Revised 360 controller d-pad

[Doctor Fugue]

Good news and bad news. The d-pad on the 360 is quite bad (but not totally useless), and they have announced a new controller with a revised d-pad. However, it appears this will only be available as a limited run everywhere except North America. Of course, controllers are region-free (right?) so importing won't be a problem.

There still is a bad problem that I see. This new d-pad registers in 32 directions instead of the usual 4 (still less than the 49 directions of Sinistar!). Apparently this is because it is designed with a football (soccer) game in mind. Anyway, for me, I think this is bad for shooters and such because of the extra inputs. I'd still rather have just the up/down/left/right.

http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=8903

[ZenLogikos]

Tie-in with a soccer game??? Looks more like it was made to accompany "The Exorcist".

Yes, they totally miss the point in the rubbish dpad. Namely, the amount of directions isn't the issue, it's having four distinct directions that the user can tell that they are hitting, and not accidentally rolling into another one.

[The Apprentice]

They're definately missing the point there. Gamers want a better shaped, easier to press D-pad. Not the same clunky model with a couple more directions thrown in.

[Flak Beard]

Still if the d-pad itself hits against the outer circle, it'll be pretty useless. That's the only real problem with the 360 d-pad, is that there's not enough room for movement.

I'm at the point where I'm just going to sand down my original controller where the outer ring is.

[Ack]

You know, the sad thing is, I consider the 360 D-pad an improvement over the original Xbox. While I do take issue with it, I find I can use the 360's consistently in comparison. That being said, it feels more like an analog stick that doesn't move as much to me, so perhaps that's the difference.

[Mozgus]

The dpad on my 360 controller is truly shit. It constantly hits diagonal directions when it shouldnt and the right direction requires twice as much pressure as the others. I just cant stand it.

[RadarScope1]

I still think Sega should use its patents to create a killer "retro" pad for the 360 and the PS3 and hell even the Wii. It would sell.

[Gamerforlife]

The dpad on my 360 controller is truly shit. It constantly hits diagonal directions when it shouldnt and the right direction requires twice as much pressure as the others. I just cant stand it.

Agreed, I haven't found a game yet that I can't use the d-pad reasonably well with, but you can never really bring your A game. That d-pad is the difference between me just playing well and kicking ass

[executioner]

Its for pro evolution soccer its the most popular game around here. They buy playstations just for playing it. First time I've seen an announcement that a gaming device is being made with latin america in mind.

[Niode]

It's the same in the UK. The football nuts go mad for that and Fifa.

I hate football with a passion but I don't mind playing Pro Evo. I liked playing ISS 98 for the N64, they are genuinely challenging and enjoyable games. Have the right amount of arcade-ness and simulation to make the game immensely playable.

It's quite amusing but people who never game will buy a playstation just for Pro evo. They might have a few other games they got in a bundle but that would be it. Then a year later they would buy the update and the latest fifa game. A few might buy Tiger Woods as well and that's it. It's such a shame...