PC Gaming Controllers

[viranimus]

Well, for all intents the 360 wired gamepad is about the best for physical function as well as predominant support. Honestly since MS effectively dubbed the 360 wired controller as the standard PC gaming gamepad, Ive personally found it kind of confusing that PC gamers would not have one.

Now, I get there are aesthetic design preferences such as analog stick location, but even in the presence of mappers like Xpad, the sheer magnitude of games with native 360 gamepad support should be (at least in my mind) enough to own one, even if you do not own a 360. I do also get the desire for wireless, (and I preface this by saying I DO also have a game capable HTPC for PC gaming on the couch) "MOST" PC gaming is generally done within ample range of the PC, typically at a desk. There are in fact official PC receivers for the 360 gamepad to grant wireless compatibility while maintaining the same high level of native built in support. Plus with how popular the 360 was in western markets and now people beginning to retire 360s for the new console generation, you would likely be able to find used ones fairly cheap in an abundance of places from Amazon to local game stores, Pawn shops, even garage sales. Provided they are not damaged (the 360 gamepad is fairly durable all around) you can get a good controller for a light price and a quick scrub with bleach or other sanitizer.

Now with that said, while I do not think it has yet been released, I only bring it up for the mention of the D pad as being a concern. I have long heard the complaints about the 360 controller D-pad (which personally I never really had any problem with) but what is going to likely be an eventual option will be the Xbox One used as a PC controller. (functionality was supposed to be implemented in the early part of this year) Again, you get the same native support, you also get a controller that is supposed to be superior to the 360 gamepad on many fronts one of the more notable of which was the attention to the Dpad.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Not trying to sound like a MS commercial. MS is sort of irrelevant. I am just a firm supporter of solutions that are adaptable, well supported, highly practical and fairly inexpensive. This is just one of the few instances where MS really did get something right without having to patch it to death to get it there.


Edit: I would also be reminded of what was my favored PC controller before the 360 gamepad, The original Nyko Airflow.

Its descendant:
http://www.amazon.com/NYKO-TECHNOLOGIES-80650-Airflow-Controller/dp/B0006NGY9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390313281&sr=8-1&keywords=nyko+airflow+pc

While it seemed kind of gimmicky with the fan, it was a nice feature for what amounted to a nominal inconvenience. I really do wish it was a design that would have gained more traction to become more of a "standardized" feature because it was a logical benefit for extended play sessions, especially in white knuckled twitch gaming affairs. Would not mind having another, if the price were more realistic than 100$+

 

[somethingorother003]

PS3 controller with Motininjoy, even though motin likes to stop working every couple days for no reason.

If I can't be bothered, I'll use a 360 controller.

Mainly I use PS3 because Xbox DPads are horrible. Remember trying to quickswitch weapons and spells in Oblivion?
Also for older/2D games that don't support 360 pads at least Motin can emulate something which will work. Looking at you, Halo CE.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

If you like the PS3 controller I would advise spending the extra on a DS4. It's just that much better and going to be supported more and more going forwards. If you want max compatibility a 360-like is your best bet, but cheap and a good Dpad? That's a lot to ask.

I do think the 360 controller is plenty 99% of the time. but if you play a lot of games where the Dpad is an issue I can see not liking them. That said, you can't beat the 360 controller on price reliability or support.

 

[Something Amyss]

I've got a couple wired Afterglow Xbox 360 controllers. I like 'em, they've lasted a long time, and they feel good in my hand. They are as plug and play as the 360 controller, but they also have a 360 D-Pad.

Still, they're usually about 20 bucks online and They're very handy. Just don't hit the light button my accident. You can blind yourself.

 

[Zac Jovanovic]

I use a Mad Catz FPsPro PS3 wireless controller on PC with x360ce,I don't even own a PS3.
It works flawlessly in 90% of the games, some lower budget and indie games have compatibility problems where the keys wouldn't be rebindable or it just wouldn't recognize it at all.

It cost me like 30$ so it's ridiculously good for the price but it probably wouldn't be a good solution for you since the D-Pad is not that great.

But honestly, if you don't care about analogs and you're on a budget there is a huge choice of generic wired controllers for under 10$. The analogs are crappy but a lot of them have really good D-pads and triggers, and(here, at least)everything tech comes with a 2 year warranty so you can replace it when it eventually pisses itself and dies.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I use a Wired 360 controller that cost me around 25euro and I have used it for the past few years and it hasn't failed me yet.

It's quite good when playing platformers mainly.

 

[Ratty]

A program called Xpadder which allows you to map keyboad keys (and even the mouse) to a controller works great for me. I feel bad for not buying the latest version to support the dev, but the older freeware version has worked wonderfully on every controller I've tried it with. I recently used it to beat Volgarr the Viking and Ys I & II Chronicles+ with a USB adapted PS2 controller.

 

[GundamSentinel]

I use my old Sixaxis PS3 controller for my PC, as I've got a Dualshock 3 for my PS3 now. I use Better DS3 (Motioninjoy reeks of malware to me) and keep it wired. Easy enough and I haven't had a single problem with it yet.

In general I'd recommend getting an Xbox 360 controller. It works very well and is easy to use and install. Personally I still prefer PS3 controllers, as they feel better to me, but that's just personal preference.