a couple extras (still sealed :messenger_beaming:) to have when the one I'm currently using eventually fails me or the sticks get drifted, etc. Everything about it is damn near perfect to me. I even bought a dongle so I can use it with any console that has USB ports.
 
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DS4 is the best, if they fit the DualSense Edge functionality into the DS4 shape (lose the adaptive triggers though) it would be the perfect controller. NSW2 and NSW1 pro controllers are the next best.
 
360 has like, nothing to complain about. Slim enough, colorful enough, felt solid and tight. Xbox button... it just had it all
 
Xbox Elite 2 Core. Resolved the quality issue from OG Elite/2 for me and solid AF for Apex or DOOM or Rayman/Ori etc. Not that d-pad though, the other traditional one for me.

s-l1200.webp
 
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Xbox Elite controller still in the lead for me.

Main thing is comfort and ergonomics of the device are the best. Grip material is great, the back paddles are useful, it works out of the box for pretty much all PC games with gamepad support, and battery life is good.

PS5 Dual Sense is a good 2nd, where I think the adaptive triggers and haptic rumble are great if a game supports them, I do think the L1 & R1 are more comfortable than Xbox...but the battery life is crap, the adaptive triggers don't work wirelessly on PC (or have any faster than bluetooth wireless on PC), and some PC games won't work with it (though Steam input keeps improving this).

Nintendo's Pro controllers wouldn't be that bad either, if the triggers weren't bad. On Smash Bros. though, I can't not use a Gamecube pad.
 
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Toss up between the 8bitdo Ultimate and Pro 2 controllers. I don't know what it is about them but they somehow just nail how a controller should feel.

These controllers are incidentally also as different as Xbox and PS controllers from one another. But both feel amazing to me in some way that the originals do not.
 
Xbox Elite 2. Oh man, the grip all over it, front, back, sides, the adjustable triggers, high, middle, low press, the 4 add ons buttons to the back, the easiness of changing the buttons to any button you want in the Xbox elite 2 settings right on Xbox. I just love the controller. It feels the best of all time!
 
My main issue with Playstation controllers are the built in batteries. Also, older ones were just too small. The PS4 controller was a nice upgrade. Xbox controllers use standard batteries and can be used on PC easily. Based purely on hours used, Xbox 360 controller is the best. The Xbox One controller made some nice changes, but doesn't work as well with my PC and I have to have it plugged in. I have hated Nintendo controllers since the Wii. It is dumb that you need to buy a proper controller separately. I do not have a PS5 or Xbox Series, so I have no idea how those are.
 
Xbox Elite. Switch Pro is insanely comfortable, but it has other shortcomings. Dualsense is just pure garbage in terms of ergonomics.
 
For general, modern use? DS5. The haptics and speaker and force feedback are often nice on PS5, the gyro and touchpad are great on PC. A little heavy and the battery is bullshit. Buttons and dpad are just 'pretty nice', but they aren't atrophied like in some modern controllers. They get a lot of real estate. It's totally acceptable for 2d games.

But that's just for general use. A really beautiful controller is the genesis 6-button. 6 face buttons was a world we could have lived in. Not that we deserve it.

The Dreamcast controller is one of the nastiest things ever packed in a box. The vmu was amazing but functionally as a controller it was god awful. I hate it and as always, Dreamcast deserved to die; suck it.

I think the standard genesis controller is underrated. It has a very distinct feel with the buttons and dpad having all that float. The straight layout on those big buttons. And it was a real ergonomic step up from an nes. And when you threw one, the buttons pop out.

Saturn jp pad is overrated. Sorry. It's not a nice pad and a great classic
-style shape, but the l,r,x,y,z buttons are not so hot. The shoulders because the switches are weakly sprung and have very little travel. They feel like they are worn out. The top ros of face buttons because the have an unpleasant shape. Small and too sharply domed.

If I'm playing retro I'm always doing it on real hardware so I get to use all those. I have a dual sense each for the pc and the PS5. I have a switch pro, which is quite nice, that is used for a tablet. The tablet with intel integrated graphics that is a far better portable than a switch.

Besides the awful, terrible, but fixable situation with the dpad, switch pro has a lot going for it. I especially like that the triggers aren't analog. Unfortunately, sometimes you need that. It's rare, when you think about it. I should use it more because I can see this winning me over from the dual sense for PC use.
 
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