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The State of Console Controllers

Wednesday, Jul 29 2015  -   Nolan Mercer

Xbox One Controller

The Xbox One Wireless Controller consists of two joysticks, a D-Pad, a “back” and “start” button, two triggers, two bumpers, an Xbox Guide button and four different action buttons labelled “X”, “Y”, “B” and “A.” The controller is equipped with a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and vibration motors

PlayStation 4 Controller

The PS4 Controller is very similar to the Xbox One controller. It consists of a PS button, “share” button, “options” button, concave D-Pad, action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross and Square), four trigger buttons (R1, R2, L1, L2), two joysticks and a 2 point touchpad. It is equipped with a USB port, Stereo Headset Jack and it has a light bar, vibration motors and a built-in mono speaker.

Controller Modifications

In the competitive scene, gamers often modify their console controllers in order to have a better controller that suits them. For example, most gamers modify their joysticks because the original ones are not that great for competitive play. However, there are different kinds of modifications for the controller. Some gamers will modify the joysticks, the buttons or the triggers because they do not like the original ones. On the other hand, some gamers will modify their controller in order to have an advantage over gamers with the normal controller.


 

Illegal Modifications in the Competitive Scene

The most renowned company that modifies controllers is “Evil Controllers.” This company offers many mods such as “Rapid Fire”, “Quick Knife” and “Active Reload.” The most popular modification these days is “Rapid Fire.” “Rapid Fire” allows the player to have their semi-automatic guns fire much faster than a person that has to smash his trigger key as fast as he can. Most modifications that give an advantage such as “Rapid Fire” are illegal in the competitive scene. (https://goo.gl/bSxcWy)

All Player equipment is subject to approval.  MLG reserves the right to deny the use of anything suspected of providing an unfair competitive advantage. Players may not use a Turbo controller or a Button Macro controller. Any sign of cheating or gambling may result in a Forfeit of the Game/Match and/or disqualification from the MLG Pro League.” –MLG Pro League, CoD AW season 1 rule


Legal Modifications in the Competitive Scene

Legal modifications for controller are not usually mods, but rather add-ons to the controller. Most gamers in the competitive scene add extra parts to their controller or change their D-Pad, triggers and joysticks. For example, the most popular add-on to the Xbox One/PS4 controller is called the “FPS Freek”, made by the company “Kontrol Freek.” This piece of equipment is added on to the joystick, giving the player more precision and leverage while aiming because it increases the range of motion by over 115%. They allow the gamer to react faster and play at a higher sensitivity. Every competitive player in the console scene uses these.

A company called “Scuf Gaming” make controllers with improved grip and joysticks. “Scuf Gaming” offers high quality grip material on their controllers and joysticks. Grip plays an important role in the competitive scene because the players do not want their hands to slide around on the joystick or on the controller. However, what makes these controllers original is the fact that they have buttons on the back. These buttons are in fact pallets that replace the four action buttons in the front. The reason behind this design was that the player would be able to keep his fingers on the joystick and be able to use the action buttons at the same time rather than having to remove his finger from his joystick to use the action buttons. This modification is found on many competitive players’ controllers.

 


 

 


 


 

 

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