With the announcement of new consoles at this E3 fast approaching I was thinking about what I would like next-generation controllers to look like. In actuality, I doubt they will change much. With the past console transition the Xbox controller only saw the change of removing the black and white buttons in favor of the bumper buttons (a fantastic decision by the way) and Sony’s dualshock is virtually identical, other than the addition of wireless functionality to each.

Honestly, I would not have much of a problem with that. Other than the absolute trash d-pad, I think the Xbox 360 controller is damn near perfect for games. Just fix the atrocious pad. The newer twistable d-pad is a little better, but I would still like to see a greater improvement on it by the time we get the next system.

My second opinion is not one I’m sure everyone will agree with, but I would like to have one or two buttons on the bottom of the controller. Not like the Z button on the N64; just a button placed near your ring fingers on the bottom. I realize it seems like the controllers are already riddled with buttons, but almost every single first and third-person controlled game requires the right stick to move around the camera during the entire experience, and the four face buttons provided are not very convenient when you have to pull your thumb off of the stick to use them. You already have multiple fingers holding up the controller, it would be nice to have the option to allow them to contribute to the gameplay as well. Even if you do not want to make it a primary button, just make an option where I can map any of the face buttons to it. That way people can ignore it if they want.

Other than those two issues, I love the 360 controller and would be completely fine with just having that again. Just leave motion control out of it. Both voice and motion controls have lost their novelty, and we have not spent all these years evolving gameplay just to have it shit on by imprecise controls.