• Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

aevanhoe

Slayer of the Eternal Voidslurper
Member
Aug 28, 2018
7,337
And? Is that supposed to be a rebuttal to that poster's lack of surprise that a company known for lacking build quality now suffers quality issues?

Singling out a single company in a thread talking about how all these controllers have the same quality issues is strange.

Also, all three companies are the same in this regard so much, that this level of quality is practically "industry standard" at this point (not a good one, obviously). The comment seemed misleading if you ask me.
 

gitrektali

Member
Feb 22, 2018
3,198
If you understand what I'm saying, then what's not registering? Your posts frame it as if the DualSense is faultier/or has more chances of experiencing drift than the competition's controllers. Which is not right. You're not more or less at risk by purchasing the DualSense. The chances of your DualSense drifting are the exact same as they would be if you bought a different controller (from the platform holders). They have the same pieces.
Edit: nvm
 
Last edited:

arsene_P5

Prophet of Regret
Member
Apr 17, 2020
15,438
Technically, but if PS5/Dualsense is really configured with a tinier deadzone than average, then drift will be more apparent on PS5 than the same amount of drift would be on, say, Switch Pro controller (since Switch software tends to be configured with some pretty gigantic deadzones in my experience)
I've never had drifting on Xbox controller or the Dualshock 4 for that matter. But I did get drifting on the Joy Con. Is the deadzone smaller on PS5 compared to PS4?
 
Last edited:

spool

Member
Oct 27, 2017
774
Singling out a single company in a thread talking about how all these controllers have the same quality issues is strange.

Also, all three companies are the same in this regard so much, that this level of quality is practically "industry standard" at this point (not a good one, obviously). The comment seemed misleading if you ask me.
What I was pointing out was that your post was a non-sequitur. It didn't really have any bearing on the post you quoted. It comes across as nothing more than deflection.

There's nothing "misleading" about expecting bad things from a company known for doing poorly. Personally, I'm MORE disappointed in Microsoft using these sticks since their products generally feel higher quality and I expect better from them.

Edit: Also, singling out a single company? Yes. This is a thread specifically about Sony.
 

isahn

Member
Nov 15, 2017
990
Roma
What I find really outrageous is that MS has put this cheap component into its flagship elite controller
 

aevanhoe

Slayer of the Eternal Voidslurper
Member
Aug 28, 2018
7,337
Edit: Also, singling out a single company? Yes. This is a thread specifically about Sony.

No it's not. Mods even edited the thread title to emphasize that.

Also, this thread kind of shows how our opinions on the quality of these controllers are subjective and anecdotal. For example, I have quite a few controllers from all three companies, I had least amount of issues with Sony ones - but I wouldn't go so far to claim they are better. Comparably, Sony is not any more "known for poor quality" than other manufacturers and it is strange to single them out in a thread talking about how all of them need to do better. Please don't make yet another console war battleground out of this.
 

spool

Member
Oct 27, 2017
774
No it's not. Mods even edited the thread title to emphasize that.

Also, this thread kind of shows how our opinions on the quality of these controllers are subjective and anecdotal. For example, I have quite a few controllers from all three companies, I had least amount of issues with Sony ones - but I wouldn't go so far to claim they are better. Comparably, Sony is not any more "known for poor quality" than other manufacturers and it is strange to single them out in a thread talking about how all of them need to do better. Please don't make yet another console war battleground out of this.
You seem to not understand that nowhere in the post you quoted, nor in mine, is there any singling out of Sony as the only one who is bad and who need to do better. Only lack of surprise that Sony did something bad. Can you acknowledge this please?

Also, when I say I think Sony has build quality issues, I'm not talking about breaking functionality. My PS4 controller, that I regularly use for PC gaming, still holds up well in that regard. But the plastic is cheap. The triggers squeak. You can twist it without much force, to the point of it being worrying. You can squeeze it, and it creaks. 360 and Steam controllers, which I also have right in front of me, are far sturdier built.
 

aevanhoe

Slayer of the Eternal Voidslurper
Member
Aug 28, 2018
7,337
You seem to not understand that nowhere in the post you quoted, nor in mine, is there any singling out of Sony as the only one who is bad and who need to do better. Only lack of surprise that Sony did something bad. Can you acknowledge this please?

Sorry, I can't.

To me it's still singling out a single company, and it's right there in the post I quoted. All three companies have a very similar track record when it comes to build and hardware quality, they all need to do better, and also the article mentions how they all use the same problematic part. And this is in a timeline where Joy Cons are known for high failure rates when it comes to drifting, and Nintendo is even offering free repairs and is facing multiple lawsuits (I have Joy Con drift, too, as anecdotal as it is). And yet - out of all three, the poster is "not surprised for Sony". You honestly trying to tell me this is not singling out one company? If you're going to play the semantics game, I won't bite. There's no reason to single out Sony here - and that's what I said. All three need to do better.

