What do you think of the Gamecube controller's D-pad?

I still don't understand. The genesis and Saturn (model 2) controllers have the best D-pads I've ever used. I've often said this in the past.

What's your point?

In my opinion the steering cross is by very very far the best part of the GameCube controller, unlike the Xbox and Dreamcast controllers it's very accurate, just the Dual Shock 2 controller's steering cross.

Sadly this is where the positive things I have to say about it ends.

It's located in the wrong place on the controller, where the left analog stick should be, meaning it forced away the left analog stick to the wrong place as well as a result making the analog stick harder to use as it's beyond the very far reach of your thumb making all upper left analog stick movement inaccurate and uncomfortable, a typical case of one seemingly minor problem creating a far worse one as a chain reaction.

It's impractically small, indented into the controller and it's little edges are pretty sharp and become painfully uncomfortable after a very short time of use.

It's difficult to get a good feel for it when it's indented like that, making it hard to use and reach as you have to dig into the hole it's buried in to make it work, and any little thing that shouldn't be a problem, like not having your fingernails cut painfully short or simply not having childishly small thumbs will make it almost impossible to use efficiently as you simply won't be able to get in there properly.

Along with the official Microsoft Xbox 360 default controller it's the worst controller of all time and I absolutely hate it, which is why I got a PS2 converter for my GameCube (and Xbox, it's a split converter that works on both) and a third party controller for my Xbox 360, so I could actually enjoy the games those two machines have on offer.

I give it a 2/5 as at least the accuracy in itself is good, and it's still by far the best part of the entire controller, it's just a shame everything else about it and the rest of the entire controller is absolute garbage and completely unusable.

Can you really blame me for being dumbfounded this time? For me this is like an atheist witnessing the second coming of Christ, or learning that you were adopted and the woman you thought was your birth mother is actually a transvestite man, or something like that. It's only natural that I would initially be in denial over this. Please show some empathy.

The most detailed post yet on this thread. Thank you, Raven. Always enjoy hearing your opinions even though I don't always agree with them.

Cervantes What's your opinion on the GC's D-pad? I remember hearing you say that Nintendo's D-pads are the second best in the industry after Sega's, so I'm curious.

What controller do you use when playing emulated GC games?

Some of the GC exclusives, specifically Melee, are difficult to get into and fully enjoy. With that said, Melee wouldn't have the enormous competitive scene it has today if it weren't for the octogonal-style (semi arcade style) joysticks and high build quality of the controller. It would be impossible to play Melee at a competitive level with a Dualshock or Xbox controller. A lot of the GC exclusives benefit from being played with an official GC controller. I can understand if the high price tags of the first party games and controllers for it would scare you off, though. That's one of the biggest complaints about collecting for the Gamecube. Just another reason why Nintendo should revamp the Virtual Console for the Switch and start re-releasing GC games.

Well guys, I've got some bad news for you. I played some Capcom vs SNK 2 EO on the Gamecube for the first time two nights ago and it turns out that the Gamecube controller's little d-pad is just as responsive as I predicted it would be. Small? Sure, but still perfectly responsive. I had absolutely no trouble consistently pulling off special moves, and this was done on the most worn controller in my possession.

I really hate being right all the time, but hey, what can you do when your name is MeleeMaestro?



The button layout for the controller is definitely a major inconvenience for Capcom fighters though, so I'll give you guys that. I don't understand why console makers did away with the six-button face layout some 5th gen controllers had.