/vr/ - Retro Games

Because when it came out (1989), the only real competition was NES, which had four buttons. SEGA thought it would be better to move the mostly useless select button over to have 3 primary buttons and one pause button. Besides, there's a six button Genesis pad.

I prefer the Genesis controller to the SNES controller. Come at me, faggot.

Three is more than two.

More is better.

Because it is the layout of an arcade cabinet. Have you even used one, faggot?

Any particular reason why not 3 buttons? Why 2 buttons? Or 4 + 2 shoulders? Or 6, 2 shoulder buttons, a practically unreachable rear button ,and 2 forms of directional control? It's no stranger then anything else, much less strange than the N64 controller for sure. Also, I prefer the 6 button Genesis pad to pretty much any other controller ever, except maybe Gamecube.

>>1824318
>Being this stupid

Actually use it and find out. The d-pad alone shits all over the SNES one. Also the Genesis was originally in competition with the SNES and when it came out fighting games were not the trendy thing on the market so it was extremely rare for something to require more than three.

>>1824408
Exactly.

If OP was more than just bait, he would know that the NES controller and the Genesis controller have the same amount of buttons. Which would be four, in case he can't count.

>>1824367
That's just stupid mang

>>1824398
There is a point where more face buttons give diminishing returns. I actually believe it starts at four. This is why shoulder and back buttons were invented; to relieve your thumb of some of the work and give your other digits something to do, resulting in greater input control.

>>1824367
The only think I like better about the SNES controller is the addition of shoulder buttons.

Genny had tons of arcade ports, arcade games at the time were wired to use 4 directions + 3 action buttons + Start (plus the coin input). That was the JAMMA standard connector set, iirc.

>>1824423
Or you can put the controller in your lap and use the claw grip. Even back in the 90s, both me and my sister used to do that when a game required serious button mashing. Though, the only such games we had was Aladdin where you need to throw a bajillion apples a second on some bosses. While jumping around. And you could stunlock the last boss if you threw apples at him fast enough.

>>1824398
It isn't retro but I could never see how people can like the Gamecube controller. The joystick is stiff and inaccurate, the d-pad was even worse then the 360 and over half the knockoff controller d-pads to have ever been made, the triggers were mushy, the bumpers were stiff, the c-stick has no grip, the only things I liked were the varying face buttons and the actual controller mold.

And OP, can you not reach the buttons with your thumb? Most normal people can maneuver that, which is why a right joystick on a controller is pretty customary now, and that requires a good deal of thumb flexibility.

A - Magic/special attack/item
B - Regular attack
C - Jump

Now the Master System was truly retarded.

I like the SNES layout, but it's always felt cheap to me and less solid than other controllers. You know it's bad when you're watching videos of people playing and you can hear the plastic creaking.

>>1824443

I never cared for it either. Ditching the cross layout for the face buttons and making them different shapes (X & Y always confuse me) just made it awkward, its awkward switching from the huge R trigger to the regular Z-button, and the triggers feel mushy on top of that. They aren't even analog, are they? Maybe it was just the games I played, but it seemed like they only had a kind of 2-stage, half-pressed/fully-pressed functionality.

>>1824546

Hate to continue the non-retro discussion but the GC triggers were analog, it was used in some games. (I didn't care for that controller either)

I started with SNES so maybe I was a bit spoiled but the genesis controllers felt really primitive to me. The lack of shoulder buttons, combined with the fact that they're arranged in a straight line like that makes it much less intuitive. When I rest my hands on the snes controller I have immediate access to all the buttons at once, it's much harder to roll your thumb with the genesis.

The d-pad on the later genesis controllers is awesome though, especially for shmups.

>>1824369
But the Genesis loses the Select button, so at the end of the day it has the same number of buttons as NES.

The 6 button controller was a big improvement.

But you can't get better than this.

>>1824318
SNES was the first controller with 4 main buttons.

>>1824563
The SNES controller is vary uncomfortable to be. I don't like the shape or the way it sits in my hands, and the d-pad is horrendous. I like that it has shoulder buttons and a circular arrangement for the face buttons, but other than that, I'm not a fan at all.

Really, none of Nintendo's controllers are very good to me.

I'm surprised at how good this controller actually is. The control stick, d-pad and face buttons are miles above the DC controller's.

It's a shame this controller was so woefully underutilized, especially compared to the Dualshock on the Playstation.

>>1824585
I know what you mean about the snes pad being uncomfortable, it's a little small in my adult hands, though I didn't really mind it as a kid.

Weirdly (because it seems to be really unpopular), my favorite nintendo controller is the n64. If you get over the three-prong thing and just hold it properly based on the game you're playing it seems to be really ergonomic.

I like that it gives the sweet-spot to the analog stick or the d-pad depending on what you need more, and the L and Z buttons just sort of act redundantly depending on which handling you use.

First time I hear the D pad of the SNES was bad, it was great for fighting games, and doing 40+ combos on killer instinct was as easy on the snes as in arcade machines.

The super nintendo controller is also ideal for platformers like Mario in which you hold one button to run, and use another button to jump, you can do both things just with your thumb on Y and B.

