MS Fixes D-Pad! PS! Fuck you America!

[Charles]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/microsoft-tweaks-xbox-360-controller


Microsoft has confirmed that it will be releasing a new Xbox 360 controller with a revised d-pad.

The model is designed for games which make full use of the d-pad, and will only be available in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

What the fuckity fuck fuck are they thinking?

[Fugitive]

Well, it does lend some credence to the theory that it's a patent thing, presumably a US-specific one.

[Charles]

Well, it does lend some credence to the theory that it's a patent thing, presumably a US-specific one.

Considering there's a "fix it yourself" option that involves simply removing some plastic around the d-pad, I don't think it's a patent issue.

[intruder]

Seems the reason is that the pad is designed for Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven) and since soccer is not popular in NA I guess that's why you are left out.

Details here:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=218894

Picture here:
http://www.eurogamer.net/gallery.php?game_id=&article_id=218838

Feel like Europeans for once...

[Charles]

Considering part of my job entails "How to design the game so that you aren't using a useless/problematic d-pad", I don't think it's a problem relegated to soccer games.

[Rock8man]

I hate all d-pads. Every single one of them. So the fact this won't be coming out for NA is good news to me. That means less developers will be encouraged to design games with the d-pad in mind. The poor d-pad on the 360 has been the most encouraging development in game-controllers for gamers like me who have always hated the d-pad (since the NES days), because it actually has encouraged more games to be designed for the analog stick.

At least, that's what I'd like to believe.

[Bahimiron]

Feel like Europeans for once...

Haven't showered for days!

[Zerot]

The d-pad on the controller that came with my Elite is pretty good, but my launch controller packed with my Pro is absolutely terrible.

For people with problems with controllers: how old are your controllers? What color are they? Since my newer controller has a much improved d-pad over my older one, maybe the problems were partially fixed in newer/black batches.

[RobotPants]

I have an Elite, too. The dpad is better than the one that came with my older 360, but still pretty terrible.

And I'm not entirely certain why they wouldn't fix the damn thing for everyone. It's weird that it would be a soccer game-specific thing since people have been complaining about the controller since release. There are tons of games that make use of the pad, notably a lot of the XBLA games.

[Problematique]

Seems the reason is that the pad is designed for Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven) and since soccer is not popular in NA I guess that's why you are left out.

Details here:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=218894

Picture here:
http://www.eurogamer.net/gallery.php?game_id=&article_id=218838

Feel like Europeans for once...


Is that the controller?

Is it me or does that Look exactly the same, as my current one ( but green).

[RobotPants]

The deal is they're changing the dpad. Not the whole controller.

[Problematique]

The deal is they're changing the dpad. Not the whole controller.


I meant the pad. Looks exactly the same.

[MSUSteve]

The d-pad does look exactly the same. Maybe it clicks or has some sort of tactile feel that doesn't come across in screenshots. If it ends up being good, Americans will be able to import it, right?

[Moore]

sure, making a $60 controller $80, instead of the $35 you can pay for them here (sales etc..)

That's $320 for me..

[ProStyle]

This (http://www.joystickvault.com/showphoto.php/photo/775/cat/500/ppuser/278) is the best solution to the 360 D-pad I've found so far, and if I'm going to have to shell out for a new controller anyways I might as well kit out something sick with Sanwa/Happ gear.

[Mike Pugliese]

This announcement is giving me the utmost desire to crack open my 360 remotes and start sanding them down a la those YouTube tutorial videos.

I really don't feel like importing four more "fixed" controllers.

[RobotPants]

Well, yeah, it's not any cosmetic problem. It's just too spongy. Since there's only 8 directions you'd ever need to move, it's dumb that there aren't 8 definite directions the pad can move in. It almost has the feel of some kind of analog stick with a pad stuck on the top.

[MSUSteve]

sure, making a $60 controller $80, instead of the $35 you can pay for them here (sales etc..)

That's $320 for me..
You'd buy four new controllers? Just for accuracy's sake, a 360 controller is $49.99, not $59.99. I've seen them regularly available for $39.99 and $44.99 on sale, but not $35, though I believe you if you say you have. Ordering a 360 controller from Play-Asia.com right now is $42.90 + $10.40 for Air Economy shipping. So you're looking at $53.40 to import a controller. So with tax here in Michigan (6%) I'd be paying 52.99 for a full priced 360 controller, the price which the new ones would obviously launch at. So I'd have to spend 41 cents extra to import the new one as opposed to buying it from Play-Asia? Hell, even if the Play-Asia price was a full $49.99, you're looking at $60.39 to import a controller, not $80. And if you absolutely HAD to have four brand new controllers, you'd spend $241.56 importing as opposed to $199.96 (without any sales tax). A significant difference, but nowhere near the dramatic difference you seem to think.

[extarbags]

Remind me what's wrong with the current d-pad?

[Rock8man]

Remind me what's wrong with the current d-pad?