Also, a reminder that you claimed this thread was about Sony, which it isn't.


Also, when I say I think Sony has build quality issues, I'm not talking about breaking functionality. My PS4 controller, that I regularly use for PC gaming, still holds up well in that regard. But the plastic is cheap. The triggers squeak. You can twist it without much force, to the point of it being worrying. You can squeeze it, and it creaks. 360 and Steam controllers, which I also have right in front of me, are far sturdier built.

I believe you, but I could also honestly tell you my experience is completely different. My Xbox One controller has squeaky plastic when I squeeze it (even a little), and one trigger is a bit sticky. I had a similar situation with a previous Xbox One controller, and I recently borrowed a Series X controller from a friend (loved it, btw) and the plastic was creaking when squeezed. On the other hand, I never had these issues with any of the Sony controllers I had and - I really mean this - DualSense seems much more firm and premium in my hands than any of the other controllers I've used (and I used and owned a lot of them). I'm still trying to get my hands on a Series X, and I do hope I get a good controller with it, because I like their feel and the D-pad is awesome.

Does that mean Sony makes better controllers than Microsoft? No, just that my experiences and my subjective opinions are what they are. Exactly opposite of yours - and I do say that quire honestly (I know there's no specific reason for you to trust me, but there it is).

And now we have a video showing how all of these companies are cutting corners (which I kind of understand, but not justify). And I would like them to do better, so when I buy the next consoles from all three, they come with better controllers, better quality, etc.


TLDR: I still think Sony was singled out- whether out of poster's personal bias or anecdotal experience - and I pointed that out because I think it's wrong to do so in this case.
 
Last edited:

arsene_P5

Prophet of Regret
Member
Apr 17, 2020
15,438
You seem to not understand that nowhere in the post you quoted, nor in mine, is there any singling out of Sony as the only one who is bad and who need to do better. Only lack of surprise that Sony did something bad. Can you acknowledge this please?

Also, when I say I think Sony has build quality issues, I'm not talking about breaking functionality. My PS4 controller, that I regularly use for PC gaming, still holds up well in that regard. But the plastic is cheap. The triggers squeak. You can twist it without much force, to the point of it being worrying. You can squeeze it, and it creaks. 360 and Steam controllers, which I also have right in front of me, are far sturdier built.
At first I was more in his side, but after thinking about it I agree with you. The poster arguably didn't want to single out Sony here to steer console wars or something. He was just pointing out that it's to him not surprising Sony did this.

I think we should demand better from all these companies, knowing they all are using the same tech in this specific case. However as you alluded to this doesn't mean the build quality is overall the same as your examples shown. I can support those with my own experience or those of my friends and I've owned every console for generations. Sure, I had broken Xbox, Nintendo and Sony controllers over the past, but the DS4 in particular had poor build quality with the plastic. I have dented buttons, due to my girlfriend having longer finger nails and the analog stick lost much of their texture and this is my second DS4.

Don't get me wrong, the controllers aren't much much worse in build quality, but in my experience and what my friends told me or what you read on the internet, the DS4 at least definitely has more quality issues then most other gamepads. I don't think we can judge the DualSense yet, tho and I think from my first experiences that the quality seems to be better.
 
Last edited:

spool

Member
Oct 27, 2017
774
Sorry, I can't.

To me it's still singling out a single company, and it's right there in the post I quoted. All three companies have a very similar track record when it comes to build and hardware quality, they all need to do better, and also the article mentions how they all use the same problematic part. And this is in a timeline where Joy Cons are known for high failure rates when it comes to drifting, and Nintendo is even offering free repairs and is facing multiple lawsuits (I have Joy Con drift, too, as anecdotal as it is). And yet - out of all three, the poster is "not surprised for Sony". You honestly trying to tell me this is not singling out one company? If you're going to play the semantics game, I won't bite. There's no reason to single out Sony here - and that's what I said. All three need to do better.

Also, a reminder that you claimed this thread was about Sony, which it isn't.
It used to be about Sony. I didn't even notice the title change until now. The thread has been open in a tab and I've just been refreshing it. If you don't watch the video all the way through, you'd also think it was a Sony problem, because the video focuses and spends most of its time with the DualSense.

This is all beside the point though. Because this dumb argument we're having isn't about looking at all controllers and deeming Sony's the worst. It's about not being surprised Sony's has issues, because of past experiences. If you can't see this at after what I've written, there's no point in continuing this.
 

arsene_P5

Prophet of Regret
Member
Apr 17, 2020
15,438
I think we should give the user the benefit of a doubt, because not everything is console wars. And the title got changed by the mods after the thread was made and the discussion was ongoing. As I recall the user said he is not suprised by Sony (having these problems), this doesn't mean others are better in this case or that the users thinks others are better.

