Planned obsolescence in game controllers

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tzhu07

Gawd
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Nov 21, 2010
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I know obviously business people have to get involved in industrial design, but can we just for once have a game controller that's built like a tank?

More specifically, I'm talking about the analog sticks, which always wear out over time no matter how nice you treat them. In terms of design, you could easily fabricate those sticks and the surrounding structure and mechanism out of lightweight metals instead of plastic, and they would effectively last 10+ years or more if you don't abuse them.

I'm just saying...I wouldn't mind paying $70 for the Xbox 360 controller if the materials were higher quality and precision were tighter. Companies would lose money because people wouldn't have to rebuy controllers, but at the same time they would gain money because of the higher initial cost.
 
My current mouse and keyboard are going on 5+ years :)

If only logitech would put out a controller which mimics xbox 360 compatibility...
 
My two 360 controllers have lasted since the launch of the console. I'm actually surprised as they might be my longest lasting controllers of all time, mainly since the 360's lifespan has been so long.
However I've gone through 3 different PS3 controllers. Everything from the plastic holding the top triggers in place to actually breaking the PCB securing the d-pad.

The controller I miss is the original analog Playstation 1 controller. That's the larger one before they added in the vibration functionality. That thing was comfy and built out of granite.
 
tzhu07 said:
I know obviously business people have to get involved in industrial design, but can we just for once have a game controller that's built like a tank?

More specifically, I'm talking about the analog sticks, which always wear out over time no matter how nice you treat them. In terms of design, you could easily fabricate those sticks and the surrounding structure and mechanism out of lightweight metals instead of plastic, and they would effectively last 10+ years or more if you don't abuse them.

I'm just saying...I wouldn't mind paying $70 for the Xbox 360 controller if the materials were higher quality and precision were tighter. Companies would lose money because people wouldn't have to rebuy controllers, but at the same time they would gain money because of the higher initial cost.
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I have a 360 controller (wired) from launch day of the 360 in 2005 and it still works great. I can't say the same for the SNES I had or the Genesis or the Atari or the Playstation 1 and 2..

You can buy higher quality controllers via a third party but you'll pay at least triple what you would for a normal controller so its not worth it. I've found wired 360 controllers on sale for as low as $25 before .. that's incredibly cheap for such a good controller.

I get what you are trying to point out but I also do not agree with your conclusion.
 
I also still have a wired 360 controller in fine shape. I use it a ton less than kb/m, but still good after all these years.
 
Domingo said:
My two 360 controllers have lasted since the launch of the console. I'm actually surprised as they might be my longest lasting controllers of all time, mainly since the 360's lifespan has been so long.
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Yep, I still have my launch controllers as well. They work great.
 
chockomonkey said:
My current mouse and keyboard are going on 5+ years :)
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Been gaming with the same keyboard now since 1994. It looks like this minus the asian lettering:

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It's a OEM SK-6000 PS2 keyboard. I've yet to find a shape that is identical - always some are close, but never exactly the same. I fell in love with the layout of the keys and have been using it now for nearly 20 years. Name another piece of technology that functions the same exact same as it did 20 years ago without fault except maybe a little paint wearage from the keys.
 
wear and tear depends on who's using it and how it's being used. However all devices are engineered to have a particular usable life span, e.g. a keyboard's key has one million key stroke life until it get wonky, a mouse button has 500 000 clicks until it gets wonky. But those are usually bench marked in controlled test environments during performance tests. The components are the critical parts that ensure how long something will last, materials, design, etc. If a 50$ controller costs 50$ in parts to build and engineer, it will last that long. On the other hand if you have a 100$ controller that costs more to build and research then you might purchase that. same goes with a 25$ pair of walmart boots vs 150$ pair of "Solomon" boots.
 
Yeah this poster is off base. Controllers are pretty expensive and durable already. He's clearly in the minority here.

I think a 150 dollar invincible controller is a neat idea too, but it is pointless if nobody cares. It is pointless if it out lasts the digital communication standard it uses.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
See what Valve comes up with.
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I remember a while back that they put through a patent for a controller with interchangeable modular parts, so you could pull out the analogue stick and fit something else, presumably including another analogue stick if the old one wore out.

Part of the problem with consoles is that the business model is specifically to sell the console itself at a small cost, often at a loss initially, and recoup the costs over time with the games and accessories, so you're going to get accessories that wear down fast because it's in their best interest to sell you another controller in a few years.

Having said that my PS3 dual shocks are doing rather well, I don't use them much though.
 
I have N64 controllers that still work fine... in fact I never broke any of them. That's the first system with analog sticks AFAIK.
 
I don't think you can blame MS and Sony for the analog sticks wearing out over time. They are designed to be comfortable and soft rubber/plastic will only last so long. If you want long lasting check out www.modsticks.com, they are aluminum thumb sticks. However they will hurt your thumbs.

If the analog sticks wearing out is your only problem you can replace them or buy geltabz or similar product to put over them.

I have modsticks because I like the added height and narrow base, but I put geltabz on them so I can play for a long time without them hurting my thumbs.

I play a lot of x360 and the only controller that had issues was one that would no longer auto center (return to center) because I ran too much in COD.
 
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tzhu07 said:
I know obviously business people have to get involved in industrial design, but can we just for once have a game controller that's built like a tank?

More specifically, I'm talking about the analog sticks, which always wear out over time no matter how nice you treat them. In terms of design, you could easily fabricate those sticks and the surrounding structure and mechanism out of lightweight metals instead of plastic, and they would effectively last 10+ years or more if you don't abuse them.

I'm just saying...I wouldn't mind paying $70 for the Xbox 360 controller if the materials were higher quality and precision were tighter. Companies would lose money because people wouldn't have to rebuy controllers, but at the same time they would gain money because of the higher initial cost.
Click to expand...

Better build quality is certainly always welcome, but, I'm curious, how often are you burning through controllers? If it's too often, I'd be concerned about RSI . . .
 
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