I'm going insane here.
Generally, I'm not against spending a little more to get a high quality, durable product. However, personally I think asking for more than 70 euros for a pc controller is absurd.
So no xbox elite, no switch pro.
When it comes to the newest generation in general though, it seems that you're paying 50+ bucks for a controller that doesn't last much. For example, the dualsense is estimated to last only about 400 hours [1]. In my country, the warranty for the xbox controllers (except the elite) is just 3 months [2], while stuff like computer mice gets 2 to 3 years. This is just ridiculous, honestly.
Which leaves us the options to either buy previous gen controllers or third party ones. Logitech is a recurring name for being cheap and functional, 8bitdo is popular as well but a bit more pricey. From what I've heard logitech is decent, but not that good. Meanwhile the wireless 8bitdo models cost around 50 euros here, which maybe is a bit too close to first party controller price. But at least the warranty is one year.
Older-gen controllers include the legendary 360 controller, which however is not being sold anymore. I'm afraid of buying used products, as that means no warranty and the remaining lifespan is entirely unpredictable, however it might be a solid option for people who like to repair their devices.
Finally we have the DS4. It has had a terrible reputation at launch in regards to build quality, but it seems those issues were fixed in version 2 of the controller. Maybe now it's a good option?
Honestly I'm lost. I've never owned a controller before. Is logitech really that much worse than other controllers? Is DS4 good and DURABLE? Is 8bitdo a fair compromise? I've not even touched things like windows/game support....
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qPNyio3VDk
[2] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/warranty-and-protection-plan-terms-conditions-eedf7a23-84a7-1a47-480b-0e10503eedf5
Here's more to think about!
Xbox is owned by microsoft, so of course their controllers have best windows support. DS however have steam support, or they can be configured to appear as an xbox controller with a certain program. I have no clue in regards of 8bitdo or logitechs, except I know logitech ones have two input modes, which benefits some older games I guess?
Another issue is connectivity. It seems many if not all controllers sometimes have issues with randomly disconnecting or bad range. Really hard to understand which products suffer from this more just by looking at Amazon reviews and reddit. Logitech suffers from this.
Also there's latency.... Bluetooth has inherent latency, but generally it's acceptable. I've heard the DS4 has some magic system that's faster, but that might be bullshit. For the xbox controllers people recommend spending an additional 20$ for a pc accessory that allows a different type of wireless connection that works better
Man why the FRICK is there no decent buying guide or review site or ANYTHING? Frick me. I don't even know whether features of modern controllers are used in modern pc games! What features are useful in emulation? Fricking hell!
How come even chinese companies use hall sensors for the analog sticks that don't have drift issues while Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony still use mechanical analog sticks that are prone to drift?
Because they want customers buying new controllers
I’ve always used my DS4 on pc and haven’t a problem yet. DS4 for windows works great
I'm going with the DS4 then. It's also on sale now here
Keep in mind that the DualShock 4 won't give you many benefits over an Xbox One controller. You will basically get as "advantages":
>gyro (I particularly never use that shit)
>touchpad (never used it either)
>dpad (some consider it better than xbox's but it's questionable)
As I mentioned before, my dualshock 4 presented problems with drift extremely fast, were a matter of 2 or 3 months and the characters began to walk alone in games, so I don't recommend the controller, but unfortunately I think every modern controller has this risk.
*characters started to walk on their own
speaking of drift that shit only happens if you keep dropping your controller, I owned my DS4 for 5 years and it only started drifting this year after I dropped it for the 10th time
It's actually the sensors that the guys use, you'll find hundreds of videos on youtube showing the problem.
If the drift happens too early (like weeks of use), it's probably dust. The movement of the analog sticks end up making small particles get inside the controller and they get deposited near the sensors. If you open and clean the dust from the region, the problem disappears. That's why it's good to try to cover the controllers with something when you aren't playing.
But there's also the problem of natural wear of parts, there are cases where you need to replace the entire analog stick because the sensors simply do not work anymore, but this usually takes a little longer to happen.
>Generally, I'm not against spending a little more to get a high quality, durable product.
Don't worry OP, nobody is making those anymore.
dualshock 4.
dualshock 4 or series x controller
The elite 2 was an investment but it has lasted me through 1000 hours and still operates close to brand new. I like the mapping options with it too. It helps to think about how many cheap controllers I would go through on them. I am likely going to replace the right stick soon as it is getting a little wiggley but it looks like the replacement set is less than 20 bucks.
I guess that makes sense for someone who really plays a lot
Thanks for the info. Kind of a shame really, I hoped the ds4 was more reliable than the xbox ones. But anyway there's a shortage of them here, so I can't really buy xbox in the short term. With the current sale the ds4 costs as much, so I don't have any reason to wait
Btw covering the controller does sound like a good idea, thanks
My Dualshock 4 did not resist many months before the left analog started to "drift". Except that, the controller never gave me any problems, but my brother's stopped recharging and I read on the internet that the micro USB input is a disaster that has this problem often. The lack of Xinput never gave me a problem because I use Steam for recent games and old games and emulators usually have Dinput support.
Now I'm with a Logitech F310 but it's pretty bad in many ways, including comfort. The analog sticks are so bad that I need to make fine adjustments for each game on Steam, for example in Dragon's Dogma I needed to decrease the "outer deadzone" otherwise my character wouldn't run diagonally+right, it would just walk. For those without Steam's full support for controllers, problems like this can be impossible to solve.
I think the best option for PCs is an Xbox One controller, but it has no gyro and the risk of drifting in a few months will always be present. One thing I learned in practice is that it is good to cover the controller when you're not using it because most of the time the drift is caused by dust that is deposited on the sensors (but this isn't the only reason and the natural wear of the parts will cause drift too).
I buy chink/indian 10-15 eurobucks controller and they always last 6 months, a year or even more.
I've used 8bitdo for a while.
I had to return the first one, but the second one works great.
Unironically buy FlyDigi/Gamesir third party chinkshit, it lasts as much if not longer and is cheaper.
Series X for 3D games, 8bitdo for 2D games
I actually switched from an xbox controller to this after borrowing a spare from my cousin. The d-pad is superior in almost every way and it's an all around decent controller. Can't speak for the PS5 controller as I havn't tried it.
>dpad superior
Black person I would use a 360 dpad over this
then you clearly either don't have hands or fingers, or are a Micro$oft shill.
On eBay they are selling DS4 for $40 with free shipping and they are legit. New, in original box, not fake. I just got one and bought another today.
Xbox controller. Literally frick everything else. Microsoft perfected controllers 20 years ago.
Personally I don't like the DS4 because it feels bad in my hands (mushy d-pad, awkward handle angle) and the battery life is about 2 microseconds. Go for a Series X controller if you can.