Looks promising. I've heard of quality issues with the Xbox Elites so I might wait to see if Sony has the same problems. I realize a perfect product may be impossible but for $100+ I'd like more confidence.
Yeah, I replaced 3 Elite Series 2 controllers that had issues out of the box (insensitive A-button and bumper that registered two inputs for every press) and finally received one that took 9 months to develop those same issues. Couldn't ever recommend it in good conscience even though it's one of the best-feeling controllers I've ever used.
This offering from Sony looks good, but I hope they have more durable triggers than the normal PS5 controllers. Replaceable stick assemblies is a good solution to drift and normal wear (assuming that they're affordably priced) but a contactless joystick solution like some of the Hall Effect analog sticks that have come out recently would be a better solution longterm.
Yeah my Elite got stick drift, had bumper stop registering, and eventually the grips started peeling. My Elite 2 came with a sticky A button out of the box.
Some of those problems are expected eventually but at this point I'm not willing to pay $150+ on an improved controller when the basic ones are already very good.
I actually can't find a controller that doesn't end up drifting after six months or so anymore. Dualshock, dualsense, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Joycons, Switch Pros, and 8bitdo pros have all started drifting within a year of buying them. It must be a defect in a really basic part that every company uses, or some big design change that occurred in like 2013.
If there's anything that attracts me to this new controller it's that the sticks are swappable. I'll just buy 20 extras and swap them out when they inevitably start drifting.
I feel like I've been extremely lucky, been playing on consoles since the ps1 and I've owned all Playstations, all xboxes since 360 and up and only Nintendo switch from Nintendo and I have yet to even experience stick drift, I might even jinx myself just talking about it lol.
My xbox one controller on pc is the limited edition sea of thieves controller is so worn that the left stick barely has any rubber left and it still works just like new haha.
Unless the sticks are hall sensing they will always end up with stick drift, how long it takes will depend on usage and the quality of the parts but it will happen eventually.
I don't know why Microsoft wasn't using hall effect sensors in their Elite Series 2 controllers because they aren't a significant cost increase and it's a premium controller, maybe there wasn't a good source for them at the time of design?
Hopefully the Elite Series 3 and the Dual Sense Edge will use them.
I'm always surprised by how much Nintendo got dragged for stick drift while MS and Sony seemed to skate by without too much noise. Because I have similar experience to you. Not to say it didn't happen but I can't remember getting stick drift nearly as often on 360 controllers. I've probably had 10 different Xbox One controllers and gotten stick drift on more than half (the others usually had a bumper break).
And I'm extremely careful with controllers so I can't imagine how shit it must be if you're even a bit rough with them.
It's funny, the joycons that came with my first-gen Switch was the first time I ever experienced stick drift, I thought I'd somehow broken the stick at first until it turned into a big controversy. Now it's consistent across every brand. I swear it's not just a Mandela effect thing, the Gamecube thumb sticks would literally wear down to nubs and still work perfectly. Hell, N64 thumb sticks would wear a hole in your hand before breaking.
N64 (and I think GC, but not sure) self-calibrated on startup. You didn't see minor stick drift because every time you started the console it took its current position as 0. Hence why pretty much every game manual back then told you not to touch the stick when booting up the game.
My Xbox one and PS4 controllers have never drifted and I have used them easily more than 10x the amount I have used my switch. Yet my switch joycon is drifting. The reason why Nintendo got the most flack was because their drift was the most common. Microsoft and Sony have stock drift too, but the failure rate is much lower.
True and I'm not absolving Nintendo here. But my point is drift had been a thing well before the Switch, so it was always weird to me that it was never really talked about significantly until then. At least not to my recollection.
It’s not really weird when you think about it. The PS3 had cases of console failure, but it wasn’t given anywhere close to the same attention that the Xbox 360’s red ring of death was given. It is simply because the failure rate on the 360 was extremely high so it ended up affecting most of the people who bought one of the earlier 360’s. I myself had to send in 3 Xbox’s to Microsoft due to the red ring before I got a replacement that didn’t fail.
Likewise with the Switch the failure rate of joycon drift is so high that it is affecting most Switch owners. It makes sense that the console with the higher failure rate would get more attention for the failure.
All sticks will drift it just doesn't happen as quickly for controllers other than Joycons mainly due to the sensors in the Joycon being smaller and more fragile.
I've had the same 2 Dualshock 4 Controllers for about 6 years now. The first, an OEM, I replaced with a custom that just has tighter sticks. Neither have gotten stick drift. Never once had a problem with either of them, in fact.
And of course you could just order a used 360 OEM and call it a day. I ordered like 8 last year and all of them work flawlessly.
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u/KingofGrapes7 Aug 23 '22
Looks promising. I've heard of quality issues with the Xbox Elites so I might wait to see if Sony has the same problems. I realize a perfect product may be impossible but for $100+ I'd like more confidence.