Andy Laub

I’m just going to spell it out right here: the PS2 controller sucks. Yes, I said PS2, as in the console that’s been out for 5 years and the one that I’ve owned and played for 2. What brought me to this conclusion was a small number of things, but the most notable is my old nemesis Gran Turismo. I thought the original GT was fantastic. There was nothing else like it and it happened to only be available for the Playstation 1 that I already had. Great. I bought it. Then I bought the second one - even better. Then I bought a PS2, and the third one, which was terrible. The most recent, Gran Turismo 4, is a good recovery.

Then Forza Motorsport came along and pretty much stomped all over it. It’s been argued to death everywhere which is better and both have their own disciples, but there is one thing Forza has that absolutely kills GT: the controller. While the PS2 controller is basically a copy of the DualShock PS1 controller (which seemed to evolve from the Super Nintendo’s), Microsoft opted to put two larger triggers on the bottom of the Xbox controllers (similar to the Dreamcast in design and similar to the N64’s single trigger in concept). The advantage of these triggers is that they have more travel than any buttons on the PS2 controller, and it’s easier to modulate pressure on them, kind of the way you do with the foot pedals in your car.

Logically, driving games on the Xbox take advantage of these triggers and use them for the gas / brake controls meaning you can control the pressure on each instead of either pressing down or not pressing down. The controller has stayed relatively intact for the new generation aside from wirelessness and a slight makeover, meaning that driving games will continue to use this functionality, meaning that Forza 2 and likely Grand Theft Auto 4 will use this functionality. This is very good. Gran Turismo 5: Rehash Edition will sport next-gen graphics but be stuck with the same old controller it’s always been stuck with, meaning more sore thumbs when you’re mashing the X button and trying to make yourself go faster. Oh! Maybe you’ll get to use “motion sensors” to move your car. Right, that sounds awesome.

Whatever. I seriously don’t see myself ending up with a PS3 for a long time if at all, whereas an Xbox 360 will probably join the family as soon as Forza 2 shows up.