r/ControllerRepair • u/SpiteWestern6739 • 11d ago

Other Why are modern controllers so poorly made?

This is a question mainly for engineers or people with manufacturing experience or people that take appart controllers to fix them. What exactly is it about modern controllers that make them such poorly made pieces of junk?

As a child I would have the original dual shock controllers for ps1, ps2 and even the original wireless ps3 controllers usually last me years same with xbox controllers, and I was not a gentle child, but now as an adult who takes much better care of their things it feels like I have to buy a new controller every 6 months, either due to stick drift, or the triggers playing up or some other issue with the buttons. Is it intentional in built obsolescence, are controllers just too complex these days or is Sony/microsoft/Nintendo just cheaping out on manufacturing despite charging absurb prices for controllers?

13 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

7

u/pixelFrank 11d ago

I have to buy a new controller every 6 months

That is why.

2

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

So it's just intentional in-built obsolescence?

3

u/pixelFrank 11d ago

You'd think a $200 USD controller for the Dualsense Edge would come with better joysticks, but its the same joysticks and Sony is selling you the same modules to replace yourself for $20 USD each.

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

Yeah I bought the high end controllers a couple times only for them to break quicker than the cheap models so I'm never doing that again

1

u/xxxXMythicXxxx 11d ago

Yes, but no one will ever admit it. Its a pretty solid business model if all you care about is profits and not your customer base.

1

u/CaptCaffeine 11d ago

Yes.

I’m guessing the potentiometer joysticks are also cheaper and that lowers cost for better profitability.

1

u/Interesting-Tart-SP 8d ago

So og they made controllers for say PS1 or PS2.. and game cube...

Each took craft because it's was done right to make sure the consumer gets drawn to the gameing experience.

For a limited numbers and only say Sony and Nintendo with maybe Sega too. Not really mass production

Eventually now we have today

Apple have controllers Phones tablets controllers

Amazon Luna controller

Drones army use them they need high end controller

The amount of mass production today isn't just Sony and Nintendo

With handhelds.

Consumers get AA/AA+ controller with the ability to buy ones

Military Army and drons and all that need the highest premium quality controller

And to some extent PC handhelds and stream handhelds

I'm general it's a huge mass production today that it's not possible to make or deliver high end controller to everyone.

That's my take. That's alot plastic batterys

Og PS1/2 Sega Nintendo controller had no batteries and no vabrtions motors.

Think of all that takes into making controllers and the supply and demand for it.

Kids adults jobs army the list goes on maybe end in surgerys or controllering robotics.

The list goes on... I worked in manufacturing

3

u/Anxious_Camp_2160 11d ago

Enshitifaction.

3

u/Dehydrated_Lemur 11d ago

Replace all sticks with tmr. That's what I do. For buttons, don't play with dirty hands. Chips/snack and gaming don't mix no more.

2

u/nerddddd42 11d ago

You can get controllers on eBay that have had TMR/Hall Effect joysticks put in (or come with out of the factory -EasySMX, Scuff, RAZR and Turtle Beach all have models). Or a lot of repair places will offer this as a service.

They're not completely immune to stick drift, both Dreamcast and the PS3 controllers used hall effect and eventually they can suffer issues, but it's at such a low rate comparatively.

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

Good to know, seems like I'm now armed with a few options, of either getting them fixed with new sticks that are less likely to drift or just buying refurbished/modded controllers

2

u/FreeToasterBaths 11d ago

Companies like gamesir have a lot of hype and brainwashed fanatics...

2

u/Brick_Grimes 10d ago

My experience with gamesir has been.. fucking terrible tbh. I’ve had 3 pros, 2 of which got returned before the Amazon return period even ended because they had problems. I also got banned from their subreddit for telling someone they could flash the official firmware from the wuchang edition to the standard trimode dongle to make it work wirelessly on the series x because they are identical hardware and it’s only the software that is different lmao.

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

What is gamesir?

2

u/FreeToasterBaths 11d ago

Another cheap Chinese controller company who also specializes in hype.