Let's make a example for this... The scenario is the following: a game gets delayed by publisher A, B, C. A thread before the mods changed it, gets made about the delay for publisher A.

Should people now be forced when they comment, that they aren't suprised the game got delayed, to list delays from publisher A, B, C, ... Z? Or are the people free to just comment on the thread, which was at first about the DualSense. Of course you are absolutely right everyone uses the parts causing drifting and we should demand better from everyone. But at the same time I think the user didn't single out Sony, because he wanted to steer fanboy wars or anything. He just commented on it, because at first the DualSense was the topic of the thread. Also he didn't make any comparisons whatsoever iirc.
 
Last edited:

SixelAlexiS

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,741
Italy
I've never had a controller develop drift (don't have a Switch tho). The only problem I ever had with a controller was with the 360's bumpers. My Dualshock 4 and Xbox One S controller work perfectly fine. I saw multiple threads here about how people are experiencing drift with the Dual Sense, so I guess I'll wait for a revised model or something.
DS4, One S, Switch Pro, even the Elite... all of them use the same stick. It's just that DualSense users makes more buzz about it so good luck with your waiting for a revision X'D
 

arsene_P5

Prophet of Regret
Member
Apr 17, 2020
15,438
Does that mean Sony makes better controllers than Microsoft? No, just that my experiences and my subjective opinions are what they are. Exactly opposite of yours - and I do say that quire honestly (I know there's no specific reason for you to trust me, but there it is)
Opinions matters a lot in those cases and experience will vary (some got more broken Xbox gamepads, some more Sony gamepads, some more Ouya gamepads), but some of the observations regarding build quality like plastic spool talked about can be supported by knowing what plastic those gamepads use. So although I tend to agree with you that most is based on own experience, some stuff really isn't, because it can be supported by data.
 

SigSig

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,777
the build quality is 100% unacceptable, considering the highway robbery prices. I've learned my lesson on PS4.
 

aevanhoe

Slayer of the Eternal Voidslurper
Member
Aug 28, 2018
7,337
Opinions matters a lot in those cases and experience will vary (some got more broken Xbox gamepads, some more Sony gamepads, some more Ouya gamepads), but some of the observations regarding build quality like plastic spool talked about can be supported by knowing what plastic those gamepads use. So although I tend to agree with you that most is based on own experience, some stuff really isn't, because it can be supported by data.

Sure, but do we have any scientific information that Sony uses cheaper plastic? Genuine question. All I know is this part that's the topic of this thread is used by everyone.


I think we should give the user the benefit of a doubt, because not everything is console wars. And the title got changed by the mods after the thread was made and the discussion was ongoing. As I recall the user said he is not suprised by Sony (having these problems), this doesn't mean others are better in this case or that the users thinks others are better.

Again I agree, that's why my initial post was not "stop the console warring" or anything (even a couple of posts later, I actually did not accuse anyone of it, I just said "let's not turn this into a console war battleground") - it was just "all companies use this part, though". It was only after the reaction to that I expanded the reasoning a bit. It shouldn't matter, really, no single company should be called out alone, they all should be held to a higher standard.

But ok, I will leave it at that.

Because this dumb argument we're having isn't about looking at all controllers and deeming Sony's the worst. It's about not being surprised Sony's has issues, because of past experiences. If you can't see this at after what I've written, there's no point in continuing this.

Well, I kind of don't see it that way, what can I tell you. But I do agree there is no need to continue, we're arguing about how one post can be interpreted, and that's not the subject of this thread.
 
Last edited:

kubev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,533
California
I know they briefly mentioned software correction with regard to calibration, but I'm surprised they didn't mention the fact that console manufacturers and/or game developers already account for analog stick drift with deadzone settings. In fact, in the case of console manufacturers, you don't even get access to those settings in most cases.

That said, I do think it's feasible for any of the console manufacturers to design new analog stick mechanisms that don't have these issues, and I daresay that they could even change how some aspects of them work to ensure better longer lifespans. Sure, it'd cost a lot of money to create and test new mechanisms, but Microsoft spends a lot of money redesigning its controllers, anyway, and I'm sure creating a new analog stick mechanism that's more durable and reliable would allow them to make a lot of that spent money back by licensing or providing the tech to other companies.
 

gitrektali

Member
Feb 22, 2018
3,198
DS4, One S, Switch Pro, even the Elite... all of them use the same stick. It's just that DualSense users makes more buzz about it so good luck with your waiting for a revision X'D
My post was based on my personal experience with multiple controllers, and what I've read here. I'll take the revision bit back since that probably won't ever happen.
 
