Ever had the feeling that when a new system launched the new controller would suck? I'm not meaning to pick on Sega here, but the Sega Saturn controller, with the exception of fighting games, and Sega Dreamcast controller, were both big disappointments to me. The Saturn controller was just like a Genesis controller, except with nearly worthless shoulder buttons. 

The Dreamcast conroller is new, but it feels fragile and clunky (because it really is fragile and clunky). I had a hard time adjusting to the PlayStation controller back in the day, especially with fighting games, but when the Dual Shock came out, and finally adjusting to the Dpad, I gradually became a fan. It not be obvious to you, but my real favorite was the N64 controller, because it brought in analog control to the consols. So anyway, when Sony announced the PlayStation2, it was with mixed feelings that I saw and handled the all-analog controller for the first time.

With a PlayStation2, players will get one all-analog controller. The all-analog controller is modeled in the exact same design as the current PlayStation 1 dual shock controller. It looks and feels exactly like it, at first. Of course, the colors are different (blue and black), but so is the touch. The new PS2 controller has both analog and digital sections, but the digital controls are actually wired with analog sensitivity. In other words, the whole controller is analog. 

This is beneficial in several aspects, the first and foremost being control. With the new analog "Dpad" players can depress the buttons with lots of pressure in say, a racing game, to take a sharp turn, or less pressure to take a slight turn. With the current digital controls, players always have to tap, tap, tap to get exactly where they want to be. But with this new controller, players can control how much they want a platform hero to inch forward to a cliff edge with analog precision, depending on how hard or soft they touch the button.

Most gamers won't have a hard time adjusting to the new PS2 controller, because it looks and feel just like the old one. But it will be interesting to hear how people like playing with all analog controls on games such as Tekken Tag Tournament, Street Fighter EX3, and Ridge Racer V.

In the end, we, the gamers, will let Sony how well the PS2 Dual Shock controller works.