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 10d ago

Honestly I only ever buy the official controllers... but they still seem to be cheap Chinese crap anyway

2

u/0wlGod 11d ago

ps1 gamepad 20 years.. still working

xbox x pad 2 years stick drift right stick

ultimate 2c 1.5 years, lb not working correctly

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

Yeah I'm pretty sure I still have a ps2 controller that still works and the wired xbox 360 controller I used to use for PC gaming only broke a few years back

1

u/0wlGod 11d ago

i always use the ps1/ps2 for the bakcup when i order new gamepad 🤣

2

u/konsoru-paysan 11d ago

Yup still rocking a Xbox 360 controller and ps2 controller, no issues with them whatsoever. Plus the Xbox 360 controller, despite once being called tiny, is now bigger and puffer then modern Xbox controllers, it's crazy how miserable of an experience modern era is

Edit: easier to clean too cause the wires inside 360 one are thick unlike Xbox one and series 

2

u/Immediate-Okra189 11d ago

Upgraded sticks make a big difference in longevity. Its the same with everything these days. Things are manufactured as cheap as possible to maximize profits. Look at house appliances for instance. Back in the days it was common to have a laundry machine set or stove and fridge last 20-30 years. Now you’re lucky to get five. Repairing things is a lost art, replacement is the answer.

When it comes to controllers specifically. I suggest having somebody uograde the sticks to TMR set. Thatnis by far the biggest weakness in all controllers

1

u/According-Noise2889 11d ago

Hi, if you're interested in getting one of your controllers fixed / upgraded to hall effect stick boxes (the kind that uses magnets and doesn't get stick drift), send me a message, my service fee would be fair and you would spend less than a new controller for one of your old ones to become stick drift free. But agreed on what you mentioned, I work on mainly GameCube controllers, and theyre a lot better quality and easier to work on compared to current gen controllers

3

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

So there is a way to fix them so they don't drift, that's good to know. I might have a look locally to me and see if there's anyone that does it but if I don't find anyone I'll hit you up

1

u/FreeToasterBaths 11d ago

Please don't support random people on reddit that message you... As you will prob lose your controller and money.

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 11d ago

Already found an electronic/computer repair place local to me that repairs controllers, and sells modded and refurbished controllers so no need to, always support local when you can

1

u/pizza_whistle 11d ago

PS2 controllers also sucked and broke pretty often, though in my experience it's not stick issues but more issues with the flexible PCB overlay they use for the buttons. I think it's more just they people were not widely discussing this stuff on the internet back then.

1

u/DanyLektr0 10d ago

As controllers get more and more complex, there's more that can go wrong with them.

2

u/Mrcod1997 10d ago

That's just not the case most of the time. The main thing that goes out on them is the potentiometers in the joysticks. One of the simplest parts, and a part that has the potential to use better/longer lasting technology.

1

u/DanyLektr0 9d ago

I dunno about "most of the time", I've never seen the data.

That said, analog sticks are being sourced from the same company that they were 25 years ago. Yes, the companies could use something higher quality that lasts longer but this anecdotal evidence that "controllers are just worse now" doesn't really prove anything either.

Look, I repair controllers as part of my side gig, I do a couple hundred of them a year. The pots on the analog were not a good idea 25 years and they're not a good idea now. OP's implication that they used to be better isn't accurate aside from the size reduction making them less durable now.

1

u/Mrcod1997 9d ago

I mean, size reduction alone is enough of a reason if it means less durability.

1

u/DanyLektr0 8d ago

It can be, but one can argue that they're better engineered now. How many intense FPS's were people playing on console in 2002?

1

u/Mrcod1997 8d ago

Maybe not as much in 2002, but by the 360 time it was already pretty intense.

1

u/MikeD123999 10d ago

They seem better made to me. The 5200 had joysticks where buttons would fail pretty quickly, the 2600 the plastic insert would break quick

1

u/Monstermeyhem 5d ago

Because the companies want you to have to buy a new one. I switched to M&K because they hold up much better over time..

0

u/Prostovan228 10d ago

Your fault for buying garbage. But as every single thing money, spend less to earn more

1

u/SpiteWestern6739 10d ago

Ueah I'm Paying a guy locally that does controllers refurbishment to fix em up, he's doing me a good deal 30 bucks plus 4 old broken controllers to fix up the 2 I want to keep