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Video game controllers, definitively ranked
All controllers are not created equal, especially when you’re just learning: a little note on accessibility
Alt text for this illustration is below the illustration itself
For another view of the Google Stadia, please see my colleague Courtney Craven’s post.
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[hand-lettered mini-essay. Watercolor illustrations of an Atari joystick, a Nintendo Entertainment System controller, a Wii controller, and a Google Stadia controller are on the page, interspersed between words. The words read:]
ATARI JOYSTICK is the oldest in my memory. This thing is so intuitive! Want to move? Use the joystick. Want to do something else? Press the big red button. In terms of user experience, this one is a winner.
In my work for Can I Play That, writing and delivering diversity and inclusion workshops, I think about accessibility a lot. But I’m a video-game newbie, and I think accessibility for newbies has a lot to teach us.
When the NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM arrived in our home, it was the first time I really leaned on my kid brother to help me navigate. There’s no shame in that, and even back then, I marveled at how quickly he, five years younger, was able to pick up on what the buttons were for, and where they were on the controller. It’s also telling that this is the controller my mom got hooked on Tetris with. She loved it so much that my dad had to hide the controller from her. Mom played so much that she was making Tetris noises in her sleep.
After that, we skipped a whole generation of video games. Maybe 2 or 3! My husband played PC games, but the next controller I really remember is the NINTENDO Wii. I really like this controller. We had learned so much about ergonomics, hadn’t we, between this and MARIO BROS.? This one felt good in my hand, and a lot of the games we played engaged the whole body. I liked that, too.
The controller I use the most now is GOOGLE STADIA. It’s similar to a lot of controllers out there now, but I like its color schematic! Somehow that makes learning its 20-something buttons a little easier.
I feel STUPID a lot when I play games now. It is getting better, but the speed at which I am learning makes me question myself a lot. Fortunately, I have a group of ppl who are always willing to help.
My friends are kind and generous. But if we are wanting to get more people into gaming, we should find a way to help newbies like me feel like there’s an easier way to onboard. I want everyone to enjoy what I have more access to now: More worlds, more stories, a sense of discovery, every day.
