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Console controllers have barely evolved in the last 20 years. There is a very curious story that explains why
December 24, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
Updated December 24, 2023, 15:18
Just by seeing how someone holds the controller of a console it is easy to know if they are used to playing video games or are just starting to become interested in them. However, even those of us who have been dedicating ourselves to this hobby for years tend to get our control devices wrong. We are not going to get elitist, the important thing in all this is to have a good time and enjoy each game however we want. However, holding a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series controller in a similar way to how we did in the Super Nintendo era is not the best alternative for fast and precise control. Furthermore, talking about this topic gives us a perfect excuse to review an interesting story.
The console controls are poorly gripped
Why do I say that we grabbed the console controller wrong? Most likely, when you pick up the controller – do the experiment if you have it at hand – you will place your two thumbs near the joysticks and your index fingers on the triggers. The second most common alternative is to place the index finger on the upper trigger and the heart on the lower trigger. Neither of these two is the correct way or, perhaps better put, the most efficient way. What we are supposed to do to play well is use the claw technique. In my time playing competitive Call of Duty, we called it playing ‘claw’. We were young and we thought that English words had a lot of hook… you can get away with anything.
Use the claw method to hold a controller is technically simple. Our left hand does not need to change position, but the right does. We will use the thumb for the joystick, as always, but we will put the index finger on the buttons and the middle finger on the trigger. Now we show you in an image in case you are not able to visualize it mentally. However, what this means is something very basic: we can touch the most commonly used main buttons (A, B, X and Y / X, Triangle, Square and Circle) without releasing the left stick. Of course, this is particularly useful when playing a shooter.
Technically this is the correct way to hold a controller. This is what competitive shooter players and many speedrunners do.
The adelanto that I tried for a whole year and that I never managed to be completely comfortable. However, it made sense. I have not chosen Call of Duty just because it is my personal experience, but because it is one of the games where you can get the most out of the “claw grip”. The Activision title has always allowed us to jump while shooting without losing precision, to such an extent that the so-called ‘jumpshot’ (I already warned you that we really liked English) became the most efficient way to play. By jumping we could dodge the opponent’s bullets and if we grabbed the controller this way we could do it without ever releasing the right stick so as not to lose precision.
If you think about it, it makes sense. The introduction of the double lever on the controls was what allowed the increase in popularity that shooting games have had on consoles. However, since its introduction there have been no further major developments. Sony or Microsoft have timidly focused on improving their products and, especially those responsible for PS5, have added functions such as the haptic trigger in an attempt to create more immersive experiences. The problem is that there has not been any change in the layout of the buttons that would allow for more comfortable gaming while having access to all the key functions at the same time.
The improvements in the controls have focused on increasing immersion, but not so much ergonomics.
A company banned the evolution of console controllers
The curious thing is that behind all this there is a story in which we find several culprits. If we talk strictly about video games, it is fair to mention both Halo and Call of Duty. Both franchises heavily rewarded players for performing quick movements by combining actions such as jumping and shooting. In addition, they were very popular, which resulted in both a need and a sufficient number of potential audiences. At 3DJuegos we will always defend the idea that everyone should play as they have the most fun, but when it comes to a PvP shooter played in its most competitive aspect, most users are going to look for as many small (legal) advantages as possible. Playing claw was uncomfortable, but also a way to achieve better results.
In this context in which a group of players wanted controllers that allowed access to the main buttons without lifting their thumb from the joystick, Scuf Gaming was born. Legally, they have invented a lot of things, although their most notable product is quite simple. His idea was buy official PlayStation or Xbox controllers and add buttons to the back. The method was quite rudimentary: with a couple of cables, a button and a tin solder they created a bridge between the main buttons and the ones they placed on the back of the controller. Then, they added a series of levers (with glue or rivets) that, when pressed, activated the buttons.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) has a sale that increases accuracy and reduces the time it takes to aim while jumping.
I can’t talk about Halo because I didn’t play it competitively, but having a Scuf controller became almost a status symbol in the Call of Duty community. The problem is that their controls were very expensive. So, Many companies began to emerge that imitated their product. trying to offer the same thing at a cheaper price. The company did not like this at all; if in 2012 it had seen its popularity explode, just a little later it began to register patents for everything it could think of.
“Today, Scuf Gaming innovations are covered by more than 120 admitted patents and another 50 pending resolution that protect four key areas: the rear controls [palancas]the trigger control mechanisms [topes]the joystick control area and the side action buttons [en el perfil del mando]”. Scuf Gaming on their website
With patents we have come across. Scuf Gaming wanted to protect its innovations and then started developing more innovations just to protect them. This had a double effect for the companies. On the one hand, they discovered that there were many consumers willing to pay more for an improved controller to play more ergonomically and competitively. On the other hand, even if they wanted to sell them at a reasonable price, they couldn’t do it easily. Almost all the ideas were patented and this is not a brand that took the concept of a registered product as a joke.
Does the Steam Controller wake up? Scuf and Valve have been engaged in a legal battle for years over the design of the controller. The court sentenced the creators of Counter-Strike to pay up to $4 million in compensation, although the sentence is frozen due to a partial victory in the appeals committee and we have not heard anything since August 2021. In As for Microsoft and Sony, you are surely aware that both have launched a controller with rear levers and other improved functions. The difference is that they did it after having reached a collaboration agreement. “Scuf has licensed its intellectual property to many companies, including Microsoft in 2015 for the creation of the Xbox Elite controller.” As for the parents of PlayStation, they reached an agreement with them in 2018 (via Twitter).
Scuf gaming has received a lot of criticism, since the back buttons – although they are not its only patent – ​​have existed for a long time. The strange controller of the Nintendo 64 already had them and it can also be argued that the PS Vita had something similar. Even since the time of the Super Nintendo, companies began to emerge that created custom controllers with new functions and it is easy to wonder What would happen if at that time we had already had to deal with patents?. Despite everything, the company was within its rights to protect its innovations and wanted to do so.
Main image: JESHOOTS on Unsplash
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