New Design N64 Controller Anyone?

NexusX

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So I know this has been floating around the interwebs for a while now but what are your thoughts on this new N64 Controller coming out?

http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/...tempest-sequel-and-shape-of-the-world-w497180

$20 seems affordable to me and it looks like a great replacement for that flawed N64 stick design.
(at least in terms of its durability and how much abuse it can take)

At least on games like Smash Bros. and the MANY racing games on the platform.
 

sylvie

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even on a 2017 redesign of a horrible controller that is essentially the same thing as a Sega Saturn controller (one of the best pads of all time) with an analog stick and a third trigger button, it still looks like a fucking piece of shit that should have a better fucking design and shape

EDIT: Just emulate N64 and map the buttons to a PS2 controller. It feels better to play Super Mario 64 that way to me, anyway
 
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Jibbajaba

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I backed it on Kickstarter. $20 is a lunch and a beer. Not too worried about it if it turns out to be a piece of shit.
 

madman

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$20 seems affordable to me and it looks like a great replacement for that flawed N64 stick design.
(at least in terms of its durability and how much abuse it can take)
How can you tell from a rendered picture that the stick is more durable than the original? Oh wait, you're talking more bullshit.

I backed 2 of these. Like Jibba said, it's cheap enough to roll the dice. I have a couple of the Hori Minis and they're just too small for me, so I still use my OG sticks. The Z button on the shoulder is also hard to get used to.
 

Electric Grave

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IMHO the N64 controller has no faults as far as the hardware is concerned, it does require upkeep, but it works well. I think the D-pad itself is decent, the button placement is decent as well, what sucks is the placement of the analogue stick, which we all know it limited the controller as you have to switch handles. PSX controller really got it right, PS4 controller added more, I still prefer regular buttons over triggers for the shoulders. There's a generic N64 controller with the analogue stick placed more convenient but I dunno about the quality.

64SuperPad.png


Still, I like the original controller, it's well made, it keeps the experience unique I guess.

Edit: Incidentally, I got some of these and they're fun. Better for MK than F-Zero though.
tumblr_inline_nv60th1XXR1s0xkg7_1280.jpg


I also got the Shark Stick but really don't like it a whole lot. Don't really need a stick for KIGold anymore having xboner.
 
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madman

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I've done zero upkeep on my OG N64 controllers and they've been working fine since the 90s. Of course I don't have fat person sausage fingers so that may be a factor.
 

ChopstickSamurai

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I found one of those Superpads at the thrift before and thought it was terrible. But it's hard to say because it's a bad controller or if it was a piece of junk from the thrift. I wasn't impressed tho and sent it back to Goodwill.

I've wasted $20 on far stupider shit, I'm totally down with trying it out for that.
 

Electric Grave

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Edit: @CSS^, I was afraid that was going to be the case like with most generic brands of the time. Placement layout seems nice though, it's too bad.

I've done zero upkeep on my OG N64 controllers and they've been working fine since the 90s. Of course I don't have fat person sausage fingers so that may be a factor.

My controllers would prolly be fine without as well but I'm OCD and the analogue stick base get's filled with grit, small amount as it may be, it bothers me, and keeping it clean has kept that analogue stick working super nice. I've noticed other controllers (not mine) with faulty analogue sticks in numerous occasions, granted sausage fingers dipped in mucus would do the trick but still.
 
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ChuChu Flamingo

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My controllers would prolly be fine without as well but I'm OCD and the analogue stick base get's filled with grit, small amount as it may be, it bothers me, and keeping it clean has kept that analogue stick working super nice. I've noticed other controllers (not mine) with faulty analogue sticks in numerous occasions, granted sausage fingers dipped in mucus would do the trick but still.

If you really want to reduce wear and tear as much as possible just open the analog stick up and apply some Dow Molykote Lithium Grease. Any Lithium grease will do just make sure it isn't petroleum based as it will eat away the plastic. When applying the grease just be mindful not to get any on the sensors inside the stick. With this in mind you will have to apply a new coat every few years but it cuts down on wear and tear tremendously.


I've done zero upkeep on my OG N64 controllers and they've been working fine since the 90s. Of course I don't have fat person sausage fingers so that may be a factor.

It really depends upon the type of game you play. If you play Smash a lot or Mario Party (specifically those mini-games where you have to spin the stick in 360 degrees) they seem to do the most wear on an analog sticks tightness due to friction.
 
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Electric Grave

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Yes, I've done it, I do have the grease and use it in just about everything, even in NGCD pads.
 

NexusX

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How can you tell from a rendered picture that the stick is more durable than the original? Oh wait, you're talking more bullshit.

I backed 2 of these. Like Jibba said, it's cheap enough to roll the dice. I have a couple of the Hori Minis and they're just too small for me, so I still use my OG sticks. The Z button on the shoulder is also hard to get used to.

"Looks" is the key word you are looking for madman. I will make sure to use less subtle and nuanced word selection when posting on a topic that you may read. 3rd grade reading level ok for you? :)

And I think the prototype pictures show a bit more "real" looks than the pre-rendered photos. But you backed it already right?... So you would have seen those yourself as well.
 