Oct 27, 2017
5,349
DS4, One S, Switch Pro, even the Elite... all of them use the same stick. It's just that DualSense users makes more buzz about it so good luck with your waiting for a revision X'D
Nah, it's easier than that: dualsense is built like shit and that's about it. In 30+ years I've never ever ever ever seen a controller trigger break on me, specially not three months after purchase. If the drift is anything like the triggers, this is automatically the worst controller I've ever used in regards to build quality.
 

RoninChaos

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,342
Threads like this always surprise me. I've never had any hardware malfunctions with any PlayStation products outside of some firmware issues around launch.
I must be incredibly lucky.
I think we both are but I would imagine it has to do with how much you actually game. I'm older now and do not have the time available that I used to. I read an article that said the controllers should fail in roughly 417 hours. I don't think I've put 417 hours into my ps4 in it's entire life span.
 

arsene_P5

Prophet of Regret
Member
Apr 17, 2020
15,438
Sure, but do we have any scientific information that Sony uses cheaper plastic? Genuine question. All I know is this part that's the topic of this thread is used by everyone.
DS4 uses HDPE iirc and yes it is cheaper.
It shouldn't matter, really, no single company should be called out alone, they all should be held to a higher standard.
I did agree with you before on this. Everyone should do better with those analog sticks and if they don't want to, then at least give a generation long warranty for fixing drift.
Nah, it's easier than that: dualsense is built like shit and that's about it. In 30+ years I've never ever ever ever seen a controller trigger break on me, specially not three months after purchase. If the drift is anything like the triggers, this is automatically the worst controller I've ever used in regards to build quality.
Sarcasm? I'll bite. The trigger are simply more complex of the DualSense and that's why they are more prone to break. I wouldn't call the Sony controllers build "like shit".
 
Last edited:

Iolo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,904
Britain
Every few months I have to disassemble my Switch's Pro controller, pry open the side of the joystick, swab it out with alcohol and physically reshape the wiper which is typically bent. It's such a hassle.

The weird thing is it always drifts down (usually suddenly, not a little — like it's at center and then max down) and my Joycon drifts left.
 

Azerare

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,713
Yep, for the elite controllers you almost have to buy the warranty or buy it from Costco if you want to avoid paying for the warranty.
Yeah they're still nice controllers to use, but for peace of mind and easy fix... definitely buy the extended warranty or from a place where they will swap with little to no hassle.
 

BolognaOni

Member
Oct 27, 2017
159
Bit late to this teardown, but I have to think something has changed on the Alps part quality wise. It probably still meets the rated 2-million cycle life, but as they point out that's really not long enough.

Based on their pictures though, it looks like the DS5 is using the RKJXV1224 part, which is marked not recommended for new designs on the datasheet. Here's hoping there's an improved part on the way in the near future.
 

Lebon30

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,287
Canada
Article also touches on how older joystick sensor tech from the Dreamcast and N64 were more reliable in continuing to work, which is eye-opening to me.
Yup! All for that 50¢ extra profit for each controller. Totall bullshit. I'll say it and say it again: the last best controllers from Nintendo were the GameCube controller and the Wii U Pro Controller. These were HIGH GRADE!

From Microsoft, the XB360 controller is still well regarded.

From Sony, the DS3 is also well regarded.

When retro device beat the fuck out of new tech because companies decided not to be cheap ass. This is why I decided to not buy a Switch Pro Controller for myself...
 

oatmeal

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,545
I finally caved and bought the joystick replacements for my switch. Not too hard to switch out - but man - the things work again. It feels great.
 

HylianSeven

Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,114
My stick on one of my left joycons has been drifting for a while, and today stopped clicking and now doesn't respond correctly at all, I decided to order a tri-wing screwdriver set and a set of replacement sticks. Listening to Laura Kate Dale talk about it a few weeks ago on Podquisition inspired me on actually doing it myself. This set of joycons is from right around the launch of the Switch, so they're 4 years old. I hear it's apparently not too hard, but if I fuck it up, no big deal.
 

BlinkBlank

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,226
I know the chances of it happening is near nil, but it would be great if companies would make it easier to change of the easy wear parts in controllers.

Like I get it, a good chunk of the population still wouldn't do it, but if they could make it where they were designed to snap / lock in and could somewhat easily come out without a heat gun and soldering, I would be more apt to change out parts. That and making taking shells off easier.

I don't play games like a crazy amount, so if there is drift or dead spots, I have just dealt with the controller for a year or two before replacing the part or controller just because new controllers are expensive and replacing is such a pain.