For those of us who want to use d-pads as little as possible: nothing. It changes weapons/weapon modes in action games, scrolls through units in strategy games, navigates inventory items, etc. just fine.

For those that like using it for games which require precision movement, it's very unreliable and doesn't always "connect" when you want it to, especially when you're trying to do things that require using diagonal directions. Some say that using the "screwdriver" mod (i.e. hacking away at the sides of the d-pad so it has more room) makes it a lot better, others say the problem is more fundamental with how the d-pad functions.

[Fugitive]

The diagonals on it are really problematic, and it's difficult to hit a direction and have only that direction register, without any transients on the other nearby directions. It's not so bad when you only need to occasionally tap the cardinal directions for inventory switching or special functions, but it's terrible when you're trying to use it for a full range of movement.

edit: beaten!

[flyinj]

The diagonals on it are really problematic, and it's difficult to hit a direction and have only that direction register, without any transients on the other nearby directions. It's not so bad when you only need to occasionally tap the cardinal directions for inventory switching or special functions, but it's terrible when you're trying to use it for a full range of movement.

edit: beaten!

Not even this. Sometimes when I tap right to select something it registers as UP or DOWN. Not diagonally up or down, but the cardinal direction up or down.

I have three 360 controllers, and this happens on every single one of them.

The worst console interface ever created. My hand-destroying Coleco controllers were more accurate than this piece of shit dpad.

[wonderpug]

Remind me what's wrong with the current d-pad?

This article (http://www.destructoid.com/undeniable-failure-an-open-letter-to-microsoft-on-the-xbox-360-dpad-76299.phtml) illustrates the problem very well.

Instead of having the d-pad directly touch the rubber membrane like every single other d-pad in history, the Xbox controller adds an extra intermediate piece of plastic in the middle of the process. You press on the d-pad, which presses on another piece of plastic, and that piece of plastic presses on the rubber membrane. The basic effect of the extender is that instead of tilting a fairly 2-dimensional disk to choose up/down/left right, you're tilting a 3 dimensional cylinder.

[Rock8man]

Not even this. Sometimes when I tap right to select something it registers as UP or DOWN. Not diagonally up or down, but the cardinal direction up or down.

I have three 360 controllers, and this happens on every single one of them.

Wow, flyinj. I've used at least 10 different controllers with various 360s, and this happens with none of them. Diagonals can sometimes go wrong, but I've never seen it pick a direction 90 degrees away from the one I pressed.

[Moore]

Guess, what? you can only get these one at a time in bundles with some fucking soccer game!

[Bahimiron]

Guess, what? you can only get these one at a time in bundles with some fucking soccer game!

Hm. I wonder if it's the soccer game mentioned earlier in the thread.

[Charles]

Wow, flyinj. I've used at least 10 different controllers with various 360s, and this happens with none of them. Diagonals can sometimes go wrong, but I've never seen it pick a direction 90 degrees away from the one I pressed.

That doesn't make it not true -- during playtesting Assassin's Creed, one of the big bits of feedback we received was that it was "difficult" to select a weapon. People always selected the wrong one.

The mapping was pretty foolproof though -- Up = Blade, Down = Unarmed, Right = Sword, Left = Dagger. Nothing on the diagonals. But sometimes pressing right or left would give you an up or down, and this was seen on a massive scale and universally annoyed most of the QC staff.

We eventually addressed it by simply making sure you rarely if ever had to change weapons in any kind of a pressure situation.

[flyinj]

That doesn't make it not true -- during playtesting Assassin's Creed, one of the big bits of feedback we received was that it was "difficult" to select a weapon. People always selected the wrong one.

The mapping was pretty foolproof though -- Up = Blade, Down = Unarmed, Right = Sword, Left = Dagger. Nothing on the diagonals. But sometimes pressing right or left would give you an up or down, and this was seen on a massive scale and universally annoyed most of the QC staff.

We eventually addressed it by simply making sure you rarely if ever had to change weapons in any kind of a pressure situation.

Oh yeah, this happened to me in this game too. Very frustrating.

[Kalle]

So, yay for releasing a better controller. I hate, hate, hate the fucking xbox neon vomit green trademark colour though.

[Moore]

Hm. I wonder if it's the soccer game mentioned earlier in the thread.

Right, my point being, this will make them more than 50, you cannot buy one seperately. You have to buy tons of soccer games and then throw them away to get enough to fix your whole setup.

[jfletch]

Wow, flyinj. I've used at least 10 different controllers with various 360s, and this happens with none of them. Diagonals can sometimes go wrong, but I've never seen it pick a direction 90 degrees away from the one I pressed.

That definitely happens to me, too.

[Shieldwolf]

Fixed D pad just in time for Street Fighter IV

[ydejin]

So, yay for releasing a better controller. I hate, hate, hate the fucking xbox neon vomit green trademark colour though.

That was exactly what I thought when I saw a photo of them. That green looks absolutely awful.

[EvilIdler]

I get the misselection in games which use the D-pad, too, but I'm not going from black to puke green. Even if I could get the controller alone.