If it had 2 back buttons instead of 2 shoulder buttons it would be a perfect controller for 2d games

>>1824436
>Or you can put the controller in your lap and use the claw grip.
Might as well get a real arcade stick at that point.

>>1824318
Sega was an arcade company.

>>1824415
>>1824564
Let's be honest, you don't want to use the Select button as a main button, now?

>>1824698
I hate the SNES d-pad. It doesn't feel responsive to me at all, and it's not comfortable to use for extended periods.

This is coming from someone who owned brand new SNES d-pads back in the 90s, so I'm not just saying this based on used controllers.

>>1824732
I'm not a fan of the SNES d-pad either. I also think it's a bit small for adult hands.

To me, the best controller for 2D games is the Saturn controller. It takes all of the good things from both Genesis and SNES with none of the bad.

>>1824706
>Sega was an arcade company.
WAS a game company.

But now seriously, the Genesis controler was good for the games that were the standards back then. Once the Snes came out, the games became more complex button-wise and if you don't believe me, just try to play the Genesis version of a Snes game with a 3 button controller.

There's a reason why Sega later created a 6 button controller.

>>1824414
The Genesis came out almost 2 years before the SNES in both Japan and the US. It was meant to compete with the NES. And no, it doesn't. Nintendo's D-Pads have always been the benchmark.

>>1824639
I feel that the shape of the Dreamcast controller and the buttons, d-pad, and analog stick (pad?) of the 3D Saturn controller would have made a really good controller.

>>1824759
>a bit small
By that I mean the controller as a whole, not the d-pad.

>>1824764
The Saturn 3D controller had one of the best analog sticks I've ever seen. It's actually a set of hall-effect sensors, not potentiometers. There's no mechanism that can wear out.

>>1824762
>Nintendo's D-Pads have always been the benchmark.
Nah, I disagree. the D-pad has always been the Achilles heel of Nintendo controllers in my opinion. At least the N64 controller didn't use the D-pad for most games.

>>1824415
>>1824564
>using Select for gameplay

>>1824773
Some Genesis games used the Start button, you know.

>>1824762
>It was meant to compete with the NES

Yeah that's what I meant to say instead of SNES.

>>1824760
>walk around my neighborhood in Japan.
>See four different SEGA game centers
more like IS a game company. Where the Nintendo game centers?

>>1824732

I also owned a SNES in the 90s, and had Street Fighter II Turbo, Mortal Kombat II, Samurai Shodown and Killer Instinct for SNES and also played the real versions on arcades.

Never had a problem with the dpad, the only problem was the shoulder buttons in fighting games like street fighter that use 6 buttons, everything I could do with the arcade stick I could also do comfortably with the dpad.

>>1824639
I think the dumbest decision Sega ever made was not just using a direct copy of that 3D pad for their Dreamcast controllers. It was ugly as fuck but god damn was that Saturn controller comfy.

>>1824786

>>1824787
That's cool and all, but from my own personal experience, the d-pad just isn't very responsive and I just don't like the way it feels.

>>1824813
Are you saying it was bad because YOU didn't liked it?

>>1824826
I'm saying it's bad because my experience with it is bad. That's generally how you determine if you think something is good or bad.

>>1824837
Well I say it's good so there.

>>1824837
I liked the pad and never had any problems with it.

That makes 2 good opinions against your lone bad one so you lose.
I love democracy.

>>1824568
Aaww shit that thing is sexy. I always dug the six button Sega controller model with the less wobbly D-pad, but now I want one of these things. How do they compare to the Super Advantage on the SNES? I'm playing through ALTTP with the Super Advantage and I'm loving the responsive joystick but the buttons are annoyingly raised and sometimes stick.

>>1824859
Well, now it's a tie. I don't like the SNES dpad either. I only owned a SNES until 1999, when I started collecting other consoles. I quickly found other controllers to be much more comfortable and better to play with.

I will say that the SNES controller is the best from Nintendo, but it's still not high up on my list.

>>1824318
Because when the Genesis came out, 3 buttons was plenty enough. For most arcade games had either one button, two buttons, or Defender.

(yes, Stargate had one more, but I found this photo.)

>>1824575

>>1824575

>>1824941
>>1824983

>>1824803
My dad works there.

>>1824983
What the fuck did they expect you to do with that

>>1825415
Phone home

>>1824760
>There's a reason why Sega later created a 6 button controller.

It was specifically made for Street Fighter 2.

>>1824803
That looks more like a prison than an office building.

>>1825418
Funny

>>1825427
I agree. the fuck is that shit.

Street Fighter 2

>trying to do combos

SNES controller
>ow my thumb

6 button Genesis controller
>i could do this for hours

>>1825415
Select games.
Issue orders to your armies
Make plays.
Horn.

Is that Hyperkin Genesis controller as good as an actual Sega six-button pad, or is it shit like all the other modern third-party controllers?

>>1825446
In SF2CE if you used a 3 button controller you had to press the start button to switch between punch and kick.

>>1824398
>still shitposting about N64 controller

There really needs to be a test for people to be able to post here.

