Current Events > Could someone tell me why everyone likes the pad that ps4/ps5 controllers have

(+) Yeah! (+)

I disliked it on ps4, felt utterly useless and then I discovered it was the reason for the controller's short battery life which made me outright loathe it.

But then they doubled down on it for the ps5 design and controller and everyone seems to love it and I can't tell why. I was fine with the basic start/select buttons along with the PS button that the ps3 controller added which was useful for going back to the PS menu.

idk what you do with it. it's just a large ass button that opens my menu in tales of arise

Yea, PS d-pad is awful, always has been. It's gotten some love for being better than the one on Xbox One for fighting games but overall it's shit. It's just groupthink in my opinion.

I don't really see the point in it, but it doesn't actively annoy me.

It should considering it's an awful drain on the battery life. By comparison the switch pro controller lasts nearly forever

because it's in the right place

would love to know what everyone thinks is a good d-pad because we haven't had any since like the 90s

Fony posted...

Yea, PS d-pad is awful, always has been. It's gotten some love for being better than the one on Xbox One for fighting games but overall it's shit. It's just groupthink in my opinion.

Omnislasher posted...

would love to know what everyone thinks is a good d-pad because we haven't had any since like the 90s

OP is talking about the touchpad

Fony posted...

Yea, PS d-pad is awful, always has been. It's gotten some love for being better than the one on Xbox One for fighting games but overall it's shit. It's just groupthink in my opinion.

Omnislasher posted...

because it's in the right place

He's talking about the touchpad, I'm pretty sure...

I do agree with Omnislasher's underlying thoughts (not so much with Fony's), but yeah, that's not the subject matter here.

And personally, I'm not really a fan of the touchpad. It's kinda nice to be able to use it as a mouse when connecting the DS4 to a PC, but considering that's outside the intended use case it isn't really fair to factor in. I've pretty much never seen anything on PS4 use it well; Tearaway Unfolded had a kinda fun gimmick with it but that's the closest thing I can think of.

oh, yeah

Didn't think of the possibility of d-pad assumption mixup, I meant that touchpad thing that takes up like, 30% of the controller space and usually acts as one giant "select" button or worse, as some motion control nonsense.

Omnislasher posted...

because it's in the right place

It literally isn't

stupid battery life is number one reason i'm still on the DS3(and why i've been looking forever to find one new when it inevitably kicks the dust) when playing with controller on PC.

Yeah are there any games that use it as a touchpad and not as a map or menu button? I'm drawing a blank.

Hambo the Hog posted...

Yeah are there any games that use it as a touchpad and not as a map or menu button? I'm drawing a blank.

TLoU2 had you play guitar with it in very limited sections of gameplay.

There's also Erica in which it is more prevalent but there you could also just use your phone.

Unknown5uspect posted...

It literally isn't

yeahhh, it is.

Can you tell me why you think everyone likes it? Because as far as I know people either dislike it or don't care. Never actually seen someone say they like it.

I think it might be the fact that they doubled down on it with the dualsense and made it even larger somehow. That's a pretty big indication, since they usually listen to their fans and consumers like when they brought back the annoying rumble to the sixaxis

It adds something like 48 input combinations to the controller, not including swipes.

It's incredible and an absolute godsend for PC gaming.

I think it can be pretty useful at times to have a giant button that seems to have less resistance if you quickly have to press something you're not usually keeping your fingers on or near. Though games rarely use it for such.

I guess I "like" it because my direct comparison is the PS3 controller and while the whole thing was complete garbage, the start and select button stood out among the rest of it as particularly bad.

Meanwhile the Xbox Elite controller lasts FORTY HOURS on a rechargeable battery, go figure

saspa posted...

I think it might be the fact that they doubled down on it with the dualsense and made it even larger somehow. That's a pretty big indication, since they usually listen to their fans and consumers like when they brought back the annoying rumble to the sixaxis

To be fair, with backwards compatibility, they kinda had to have it in the Dual Sense because of the few PS4 games that actually used it.

AvantgardeAClue posted...

Meanwhile the Xbox Elite controller lasts FORTY HOURS on a rechargeable battery, go figure

I don't understand why people like the PS controllers. Asymmetrical sticks is an infinitely better design.

Depending on the game they can be super convenient for things like bringing up the menu. But most games don't make any use of it.

I like it for typing in passwords and shit

pfh1001 posted...

I don't understand why people like the PS controllers. Asymmetrical sticks is an infinitely better design.

