The Truth Behind The PS3 'Boomerang' Cotroller

[BrewCityUpstart]

The man responsible for the visual design of all Sony's PlayStation consoles, Teiyu Goto, has revealed the story behind that boomerang-shaped controller which was mocked by the world and his dog at E3 in 2005. You couldn't escape the comedy jpegs of batman holding the pad either.

"President Kutaragi wanted something different for the controller," Goto told Official PlayStation Magazine. "Quite frankly, we had set aside the ergonomic aspect in favour of the image it conjured up. We wanted to present an avant-garde model for the show, running a risk of being criticised."

It's safe to say that the criticism quickly followed. When asked about his personal thoughts on the controller and if he liked it, Goto replied, "It was very futuristic visually, but practically speaking you only had to hold it to realise how it compared to the Dual Shock 2. You know there are so many players who are used to the PlayStation controller; it's like a car steering wheel and it's not easy to change people's habits."

But the design was dropped and the Sony reverted back to the Dual Shock 2 model, which eventually became SixAxis. "The desire for change for there, but the legacy of the PlayStation was stronger - the slightest change to the controller could annoy players and the risk wasn't worth taking. Also PS2 and PS3 provide backwards compatibility; the ergonomics should be the same when you play games from the previous generation but without having to bring out the 'wired' controllers. It is for these reasons that we reverted to the shape of the classic controller."

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[Gordon]

I seriously want one of the controllers though... I thought they were pretty cool. Plus if someone were to break into my house I could probably fight them off with it. Perhaps the idea of a boomerang controller was the reason why it was banned from prisons.

[D_Litch]

I think if this controller would've stuck, the Aussie launch would've been HUGE.

[GoatMother]

Originally Posted by D_Litch

I think if this controller would've stuck, the Aussie launch would've been HUGE.

[Peench]

I dunno. I think rolling back to the same old controller they've had for years is a cop out.

the slightest change to the controller could annoy players and the risk wasn't worth taking.

Everything can be improved. I liked the Duke, but that didn't stop MS from making their 2nd smaller version and then the new version for the 360. I love the new controller for the 360. I think the batarang would have been awesome. Even if it wasn't that, I think it would have been nice to have a new controller design. I don't find the PS3 controller to be all that comfortable.

[GoatMother]

I find it comfortable, I just want it with rumble as well.. Don't know if removing the rumble counts as a "slight change"

[BrewCityUpstart]

I love the dual shock. I love the feel and size more than the 360's- although I'd like the button placement for the dual shock to be like the 360's.

[Gordon]

I think adding the rumble would probably mess up the motion sensitivity on the PS3. It seems to be very sensitive currently, if MotorStorm is any indication, so I figure it will be one or the other in the end.

[Jon Liu]

But, on the other hand, the Wii-mote doesn't get that affected by the rumble feature in it. I'd take a controller without the rumble feature, but just add weight to the controller to make it feel a bit less "cheap".

[Gordon]

That was exactly what I initially thought, but since I heard that it uses a different type of motion sensor there seems to be a problem. I do agree that it feels quite cheap without the extra weight behind it.

[CamDawg]

Jon,
I completely agree. The thing that I like least about the PS3 is the controller. It's too light for me and something just isn't right with it (maybe it's because all of my recent console experience has been on the Dreamcast, Xbox, and 360 so I'm used to larger and heavier controller).

[Jon Liu]

It's definitely hard holding/snuggling with "The Duke" Xbox controller at night then to playing the PS3 with the rumble-less SIXAXIS controller...

[CamDawg]

I just picked up a Duke again for the first time in years at an EB the other day. Oh my goodness; did I actually play with one of those things??? I forgot how huge they were.

[Jon Liu]

Yeah, they are freakin' huge! My friend has ONLY "Duke" controllers on his Xbox and I had such a hard time playing games after playing with the 360's controllers...

[Peench]

I never went to the Type S. I still have one of my original Xboxes and a couple of Duke controllers. I love em!!

[Jon Liu]

*whispers* He's compensating for somethin'!

[CamDawg]

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

*whispers* He's compensating for somethin'!

Small, little lawyer brains

[Peench]

Nah, I'm just a cheap bastage who didn't want to spend money on the new controllers.