>>1826456
>Simply pointing out every other controller design was pretty arbitrary, not singling out the N64 controller at all
>Picking out my post to comment on pointlessly instead of talking about the Genesis controller

There really needs to be a test for people to be able to post here.

>>1826790
I think your bit about
>a practically unreachable rear button
is the part that probably gave you away as yet another imbecile who's either trolling or has never actually used an N64 controller.

>>1826790
>defending his shitpost

Yeah, you keep on doing that.

>>1824803

>>1826796
In all honestly I don't like the N64 controller, in fact I use pic related instead because it's functionally much better and is comfy as all hell. But that's besides the point, my feelings on the N64 controller are nigh irrelevant to the thread. The point of the thread is that OP is either trolling or has never actually used a Genesis controller.

Though to belabor the point, I don't see what is great about the N64 controller, or how it's even defensible. I know you're going to say you never needed both the D-Pad and the stick at the same time, but there were games that used both. And even if you aren't using both, holding that middle part and trying to use the stick feels extremely awkward. The Saturn 3D controller released just 1 month after the N64 released, and it had a much more sensible control setup. If the N64 had a superior arrangement modern controllers would have mutant third arms instead of having a control stick and d-pad above and below each other like the Saturn 3D controller has.

>>1826846
>holding that middle part and trying to use the stick feels extremely awkward.
Trollbait or dumbass, you decide.

>>1826846
I agree that the N64 controller is odd, but it was comfy as fuck as a kid.
Since then, my hands have grown and I have a hard time holding it correctly myself. My hand just doesn't fit comfortably between the left and center handles.

>>1826858
Didn't realize I wasn't allowed to have an opinion lmao
I like the Genesis more than the SNES and the PS1 and Saturn more than the N64, can't wait to hear what you think of that!

>>1826865
My god, thank you for not being a vicious angsty twat.

>>1826873
Welcome to /vr/

Best controller coming through.

>>1824318
I think it was because the SNES was a progressive consumer market meant for stable middle class whites and Asians and the TG-16 and the Sega MD were for ethnic and working class persons that for some reason do not need as many buttons...
Look at the marketing for the systems in America and also in japan...
Like look at some of the rpgs that were to text driven that mature content that never made to America and then look at the weird advertisements for the games...
Later they revised it but I think in the beginning it was because it was a working class game system in America that was not developed for by third party's or internally by in house...

>>1826846
>The Saturn 3D controller released just 1 month after the N64 released
Less than 2 weeks, actually.

How the fuck is it not intuitive?

>>1827278
Not OP but the way the 3 buttons are aligned is really unintuitive. I can think of several better ways to align three buttons so that they would all be reachable without having to shift your thumb around.

I love the Genesis but have you ever tried to play a game that uses the A and C buttons frequently? It can be hell on your right thumb.

>>1827552
>I can think of several better ways to align three buttons
Hindsight is 20/20.

>>1827558
And foresight is pretty much the definition of intuition.

The genesis controller has its share of positives, but it wasn't intuitive at all.

Why does everybody shit on the Genesis controller for only having three buttons like the six button controller never existed, but NOBODY shits on the Playstation controller for not having analogue sticks on the initial release?

Why the extreme double standard?

Only buy official SEGA products. Hyperkin's build quality is utter shit.

>>1824318
>bitching about the buttons
>not the ridiculously short cord lenght

>>1827654
I've never had any problem with the Genesis controller's cord length. You want to see short, look no further than the TurboGrafx.

>>1827662
Just asking how long is your cord? And you're talking about the base 3-button controller right?

>>1827669
Yes; I have more official three button controllers than I know what to do with. I mean, granted, it's not as long as the US SNES cord but you still have a pretty decent amount of space.

Again, it's the TG-16 controllers that are ridiculously short.

>>1826293
It's so-so. I'd only recommend getting it if you can't find an official one for a better price because the Hyperkin one has a really stiff pad and at least with mine one of the buttons feels odd while pressing it.

>>1827696
I get it, it's just because I'm in yuroland. Fuck those cheap faggots. Mine reach 40 inches at best.

>>1827696

Wow I forgot how long those things actually are. What's that, like six or seven feet?

>>1827638
>hyperkin
>ever making a good product ever
>quality

>>1824772
>the D-pad has always been the Achilles heel of Nintendo controllers

Are you high? The NES and SNES had great d-pads. Nintendo really did set the standard for d-pads.

>>1827879
Nah, I disagree. I always preferred the d-pad on the Genesis and Saturn controllers. Much more responsive and they don't murder my thumbs after hours of gameplay.

>>1824768
The only fault I find with the Saturn/Dreamcast sticks is that they tend to twist a little as they wear out. I wish they didn't do that.

>>1824568

No microswitches

>>1827696
Going by the colors, you are using a PC Engine Duo/PCE controller.

In Japan, cord lengths were that small because of the way they played games back in the 80's/early 90's. Most of them played much closer to the television with the console on the floor, as the typical Japanese living room is much smaller than an American one.

From what I've heard the American cords are pretty short too, but this would be because NEC's US division wasn't very competent.