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A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

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Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#31

Post by alanbernstein »

willcipriano wrote: post #26
auxym wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seem to remember N64 joysticks were somewhat fragile. Many of my friends as a kid had controllers with a joystick that had lost all springiness and barely responded to input. I have not are that on any other controllers, even cheapo xbox360 clone controllers from AliExpress.

The kids call it stick drift today, its a big problem on the switch I heard.

IIUC stick drift essentially means the center dead zone moves away from the physical center. The N64 joystick problem was different and worse: with wear, the center dead zone would expand, to the point that the extreme position values could not actually be achieved. So, instead of walking slowly when you want to stand still, you are unable to run at full speed.

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#32

Post by msk-lywenn »

jonny_eh wrote: post #19
TillE wrote: post #6

The SNES controller is a beautiful thing because it's literally just a bit shift register wired up to the buttons. Super simple to emulate it, make an adapter for it, or be compatible with it.

Not to mention is still very comfortable, especially for its size. And it's basically the pinnacle of 2D controller design when it comes to functionality.

Best 2D controller is the Japanese saturn one. Better ergonomics, six face buttons and even shoulder buttons.

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#33

Post by msk-lywenn »

chrisco255 wrote: post #18
sdf4j wrote: post #16

> Nintendo established the blueprint for gamepads in 1985 with the iconic rectangular Nintendo Entertainment System I'm pretty sure they did it two years before with the famicom gamepad.

Right, but Famicom is just the Japanese name for the NES, which, as you say, debuted in Japan first.

Op is right, the famicom/nes was released in 1983

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#34

Post by [deleted] »

willcipriano wrote: post #26
auxym wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seem to remember N64 joysticks were somewhat fragile. Many of my friends as a kid had controllers with a joystick that had lost all springiness and barely responded to input. I have not are that on any other controllers, even cheapo xbox360 clone controllers from AliExpress.

The kids call it stick drift today, its a big problem on the switch I heard.

[deleted]

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#35

Post by kube-system »

Hamuko wrote: post #17
amelius wrote: post #8

You can do this yourself. Just bring a USB drive to the airport and ask the TSA officer for a copy of the images.

Are they going to give me copies? Do I need to threaten them with GDPR?

The TSA DGAF about GDPR

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#36

Post by Jach »

auxym wrote: post #23
devindotcom wrote: post #5

This is definitely cool but if you want a more comprehensive teardown of the NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube controllers, this is the one: https://www.fictiv.com/teardowns/nintendo-controller-teardow... I just love how overbuilt the old controllers are. I still have my original SNES and controllers and as far as I can tell they work as well as the day they were made despite decades of abuse. One has bite marks... not sur…

I seem to remember N64 joysticks were somewhat fragile. Many of my friends as a kid had controllers with a joystick that had lost all springiness and barely responded to input. I have not are that on any other controllers, even cheapo xbox360 clone controllers from AliExpress.

Modern joysticks feel more fragile in some ways. In the N64's case, game design evolved to not have us abuse them as much anymore. Palm blisters from playing Mario Party's rotate-the-stick-as-fast-as-you-can minigames were pretty common... But the controllers lasted a while, even the third party ones, even if eventually they started showing problems. I wanted some nostalgia years ago on an emulator and tried that with an xbone controller, one match of tug-of-war was all it took and I found myself having to solder in a new sensor. Since then if I get the urge again, or some other game needs me to rotate fast to win, I just lose.

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#37

Post by ComputerGuru »

amelius wrote: post #8

You can do this yourself. Just bring a USB drive to the airport and ask the TSA officer for a copy of the images.

I would hope that data can’t be just copied to a USB. I would like to believe it is destroyed automatically except with an override authorization code from a couple of managers but I know better.

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#38

Post by falsenapkin »

willcipriano wrote: post #26
auxym wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seem to remember N64 joysticks were somewhat fragile. Many of my friends as a kid had controllers with a joystick that had lost all springiness and barely responded to input. I have not are that on any other controllers, even cheapo xbox360 clone controllers from AliExpress.

The kids call it stick drift today, its a big problem on the switch I heard.

With the Switch it's more specific to the sticks on Joy-Con and presumably the Switch Lite. Drift affects other controllers as well including Xbox/Playstation.

What makes the Joy-Con sticks so horrendous in my understanding is 1) they're tiny 2) the shrouds protecting particle ingress into the sensor compartment is wildly inadequate. Rather than the stick having a very large hemisphere under the primary casing and surrounding the sensor compartment, whereby particles that manage to fall in it are directed into the case cavity, the Joy-Con sticks have this dinky paper thin rubber skirt that floats on top of a convex hemisphere on the sensor housing. In use, this skirt can expose the sensor compartment directly to air or it can pick up particles on the housing and drag them into the housing.

I recently found Hall effect Joy-Con sticks on Amazon and am giving those a go right now. This issue is something I'm overly invested in as I think the combination of independent controllers and some fine details in how Splatoon (twitchy shooter) manages motion controls yields the best control scheme for a shooter even compared to mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately outside of the concept the devices are horrible.

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#39

Post by cubefox »

One thing they didn't make quite clear here is that the Xbox controller is considerably less advanced than the PS5 controller.

The PS5 controller has "linear resonant actuators" (previously introduced in the Switch, and in the iPhone before that) which provide a much more fine-grained rumble feature than the older method which is still used in the XBox. The newer feature lets you feel e.g. that the character walks over sand, rubble or grass. The PS5 controller also has actual force-feedback triggers (which simulate e.g. a bow or a gun), while on the XBox there are only simple rumble motors. The XBox controller also still lacks a gyroscope (e.g. used for more precise aiming), which other controllers have for many years now. A really outdated piece of hardware, in contrast to the base console.

Re: A look inside the SNES, PS5, and Xbox controllers with CT scans

#40

Post by nicetryguy »

devindotcom wrote: post #5

This is definitely cool but if you want a more comprehensive teardown of the NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube controllers, this is the one: https://www.fictiv.com/teardowns/nintendo-controller-teardow... I just love how overbuilt the old controllers are. I still have my original SNES and controllers and as far as I can tell they work as well as the day they were made despite decades of abuse. One has bite marks... not sur…

You may want to open it up with a phillips head jewelery screwdriver (they don't have the lockout screws) and clean the scum off of the pads and button areas. If the rubber pads are still springy, then you are in good shape. I can tell you as a Heavy Retro Console User (with a beautiful Trinitron CRT) that the rubber pads will eventually lose their springiness... there isn't much you can do for that and there are no suitable replacements... but i will vouch that those worn out controllers have given me more than their fair share.
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