Exactly... it was just another cord that was too short. Just because they made the mistake chronically, doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake. Also, I listed it last because that was the issue that was least troublesome to me.The Apprentice wrote:How can it be too short?nateup2 wrote:Although it doesnt bother me that much that the cord comes out the bottom, it is way too short.
Just as a quick experiment, I layed out the Genesis 3 button, Genesis 6 button, Saturn pad, 3D pad, and Dreamcast controller, and they were all the same length!
DC G.O.A.T.? For real?!
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
How far away from the TV are you? If you consider 6 and a half feet of controller cord "short" then it's not an issue of controller design, it's a issue of layout. Sega's not going to slap on an extra 3 feet of cord to accomodate for the slim percentage of people who sit over 8 from the TV. They make extension cords for that.
As for the other problems, the D-pad is bad, but it isn't that bad. 2D seem to become rarer and rarer as time goes on, so I think the designers at Sega were trying to distance themselves from the 2D preference of the Saturn. If you need a better controller for fighting and shooter games you should get a arcade stick. This inconvenience is Sega's fault, but it probably worked to their advantage since people didn't see the controller as another rehash of dated technology.
The second thumbstick problem came about probably because of the same reason as the four face button problem. Sega needed a controller that people understood, and having a large controller with two thumbsticks, analog triggers, six face buttons, and a good D-pad would end up looking like the original X-Box pad.
I can't talk like I'm the authority on these issues, but I assume that every mistake you listed that Sega made in designing their controller was actually a well thought out descision that played in Sega's favor at the time.
As for the other problems, the D-pad is bad, but it isn't that bad. 2D seem to become rarer and rarer as time goes on, so I think the designers at Sega were trying to distance themselves from the 2D preference of the Saturn. If you need a better controller for fighting and shooter games you should get a arcade stick. This inconvenience is Sega's fault, but it probably worked to their advantage since people didn't see the controller as another rehash of dated technology.
The second thumbstick problem came about probably because of the same reason as the four face button problem. Sega needed a controller that people understood, and having a large controller with two thumbsticks, analog triggers, six face buttons, and a good D-pad would end up looking like the original X-Box pad.
I can't talk like I'm the authority on these issues, but I assume that every mistake you listed that Sega made in designing their controller was actually a well thought out descision that played in Sega's favor at the time.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
I haven't played the Dreamcast too much. In fact, I haven't spent too much time with Sega consoles at all. There are a few things that I don't really find important that people keep listing, such as its homebrew capability. Outside of modding a console to play imports, I don't really bother adding much else to it. The game library did have some amazing titles that were exclusive to it, and had many other titles that were exclusive until after the console had failed. The controller...I didn't care for it. Yes it was comfortable, but I didn't like the aesthetics, and the D-Pad wasn't very good. Also, the chord coming out the bottom...I can understand why, since they had the VMU slot, but it annoys me. Do I still want one? Yes, I'd like my piece of gaming history, and I still want to play the games.
On a funny note about DVD capability, Sega was working on a peripheral to run DVDs on the console, but it folded before they had finished it.
And for the record, my favorite console is the SNES, followed by the PS2 and the PS1.
On a funny note about DVD capability, Sega was working on a peripheral to run DVDs on the console, but it folded before they had finished it.
And for the record, my favorite console is the SNES, followed by the PS2 and the PS1.
The Playstation 2 was launched 16 months after the Dreamcast. I thought most of the comparisons were apt (Mega Drive vs. SNES anyone?). Fugue mentioned that the hard drive came out much later, and decided that I thought the Dreamcast sucks for some reason.ZenLogikos wrote:No offense, but this is a poorly thought out argument. As Fugue said, you're applying current console standards to one which came out in 1999. WTF?RackGaki wrote:There are too many faults in the Dreamcast to give it a Greatest title. One analog stick, poor VMU battery life, no hard drive, no DVD support, mixed third-party support, etc. But now, you can buy a Dreamcast in good condition and you can have hours of entertainment for less than $20 (you got ripped off if you paid more than that - my last two have been $20). Best $20 any gamer could possibly spend. Well, that and the $20 50-pack of blank CD-Rs.
