Hikari On The Subject

After E3, the gaming community was all a buzz about 2 controllers; The PS3's boomerang, and the Revolution's remote. While people have warmed up to Revolution controller, still freaked out but, intrigued nonetheless, many are still concerned about what'll happen if they chuck their PS3 controller across the room; will it smash into the wall, or come back and smack 'em in the eye?

After some digging I came across some interesting comparisons to a 3rd party PS1 controller by a company called Alps, which has a very similar design to the PS3 controller. One thing that struck me about the control, aside from the similarities, is that many people seemed to actually like it. As I look around for info on it, kept coming across phrases like "Best controller ever!" and "4-out-of-5!" While I still don't know about the PS3 controller, I'm gonna give it a chance here and take a look at their new tool of interaction.

Given the fact that the controller looks like it's got the same essential layout as the Dual-Shock series, it shouldn't be too different for people already used to the current setup. Still, that left analog stick and the d-pad are in a little weirdly placed in my opinion. But, people have been using that setup for almost 10 years now, so if it ain't broke don't fix it, right? Though, I know more than a few people who say that layout is less than perfect.

In terms of features, it looks about the same as the original, however, Sony has stated that this time around their control would feature wireless capabilities. The nice thing about the coming generation overall is that all 3 consoles will be wireless, rather having another set of cords cluttering up your gaming space.

As for the overall shape, I can't really imagine my self holding it. When I first see just about any other controller, I can imagine what it looks and feels like. The PS3s banana of a control is a little harder for me to wrap my hands around, especially I haven't seen anyone actually hold the thing.

While Sony started out saying that the control was a concept design, they later said that it's pretty close to what the final control will be like. Is it possible that the newer PS3 controller, could eventually look more like the Alps PS1 controller and be just as beloved or will it be awkward, uncomfy, and open the door for lawsuits because there's no warning that the control will come back when thrown? Only time and Sony will tell.