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NexusX

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IMHO the N64 controller has no faults as far as the hardware is concerned, it does require upkeep.

I agree that the controller had no functioning faults in terms of how gameplay is experienced on a nicely maintained controller. I honestly enjoy the original design. Although the stick wearing out over time if you just beat on it a little is the only deal-breaker for me.
 

madman

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It really depends upon the type of game you play. If you play Smash a lot or Mario Party (specifically those mini-games where you have to spin the stick in 360 degrees) they seem to do the most wear on an analog sticks tightness due to friction.

Please tell me more, I is N64 n00b.

"Looks" is the key word you are looking for madman. I will make sure to use less subtle and nuanced word selection when posting on a topic that you may read. 3rd grade reading level ok for you? :)

And I think the prototype pictures show a bit more "real" looks than the pre-rendered photos. But you backed it already right?... So you would have seen those yourself as well.

How does it "look" like it can take more abuse than the normal stick? What parts of that picture indicate it is more durable to you than the original?

I backed it because it's a new N64 controller. If it sucks, it sucks. If it's superior to the original, then that's awesome.
 
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JoeAwesome

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How does it "look" like it can take more abuse than the normal stick? What parts of that picture indicate it is more durable to you than the original?

I backed it because it's a new N64 controller. If it sucks, it sucks. If it's superior to the original, then that's awesome.

It sounds like it'll be more durable, it feels like, from the render.

But yeah, $20 to give it a shot? Why not.
 

NexusX

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How does it "look" like it can take more abuse than the normal stick? What parts of that picture indicate it is more durable to you than the original?

The "looks" part was inducation of my opinion that the analogue stick looks like a modern design build rather than the high friction and high wear of the original Nintendo Stick.
 
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madman

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The "looks" part was inducation of my opinion that the analogue stick looks like a modern design build rather than the high friction and high wear of the original Nintendo Stick.

What part of the rendered picture "looks" like it has less friction than and lower wear than the original? How can you tell how fast it will wear based on that picture?
 

NexusX

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What part of the rendered picture "looks" like it has less friction than and lower wear than the original? How can you tell how fast it will wear based on that picture?

What part of "real prototype pictures" do you not understand??? Lol. Its even on the Kickstarter that you said you backed...... did you not even look at the real world prototype pictures that they offered? Apparently not.

We are talking about the black plastic prototype not the grey pre-rendered one.
 
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madman

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What part of "real prototype pictures" do you not understand??? Lol. Its even on the Kickstarter that you said you backed...... did you not even look at the real world prototype pictures that they offered? Apparently not.

We are talking about the black plastic prototype not the grey pre-rendered one.

OK, what part of the "real prototype pictures" "look" like it has less friction and lower wear than the original? How can you tell from the photos?
 

Montatez

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Weeeeell threw my 20 bucks at it. Anything to play with a decent N64 controller.
 

NexusX

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OK, what part of the "real prototype pictures" "look" like it has less friction and lower wear than the original? How can you tell from the photos?

I've already answered that. I think we all know that the N64 stick with its plastic bowl and ball pivot system is downright crappy in terms of wear and tear.The new controller appears to have a modern analog stick. Which I think we all know by now has better wear and tear than the old Nintendo style. Or do I still have to write at a third grade level for you?;)
 
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Tanooki

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The original N64 stick was the only flaw as the insides of it are really cheap pieces of plastic, two half circles with a slot in the middle for the joystick peg. For most games it'll last a system lifetime, but when you get into something that does hard jamming repetitive fast motions, mostly Mario Party 1-3, it destroys them pretty much. So much fast spinning or throwing the stick in opposite motions to do the mini games in MP titles causes the plastic to rub against each part causing it it to be almost like sandpaper scraping away at it until it fails. That's why you often see old controllers with floppy joysticks that sag a little or a lot to the side and once they go beyond a certain point the game will think you're pushing that way and then it's just fucked.

The other problem is if you have sweaty hands/fingers the little grooves on the N64 stick are so rounded and shallow it ends up like trying to thumb an ice cube and you slide off it or have to stop and dry it now and again which is just dumb. That's why you see a lot of second hand replacement sticks sold that are a copy or have a different molding so that doesn't happen.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1247448559/next-gen-n64-nintendo-64-controller
That new controller for $20 is a hell of a deal and would just in general make a solid controller for use on the computer more than the N64. Current kickstarter has 11 days left, they wanted 13K, and they're up to 141K committed already. Due to it being funded they said there will be both a N64 and USB version.
 

Jibbajaba

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This just in: Tanooki has disgusting, sweaty sausage fingers. Shocking, I know.
 

madman

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This just in: Tanooki has disgusting, sweaty sausage fingers. Shocking, I know.

:keke:

I bet most of his controllers are covered in pepperoni grease. Not from eating while playing, but because he sweats pepperoni grease.
 

Jibbajaba

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:keke:

I bet most of his controllers are covered in pepperoni grease. Not from eating while playing, but because he sweats pepperoni grease.

To be honest, I was envisioning the grooves on top of his N64 controller stick being filled with an amalgam of grease and Cheeto/Dorito dust, forming sort of a spackle that smoothed the whole thing out.
 
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