One analog stick - irrelevant...the standard at the time was one control input, and the games were programmed accordingly
Poor VMU battery life - irrelevant to most...and not entirely true. What percentage of owners do you think used the vmu as anything other than a memory unit? Did you know that the battery is drained while plugged in when the system is off? Unplug the VMU when your DC is off.
No HDD - irrelevant...see anaolg stick
No DVD - irrelevant...again
Mixed third party support - The only major publisher absent was EA, and that only matters in the US.
BTW, I'm not even a Sega fan. I admit I do love the Dreamcast though, from day 1, for all the reasons Fugue stated. It's the only Sega console I own, although I used to own a Genesis. I was never impressed with any other Sega system.
I love the Dreamcast, and I used my last post to casually list a few things I don't like about it. The resulting outrage provides good anecdotal evidence of the Dreamcast's perceived immunity from comparison. Why get your panties in a bunch over something so inane?
Haha... no its not short compared to the other sega controllers you mentioned. (what a funny comparison) I don't have my DC with me at the moment, but I compared my Saturn and SNES controller cords... SNES wins by at least a foot. Yeah, I don't think its much of a special exception (nor are we a slim percentage) to want more than 6.5 feet.The Apprentice wrote:How far away from the TV are you? If you consider 6 and a half feet of controller cord "short" then it's not an issue of controller design, it's a issue of layout. Sega's not going to slap on an extra 3 feet of cord to accomodate for the slim percentage of people who sit over 8 from the TV. They make extension cords for that.
As for the other problems, the D-pad is bad, but it isn't that bad. 2D seem to become rarer and rarer as time goes on, so I think the designers at Sega were trying to distance themselves from the 2D preference of the Saturn. If you need a better controller for fighting and shooter games you should get a arcade stick. This inconvenience is Sega's fault, but it probably worked to their advantage since people didn't see the controller as another rehash of dated technology.
The second thumbstick problem came about probably because of the same reason as the four face button problem. Sega needed a controller that people understood, and having a large controller with two thumbsticks, analog triggers, six face buttons, and a good D-pad would end up looking like the original X-Box pad.
I can't talk like I'm the authority on these issues, but I assume that every mistake you listed that Sega made in designing their controller was actually a well thought out descision that played in Sega's favor at the time.
Anyone compare a PS1/2 cord to a DC? Not totally sure, but I remember being surprised at how short the cords on my DC controller were when I picked it up on release day. My last system had been the psone.
On the d-pad trying to get away from 2d... isn't that kind of silly? Please enlighten me as to what makes a shittly little d-pad better suited to 3d. It would seem to be neglect, not accomodation.
There is no good reason why there couldnt be 6 on the face with 2 sticks. If the risk of an xbox lookalike is the reason (wtf?), does that outweigh the need to purchase additional expensive controllers for fighters, THEN go buy the mouse and keyboard for FPS and still only be able to play with 2 people? Everything needed could fit comfortably on the pad without being a huge piece of shit like the xbox 1 controller... it would just have taken a brain cell or two.
On the arcade stick... I grew up in the arcades, but when they died (in every area I lived at least), I became accustomed to the Saturn pad and now prefer it strongly. Not everyone (even oldschoolers) prefers an arcade stick, nor should anyone have to... or spend the cash on them.
If these decisions were well-thought, sound, and served well for the time... why did it fail miserably?
I love the systems and games, but business-wise... Sega has been and still is a damn comedy!
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
[quote="nateup2"]If these decisions were well-thought, sound, and served well for the time... why did it fail miserably?quote]
Because some people take a good thing, find a fault or two with it, and dismiss the entire thing as being terrible.
Because some people take a good thing, find a fault or two with it, and dismiss the entire thing as being terrible.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
-
Doctor Fugue
- 128-bit
- Posts: 936
- Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:50 pm
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
-
gradualmeltdown
- 128-bit
- Posts: 702
- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:26 am
- Location: Portland Oregon