Best Gamepad For Two Player Pandora Action Available Again

[rmm2131]

I know it's a new topic about an almost weekly discussion of USB gamepads for the Pandora but believe me it's worth it having its own spot rather than at the back of an another thread about the Wii Classic Controller, because of the last tidbit at the end of this post(for those who don't want to read the lead in).

There are many high quality USB controllers out there.

There are many USB controllers out there but few are any good. The D-pad gets the most neglect with what's available. Logitech has a few semi-lousy pads along with Saitek, whose D-pads like to cut into your thumbs after a few hadokens. The PS3 controller is good but I found the D-pad painful especially with fighters. Twisted Metal games work with it well though.

In my experience the Wii classic controller has one of the best dpads I have ever used. If you think that there is a controller that matches the Wii classic controller d-pad just point me to a link, I'm more than happy to check it out. As I'm impatiently awaiting the arrival of a classic controller to USB adapter =)

I use Sega Saturn USB controllers. They're awesome

They were an official Sega product and still turn up now and then.

Actually the official Sega USB controller never come up on ebay, only the bootlegs from China show up as "Original" and "Genuine" auctions. They are very hit or miss in quality especially with the recent batches now being auctioned: http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=163928

Xbox360 Controller for PC:
The Xbox360 Controller for PC is a very good controller with a lousy D-pad but it really is a champ with excellent build quality if you need analog. Personally for me the face buttons are a little gummy and the triggers, well they suck.
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Controller-Windows/dp/B000BT4CF4/ref=sr_1_1/178-9201130-2756523?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1257885246&sr=8-1

Hori Xbox 360 Pad EX 2:
Hori is known for putting really good D-pads on their officially licensed Nintendo controllers so this one will likely continue the trend when it ships soon. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002LT9PXQ/ref=nosim/phtfilms-20
Here's a review and comparison with the older version of the Hori Pad and the 360 controller: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103629

Which brings me to this little nicety.
I love playing fighting games and the best controller for them design-wise was the Sega Saturn Controller. Well Sega doesn't produce the Saturn anymore or its accessories and years back they had official USB controllers which I mentioned previously are no longer made except as counterfeit junk on ebay.

So after almost buying some of the fake ones on ebay, I found out that Sega is going to make some more USB Saturn controllers.

The minor catch is that you have to purchase a VIP membership for at least three months from PlaySega which with coupon code "segafans" comes out to about $12. I bought two Sega Plug n'Play controllers with the three month cancel anytime membership and my paypal total was $35.56 which is cheaper than buying the bootlegs on ebay. You can buy up to three of them per VIP.
http://www.playsega.com/info/?action=whatIsPlaySEGAVIP

 

[typs lik dis]

Is it really the same, just rebranded? A couple of them might serve as my digital multiplayer controllers.

 

[rmm2131]

Is it really the same, just rebranded? A couple of them might serve as my digital multiplayer controllers.

Sega is making them so, if they are like the real USB Saturn pads from a few years ago, they will be awesome. They'll hopefully be well received(and hoarded) like the old official ones: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-19-71-127-49-en-15-Sega+Saturn+Style+Control+Pad-43-127.html

The only drawback is the tacky color scheme but that's a minor complaint which I can live with. B)
I'm just glad they didn't go with a Hello Kitty edition: http://blogs.vertigo.com/personal/jatwood/Blog/Lists/Photos/031408_0008_HowToKeepYo2.jpg

 

[Tokiopop]

I'm just going to use my PS3 controller, since that already has a USB connection. Yay no proprietaryness,

 

[Kramy]

I just went for a P3200.

Since I'm not a controller nut, all I can say is... it works fine? :huh:

Honestly, my favourite controller was the N64 one. All these new controllers with dual analog sticks are strange. ^_^ But since PC P3200's are available for about $8 each, I can't complain.

 

[Prometheus]

Good to see that the USB Saturn pads are available again, but it's USB adapters for SNES pads, for me. Also one of these.

Almost anything that isn't designed after Sony's awful controllers and is well-suited to older games is fine by me. :lol:

 

[rmm2131]

I'm just going to use my PS3 controller, since that already has a USB connection. Yay no proprietaryness,

I thought the PS3 controller only worked over Bluetooth.

Honestly, my favourite controller was the N64 one.

This might work for you Kramy: http://www.mayflash.com/pc/pc043/pc043.htm Supposedly a good product.

USB adapters for SNES pads, for me. Almost anything that isn't designed after Sony's awful controllers and is well-suited to older games is fine by me. :lol:

The D-pad on the Sony controller is its only flaw(for fighters). Madcatz SFIV pads are decent though and the face buttons have a nice SNES quality to them as far as pressibility. I do wish SNES USB adapters were cheaper but at least they are abundant.

