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feature :: xbox 360 vs ps3: controller / styling

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Controller Design

Ack, Sony, what were you thinking? For the company who made what many consider the best and most useable controller ever made, this is a big step backwards. The dual shock dual analogue controller that was built for the Playstation 1 was a tour-de-force that continued almost unchanged into the next generation. The PS3 controller, by contrast, looks like a reject from a sci-fi movie modeler's workshop.

The only thing that I can see that I really like about the controller is that it can be used as a double ended dildo for two women who are lying on top of each other. I'm glad to see that Sony know their market so well. It will be interesting to see if they keep the vibration concept in the controller, or the whole purpose is more or less irrelevant.

Interestingly enough, the next generation of consoles could spell the death of 'dual shock'. Vibrating controllers have been pretty much a necessity, but with wireless controllers now, the extra cost, extra weight, and most of all the extra battery drain surely is no longer justifiable. It's actually something I'm glad to see gone, personally. It never really added anything to the game, and was just kind of silly.

The Xbox controller is serviceable. It is quite clever of MS to put a big button to take you to the dashboard, even from within games. We'll have to see how well that's implemented, but if it's done well it could be a really nice feature of the system's structure and overall business.

There's not much else to really say about it. It's wireless, of course, which should pretty much also rule out vibration, though it might be switchable. It will also probably be relatively heavy. Batteries, etc.


Styling
You couldn't really pick a more subjective thing. Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 have been both praised and decried for their styling. Simple fact is, that's what they look like, so get used to it.
The Xbox 360 has a rather sleek, modern look. Some quality industrial design has gone into it, which of course you'd expect. The 'philosophy' behind it (an inhale before explosive action) is a little bit wanky, really, but that's the sort of thing we have come to expect from marketing people. We really only care whether it looks cool. It looks adequately cool, but a little more plasticky than we'd like, and not as shiny and metallic. Black probably would have been better than the silvery white they've gone with, as well, though not as neo-modern.

Sony went with classic silver. Many people seem to thing that the whole thing looks like a sandwich press, which is really a valid point. The console has also been shown in promo photos in a black version and a white, though whether all of these versions will hit stores at launch is iffy. The black looks cool, though. Having three different colours can be hard on inventory. Ask Apple. They learned from the early iMacs how hard it can be managing demand for products in multiple different colours. A fruitastic experience.




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