Gamepad recommendation wanted

Hello GWJ!

I'm finally getting a new rig, and I've never owned a joystick/gamepad/controller for a PC before.

What do you guys recommend? I have a PS3 so that is essentially what I'm used to.

I have heard a lot of talk about Xbox one controllers, how do they do?

Budget of about $50-100

Games I'm looking forward to playing:

Rocket League (I imagine KB +mouse would be a nightmare)

Mad Max

Many indie platformer types..

Thanks!

If you like the Dual Shock then get a PS4 Dual Shock, they're way better than the PS3 ones.

The Xbox One Elite controllers are some of the best out there, but they're over your budget. A standard Xbox One controller is also a fine option.

I still use my wireless Xbox 360 controller on PC. I think it's still considered as standard controller by most developers.
Together with a receiver adapter this controller should cost around $50.

I'm dreading the day my 360 controller bites it. I'm so happy with it, and it's still the original white one with the bad D-pad.

Big fan of the dual shock 4

+1 for the DS4 controller. I enjoy it better than my Xbox 360 controller.

astralplaydoh wrote:

+1 for the DS4 controller. I enjoy it better than my Xbox 360 controller.

I concur, though both are really good options. You wouldn't regret buying either.

I'm looking into building a raspberry pi emulator myself, and want to purchase a SNES USB controller. There are so many options though, and on Reddit the feedback is always "the originals are better anyway". Does anyone have any experience with these?

Splurge and get the Xbox one elite controller. Vastly better than any other.

I have three Xbox One controllers, a regular one that came with the launch era system, a Scuf One that I customized, and the Elite controller.

I never use anything but the Elite controller now. Super expensive but I can't say I've regretted it.

But then Sony's controllers have always been little hand contorting torture devices to me so I may not be the best advisor for someone who likes the old dual shock design.

Agreed: The XBox One Elite controller is probably the most comfortable and best-crafted controller I've ever used. I don't like it when games use L3 for run, so I mapped the lower-left paddle to be L3 -- now it's way more comfortable to run in those games, and I don't risk losing precision of my movement while engaging run mode.

Goddamn, a hundred and fifty bucks for a gamepad? That's kind of insane.

Malor wrote:

Goddamn, a hundred and fifty bucks for a gamepad? That's kind of insane.

For the PC you also have to buy the adapter separately for $24 and the battery pack for $24 if you want to plug it in via USB to charge, so the cost comes to more like $200. I got the controller on a pretty good sale so it didn't quite end up being that much for me. After using it a lot now, I have no regrets even though I like the general layout of the Dualshock 4 better. It just feels so good to play games with. I'm hoping I can keep using it for at least 10 years (hopefully more!).

I keep seeing it on sell for $120 and each time I do I think to myself "That's the sell price?".

I like the Xbox 360 controller and the Steam Controller for variety.

I have a wired 360 one and it works great. I like not having to worry about battery and connection.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Malor wrote:

Goddamn, a hundred and fifty bucks for a gamepad? That's kind of insane.

For the PC you also have to buy the adapter separately for $24 and the battery pack for $24 if you want to plug it in via USB to charge, so the cost comes to more like $200. I got the controller on a pretty good sale so it didn't quite end up being that much for me. After using it a lot now, I have no regrets even though I like the general layout of the Dualshock 4 better. It just feels so good to play games with. I'm hoping I can keep using it for at least 10 years (hopefully more!).

It requires nothing extra if you're using it while plugged in -- data transmits over the USB cable to PC natively. It's an extra-long, durable braided USB cable, too.

It's soooo nice not to have a cord. I don't know how you corded people put up with it.

I'm presently using a wireless 360 pad I took off an actual 360, but I used the wired one before that. The big advantage to the wired one is that you don't have to deal with the weird adapter situation on the PC, where it's hard to get the genuine article that works with the Microsoft drivers. Plus, you never have to worry about batteries, it always works.

That last bit, though, isn't as much of an advantage as it sounds like, because the 360 pad has a ridiculously long battery life. I've never actually measured, but I wouldn't be shocked if it gets 50 hours off a pair of AAs.

Been using a wireless Xbox 360 controller for years without a problem. Rarely requires a battery change. Would love to buy the Xbox elite controller but just can't get myself to spend $150. Tried out the steam controller and it wasn't for me.

boogle wrote:

Big fan of the dual shock 4

Yep. This is all I need now.

Rocket League in particular works well with it. And Steam has built-in support for it. Should plug and play with a lot more games than the PS3 one ever did.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It's soooo nice not to have a cord. I don't know how you corded people put up with it. ;)

Cords never bothered me, and I like not having to deal with batteries. With my 4 year old starting to play a few videogames, I am quickly seeing the advantage of wireless controllers however

Just got a steam controller. Feels real good in my hands. I mainly bought it after seeing how customizable it was. On the software side it might be the most customizable controller I have seen.

How good is the xbone elite controller for hadoukening?

Arise, thread!

I bought an Xbox 360 controller for my PC for like $24 back in the day. I bought another when Newegg had them on sale for $15. Now I can't buy a genuine controller for less than $65.

All I want is a third wired 360 controller to play with my kids, for PC 2D/3D platformers, twin-sick shooters, driving, that sort of thing. My Steam controller is so-so, since the stick/button placement is off and there's no proper second analog stick. This is also obviously not for FPS games because playing an FPS with a controller is for chumps. (Fight me.)

So! Have any of you used any of the "replacement" X360 controllers, like from Voyee or Yaeye or any of the other Xi Jinping Thought on Xbox Controllers with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era models? (list of top sellers on Amazon)

Or, failing that, have you found that the Xbone controller design is so much superior to the X360 that I should buy the PowerA Enhanced or the PDP Deluxe? Leaning toward the former.

Edit: Oh, for God's sake -- the official Xbone controllers are supposed to be $45, but for Coronavirus. The price history charts are pretty damning. Damn it.

I was going to suggest a DualShock 4, as they make great wired Windows controllers with the 3rd party program DS4Win, but they're also expensive right now. I got mine for $48 a couple months ago, and the cheapest I see now is $65 at walmart.com. Amazon has them for $90.

You can also use them wirelessly if you have a Bluetooth adapter, but I hear that they have terrible batteries and constantly need charging. I just leave mine connected all the time.

I have a powerA switch controller and while it's a little light, it's still a good controller. Looks like those might not be compatible with the PC but the XBox One version is very similar and is. So I would check that out.

I had the same problem Archangel coming from a genuine MS Xbox 360 wired controller.

I went ahead and bought an Xbone controller and use it wired with a micro-USB cable and it works great. I've had zero luck with non-1st party controller hardware so whatever premium for an actual MS controller is worth it to me.

This controller isn’t as good as a 360 one, but it is a solid controller for $30.

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-940-...

The wired version is even cheaper at $15.

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-940-...

Just got a Power A Fusion Pro Controller. 80 bucks and officially branded XBOX One Controller. It is really solid wired controller with four paddles on the back. You can swap out the sticks and fairly easy too.

The PowerA Enhanced wired Xbone controller is apparently pretty good and cheap. I haven't tried one personally but it is on my short list if I end up needing another controller during COVID.