 

[Prometheus]

I find the ergonomics of Sony's pads (and a great number of pads in that style) atrocious, personally. They *really* hurt my wrists.

 

[second exodous]

I'm just going to use my PS3 controller, since that already has a USB connection. Yay no proprietaryness,

I thought the PS3 controller only worked over Bluetooth.

Nope, when it has a usb cable plugged into it it is just a USB pad.

I find the ergonomics of Sony's pads (and a great number of pads in that style) atrocious, personally. They *really* hurt my wrists.

Do you have large or small hands? The PS controllers are the only ones that don't hurt my hands over prolonged use. Maybe that is because they haven't changed since the first PS so my hands have adjusted to them.

 

[rmm2131]

I thought the PS3 controller only worked over Bluetooth.

Nope, when it has a usb cable plugged into it it is just a USB pad.

I was hoping it was driverless(plug n'play HID): http://www.davieslim.com/ps3/using-ps3-controller-in-windows/ but it is good to know there's another wired choice.

 

[Prometheus]

Do you have large or small hands? The PS controllers are the only ones that don't hurt my hands over prolonged use. Maybe that is because they haven't changed since the first PS so my hands have adjusted to them.

Small or average, I guess. I must say that I was astonished to find one kind that's even worse than Sony's own, too - the Nyko Air-Flo EX. It's absolutely gigantic! Might be worth a look for some, so it's worth a mention.

 

[Kramy]

I have quite large hands. I wonder if that's why I love the N64 controller so much? :lol:

The PS1's controller was pretty small, but it worked fine for me too.

 

[MDave]

I'm REAL tempted to get one of those saturn usb controllers on ebay, especially considering the price. If the Dpad or buttons become an issue, I'll replace them with the original ones I have from my saturn controller.

 

[second exodous]

I thought the PS3 controller only worked over Bluetooth.

Nope, when it has a usb cable plugged into it it is just a USB pad.

I was hoping it was driverless(plug n'play HID): http://www.davieslim.com/ps3/using-ps3-controller-in-windows/ but it is good to know there's another wired choice.

It is driver-less in Linux, at least through USB in Ubuntu and Gentoo, the two I've tired it on. Blutooth is a different story, I've got it working once, ONCE, and it took a lot of work and have never even wanted to get it working again just because of the sheer amount of time it took me the first time. Though by now someone might have made a driver and put it in the kernal or something.

I think all around a blutooth controller would be best for the Pandora since it has blutooth anyway. Are the Xbox controllers blutooth? I know the Wii is.

Edit: Also, lets not forget that the made by the OP team is blutooth also, and since it has the same buttons it matches the Pandora!

 

[Tensuke]

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,115,4
Pair over USB and then you can use it over bluetooth.
Also I don't think the iControlPad has bluetooth, because of some crazy Apple app restrictions or something?

 

[wolfmanz51]

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,115,4
Pair over USB and then you can use it over bluetooth.
Also I don't think the iControlPad has bluetooth, because of some crazy Apple app restrictions or something?

i wonder if you could then use the sixaxis for homebrew...

 

[Tensuke]

How do you mean? Like using the motion-sensing?
http://www.pabr.org/sixlinux/sixlinux.en.html has a few examples of doing this. Not sure how well it'd work on Pandora(seems that we'd just need a few drivers/patches for it), but it'd certainly be cool to try!

 

[Exophase]

Edit: Also, lets not forget that the made by the OP team is blutooth also, and since it has the same buttons it matches the Pandora!

It doesn't use Bluetooth, it uses the iPhone's 30-pin connector.

 

[second exodous]

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,115,4
Pair over USB and then you can use it over bluetooth.
Also I don't think the iControlPad has bluetooth, because of some crazy Apple app restrictions or something?

This site that was linked from the page you linked makes me physically ill, it's the same site that I only got working once. Luckily I don't have access to PS3 controllers anymore. I'll wait until the process is stream lined to try PS3 controllers over blutooth. It will only take one person to make it rock solid on the Pandora for the community though. I think it should be built into the Linux kernal, that would just make it easy for everyone.

Edit: You need a jailbroke iphone or ipod to use the iconrolpad don't you? I think I remember someone saying that.

 

[Tensuke]

This site that was linked from the page you linked makes me physically ill, it's the same site that I only got working once. Luckily I don't have access to PS3 controllers anymore. I'll wait until the process is stream lined to try PS3 controllers over blutooth. It will only take one person to make it rock solid on the Pandora for the community though. I think it should be built into the Linux kernal, that would just make it easy for everyone.

Edit: You need a jailbroke iphone or ipod to use the iconrolpad don't you? I think I remember someone saying that.

Oh definitely, I was just saying that it will be doable. I'm sure someone(if it's not me) will make this all as simple a process as possible.