It really isn't.

Trumble posted...

It really isn't.

It really is

it doesnt make sense for the main control inputs in the majority of games (stick on the left, and buttons on the right) to not both be in a more natural position

TheGoldenEel posted...

It really is

it doesnt make sense for the main control inputs in the majority of games (stick on the left, and buttons on the right) to not both be in a more natural position

I claw with both hands so asymmetrical sticks feel unnatural to me. I couldn't imagine having to take my thumbs off the joysticks just to press the d-pad/face buttons. Seems incredibly inefficient.

I use it for the two button variations (if I remember the left half is actually different), and to enlarge the mini map in Binding of Isaac. Otherwise it just feels useless.

Tom Clark posted...

To be fair, with backwards compatibility, they kinda had to have it in the Dual Sense because of the few PS4 games that actually used it.

Honestly I think this is the only reason, it make too much sense

I like it more than that fucking back toich screen on the vita.

DocDelicious posted...

I claw with both hands so asymmetrical sticks feel unnatural to me. I couldn't imagine having to take my thumbs off the joysticks just to press the d-pad/face buttons. Seems incredibly inefficient.

Then both joysticks should be in the opposite position on the dualshock

any way you slice it the joysticks should not be where they are

pfh1001 posted...

I don't understand why people like the PS controllers. Asymmetrical sticks is an infinitely better design.

I dont understand why people like stuff that I dont.

I get significantly more battery life by turning off the mic, vibration, and haptic triggers at least.

I'm mostly indifferent to it. I've played a few games that make decent use of it for menu shortcuts though. Like for Days Gone, pressing the touchpad like a button, brought up the main menu screen. But swiping took you straight to the sub menus: swipe left for inventory, swipe up for storylines (quests), swipe right for map and swipe down for skills.

It's alright?
The short battery charge is a problem but since I'm a Switch owner, I got a battery bank (?) And just hook up my PS4 controller to that.

It's not ideal but makes the controller last for days/weeks.

TheGoldenEel posted...

It really is

it doesnt make sense for the main control inputs in the majority of games (stick on the left, and buttons on the right) to not both be in a more natural position

Exactly.

TheGoldenEel posted...

It really is

it doesnt make sense for the main control inputs in the majority of games (stick on the left, and buttons on the right) to not both be in a more natural position

Lol at this

It's the same shit regardless. I could say " well the camera movement should be aligned with the movement stick for optimal movement"

It's all bullshit and really doesn't matter where the stick is.

Jabodie posted...

I get significantly more battery life by turning off the mic, vibration, and haptic triggers at least.

Agreed I do this by default whenever I get any new controller regardless. I can't imagine how short the ps4 controller battery life must be for people who don't do that, like do they have to charge the controller after 2 or 3 play sessions

saspa posted...

Agreed I do this by default whenever I get any new controller regardless. I can't imagine how short the ps4 controller battery life must be for people who don't do that, like do they have to charge the controller after 2 or 3 play sessions

The PS4 controller was only lasting for 3-4 hours the last time I used it. That's only 1 session for me.

The PS5 controller though, lasts much longer. I get 10-12 hours on it (for now).

Usually my PS4 controller loses its first bar after 2 or so hours. I always charge it after a session. Sometimes in the middle of one. I honestly don't think it's a big issue, but it does come off as annoying when my Switch Pro Controller can go somewhere around a week without needing a charge.

The switch has asymmetrical sticks. I'm not really bothered by either design, neither is better than the other, they both serve the same purpose and it's really up to the game to use the controller buttons right

NoxObscuras posted...

I'm mostly indifferent to it. I've played a few games that make decent use of it for menu shortcuts though. Like for Days Gone, pressing the touchpad like a button, brought up the main menu screen. But swiping took you straight to the sub menus: swipe left for inventory, swipe up for storylines (quests), swipe right for map and swipe down for skills.

Eh I'm one of those people who feels like there's nothing touch can do that a button won't do significantly better, I need that press feedback rather than gingerly touch or swiping in certain directions

Most game developers just dont know how to utilize the pad. It was great in Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima.

PS4 is my all time favorite controller, havent used next gen tho

NoxObscuras posted...

The PS4 controller was only lasting for 3-4 hours the last time I used it. That's only 1 session for me.

The PS5 controller though, lasts much longer. I get 10-12 hours on it (for now).

So if you also turn off speakers and rumble, it should last even longer, almost like a normal controller?