A video game or console can be great, but without the right input device who really cares?  Playing a bit off of Tan's article on the Saitek Cyborg 3D Gold USB, The RFG Pulse wants your opinion on the Best Digital Controller.  But first a little history might be in order.

Digital controller technology was the primary method utilized until about the mid 1990's.  To put it simply, this was basically an On-Off technology: push a button, directional button or joystick and a single response was transmitted to the console to execute an action.  The amount of pressure applied was not a factor, as it is in today's analog controllers.

When considering your vote, take into account innovation, control, feel, overall performance and usability.  There were many, many more digital controllers released who did not make the list that you see in this poll.  The most notable missing is the 'pistol' controller for the Bally Professional Arcade - a truly sensitive and responsive controller for its time, but not considered a mainstream system by most gamers.

There are some heavy weights in this poll.  Who will win?  Vote and add a comment to state your case!

Atari 2600 - Joystick Simple, elegant and easy to use.  A true classic.	Mattel Intellivision Innovative at the time, allowing complex user input.  The 'circle' pad allowed quick directional input.	Nintendo NES The introduction of the first gamepad.  The D-Pad exists to this day in our modern controllers.
Sega Genesis Excellent design and fits like a comfortable pair of shoes.	Nintendo SNES Slightly small, dog bone design, but introduced us to the 'shoulder' buttons still utilized today.	SNK Neo Geo AES The mother of all controllers.  This true arcade stick was / is a classic with excellent control.

Comments are always welcomed!  Let's hear from you!

Weekly feature: VS Fighting Posted on Oct 23rd 2007 at 01:45:22 AM by (OatBob) Posted under Site news, Weekly Features, VS Fighting, Capcom, SNK, Capcom vs SNK, SNK vs Capcom, SVC Chaos, Street Figther Anniversary, Slayer1,

In 1999 Capcom and SNK struck up a deal to license each other their intellectual properties to produce two fighting games each.

Capcom's first entry was Capcom vs. SNK for the Dreamcast.  Drawing mainly from their own Street Fighter, and SNK's King of Fighters series, Capcom made a solid 2D fighter with balanced characters and challenging gameplay.  Hypnotic menus draw you in from the start, and animated backgrounds keep you interested through while you fight.  The "groove" system lets you pick how you get to activate power ups and special combos, and the flexible ratio system lets you add a few more characters to your team if they are all weak.

SNK's first attempt is widely overlooked as its release was only for the Neo Geo Pocket Color.  Unfortunately SNK's poor financial standing led to bakruptcy in 2001, followed by a buyout by Playmore that same year.  The new SNK-Playmore followed up on their obligation with SVC Chaos.  This title definitely puts a SNK twist in style, but still feels a bit forced with some unbalanced characters.  The best part by far is how SNK draws characters from more series than Capcom, leading to higher variety of characters.  Also, the artwork from the game is stunning.  Game sprites and special attacks received a visual makeover, while the backgrounds are truly something to look at.

In 2005 Capcom celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Street Fighter series.  The Street Fighter Anniversary Collection hosts a fair selection of SF games on the Xbox and PS2.  Capcom also licenses a number of character-themed collectible control pads to Nubytech to mark the occasion.  The Xbox recieved Akuma, Bison, and Guile while the PS2 recieved Akuma, Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li in addition to wireless control pads featuring Cammy, Evil Ryu, and Sagat.  The premier item released with these was an arcade stick for both Xbox and PS2 that brought the arcade experience home.  Sometimes the standard controller doesn't quite cut it for these arcade style games.

Slayer1 gets the spotlight this week as the featured collection.  The size might be considered average, but a detailed view will show how it truly shines.  Ratings for most titles, and a large number of micro-reviews in the comment section give just enough personal input on games to determine his taste in gaming.

Continue reading Weekly feature: VS Fighting