PSP Controller Layout, New Details Revealed

Posted by simoniker on Tuesday September 16, 2003 @07:39PM from the but-i-wanted-it-like-the-intellivision dept.

Thanks to IGN Pocket for their article discussing new PlayStation Portable (PSP) details revealed at Sony's Gamers' Day in San Francisco. The article discusses the PSP's controller configuration, which is "...now confirmed to consist of the four face buttons we all know and love (triangle, circle, cross, and square), a digital directional pad, two shoulder buttons (left and right), start and select buttons, and one analog joystick." It also reveals that "Sony compared the 3D prowess of the PSP to be more akin to the PS2 rather than the PSone", and other details emerged - the system's battery life was "...said to be comparable to other high-end devices (roughly 3-6 hours)", and GameSpot's Gamers' Day round-up relays that "a prototype will be unveiled at E3 2004... [and] currently, 10 first-party titles are in development for the new platform."

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Please fix the directional pad! by gklinger · 2003-09-16 20:01 · Score: 0, Troll

It's unclear from the article if Sony is going to use the same style of directional pad as they do on the Dual Shock/Dual Shock II controllers but I sincerely hope they don't (although they probably will).
The problem with Sony's directional pad is that it's four distinct buttons whereas the directional pads on Nintendo's controllers (for instance) is a single 'rocker' style pad which makes it a lot easier to transition from one direction to another. It's a minor thing but it drives me nuts. If it wasn't for that, I would consider the Dual Shock to be perfect controller.