Banana Controllers...

I remember using a joystick for the first time. I played X-Wing vs. Tie-Fighter on PC, I think. I loved it. I felt like I was Luke Skywalker fighting the evil forces of the empire. Of course, I was only 7. So anything I did existed purely in my imagination. Anyway. So the joystick was the first ergonomic controller I used. It was extremely comfortable and made my desk look like the cockpit of a F-16 fighter jet.

Then came the clunky N64 controllers that didn’t make sense to me somehow. Yes they looked like cool alien heads, but I didn’t understand the middle bit. The awkward hand position that you had to adopt to use the analogue stick. When I was younger I had massive hands compared to everyone else. Which meant I couldn’t really fit my hand between the sticky out bits.

I have to say my favorite controller is from the Xbox 360. It’s a good size, solid built, gaming input peripheral. It even fits my massive man-hands perfectly. Great. I can play for hours on end without getting carpal tunnel. That’s a win in my book.

Interface wise. Id still say the 360 wins by far. I’m not an Xbox fan boy by any means; I have a Playstation 3 sitting there. The interface is easy to navigate, looks pleasing to the eyes and is kept fairly simple. That being said, the PS3 interface is very simple and streamlined, but the 360 gets my vote.

As for the PS3 banana controller, I have to say it was a good idea, but many people might have not bought a PS3 based solely on the fact that they don’t want to look like a cretin holding a silver-plated banana playing Metal Gear Solid.