Is SIXAXIS the worst next-gen controller?

We were almost beginning to feel relieved ’cause the PS3 negative publicity’s gone. Well actually, you can’t do that for long. Give it a day or two, and we’re sure something will be written about it. And fair enough, we now have IGN who’re boldly proclaiming that the SIXAXIS might be the worst of the next-gen controllers.

That’s not to say that they didn’t enjoy the system. You see, IGN had some great time when they got their hands on a PS3 recently. And a big thanks to them for documenting a lot of their experiences. Firstly, let’s just cover a few small things, shall we?

• The console will have 8 different categories in the XMB – menu, settings, photo, music, video, game, network and friends.
• The input mechanism is pretty much the same as it is on the PSP. The only difference is that you get predictive text. Will we see it on the PSP in a future firmware update? Maybe.
• The PS3 will have a slot-loading mechanism for the drive, unlike the tray-loading mechanism of the Xbox 360.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s concentrate on the gist of their story. After having spent a lot of time with the PS3, here’s what IGN had to say about the controller:

“We don’t really like it all that much… Compared to Microsoft‘s uber-comfortable Xbox 360 pad, the SIXAXIS feels cheap, plasticky, uncomfortable and disconcertingly light – almost as if it’s going to fly out of your hands during those more extreme gaming moments.”

They were also worried about the fact that the shoulder buttons on the controller had been changed for the worse. It appears as if the shoulder buttons are now given the feel of triggers like on the Xbox 360. More than that though, it appears as if there’s a whole lot of problems with the design:

“The newly-designed lower L and R shoulder triggers feel more like they belong on an early controller prototype than the near-final model.” … “Trouble is, they’re placed almost unnaturally low meaning we found ourselves operating them by jamming our fingers in between the hinges to apply pressure, rather than using the buttons themselves. What’s more, the triggers are convex, with no grooves to keep your fingers in place – an issue further compounded by their smooth finish, offering no resistance against your finger tips.”

We just want to make sure that we’re only reporting here what IGN’s thoughts are. Just like most of you out there, we leave our judgement come November, when we have our very own brand new PS3 sitting comfortably in our lounge. How about you? Will you be fazed by this report?

We were almost beginning to feel relieved ’cause the PS3 negative publicity’s gone. Well actually, you can’t do that for long. Give it a day or two, and we’re sure something will be written about it. And fair enough, we now have IGN who’re boldly proclaiming that the SIXAXIS might be the worst of the next-gen controllers.

That’s not to say that they didn’t enjoy the system. You see, IGN had some great time when they got their hands on a PS3 recently. And a big thanks to them for documenting a lot of their experiences. Firstly, let’s just cover a few small things, shall we?

• The console will have 8 different categories in the XMB – menu, settings, photo, music, video, game, network and friends.
• The input mechanism is pretty much the same as it is on the PSP. The only difference is that you get predictive text. Will we see it on the PSP in a future firmware update? Maybe.
• The PS3 will have a slot-loading mechanism for the drive, unlike the tray-loading mechanism of the Xbox 360.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s concentrate on the gist of their story. After having spent a lot of time with the PS3, here’s what IGN had to say about the controller:

“We don’t really like it all that much… Compared to Microsoft‘s uber-comfortable Xbox 360 pad, the SIXAXIS feels cheap, plasticky, uncomfortable and disconcertingly light – almost as if it’s going to fly out of your hands during those more extreme gaming moments.”

They were also worried about the fact that the shoulder buttons on the controller had been changed for the worse. It appears as if the shoulder buttons are now given the feel of triggers like on the Xbox 360. More than that though, it appears as if there’s a whole lot of problems with the design:

“The newly-designed lower L and R shoulder triggers feel more like they belong on an early controller prototype than the near-final model.” … “Trouble is, they’re placed almost unnaturally low meaning we found ourselves operating them by jamming our fingers in between the hinges to apply pressure, rather than using the buttons themselves. What’s more, the triggers are convex, with no grooves to keep your fingers in place – an issue further compounded by their smooth finish, offering no resistance against your finger tips.”

We just want to make sure that we’re only reporting here what IGN’s thoughts are. Just like most of you out there, we leave our judgement come November, when we have our very own brand new PS3 sitting comfortably in our lounge. How about you? Will you be fazed by this report?