Namco negCon - a most bizzare controller.

[MoeFoh]

I came across this PS1 controller while setting up Duckstation to sense analog triggers. It was designed for racing games. Analog steering is done by TWISTING each half of the controller! Button I & II are pressure sensitive analog. The left shoulder is analog, while the right is digital.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeGcon

neGcon Controller

[OlivusPrime]

I got one of these a few years back and tried it with a bunch of racing games - the results vary a lot.

It's supposedly designed for Ridge Racer, but I tried it with Ridge Racer Revolution and it didn't quite feel right. On the other hand, I also tried it with WipEout 2097 and it felt unbelievably good, by a mile the best way to play that game (and probably the other WipEout games).

[Anthony817]

wow I remember seeing these in gaming mags in the 90's. That is an interesting idea using it with wipeout.

[DreamCasting]

I still have mine, somewhere.
I do remember that when using a DC to PSX controller adapter it worked brilliantly with Hang On (Yu Suzuki Gameworks).
Maybe there is some DC odd game that could also take advantage from that combination but I never searched deep enough.

[OlivusPrime]

I still have mine, somewhere.
I do remember that when using a DC to PSX controller adapter it worked brilliantly with Hang On (Yu Suzuki Gameworks).
Maybe there is some DC odd game that could also take advantage from that combination but I never searched deep enough.

I was thinking today that it might work well with motorcycle games like Road Rash - glad to see this is at least partially true.

[Ragfish]

This is a must own controller for ps1 racing fans. I thought I had mastered the original ridge racer, but the day I got this, I immediately smashed all my old records. It's better at making small precise movements than an analog stick, but also better at quickly jerking left or right than a full size wheel.

It does have some issues though. I wish both triggers were analog instead of just one, and the dpad is one of the worst I've ever used (not that you'd use it often). I also think it could have been a little more comfortable to hold, not sure how the slightly redesigned black version compares. But the core gimmick works so well that these flaws can be easily overlooked. Every ps1 racing game that took itself seriously supported it too, and you'll even find some odd non racing games that fully support it, like tempest x3 and soul blade.

[OlivusPrime]

This is a must own controller for ps1 racing fans. I thought I had mastered the original ridge racer, but the day I got this, I immediately smashed all my old records. It's better at making small precise movements than an analog stick, but also better at quickly jerking left or right than a full size wheel.

It does have some issues though. I wish both triggers were analog instead of just one, and the dpad is one of the worst I've ever used (not that you'd use it often). I also think it could have been a little more comfortable to hold, not sure how the slightly redesigned black version compares. But the core gimmick works so well that these flaws can be easily overlooked. Every ps1 racing game that took itself seriously supported it too, and you'll even find some odd non racing games that fully support it, like tempest x3 and soul blade.

I wound up pulling this out again last night to give it another try, and oddly I still find myself disagreeing with the opinion that it's great for Ridge Racer.

I'm not sure if it's just the controller I own, but there's a very defined mid-point to the turning mechanism - it almost clicks into place when returning to the central point. This noticeably hindered smooth steering for me.

I think the reason I found it better for WipEout is because it doesn't seem to be great for quick and precise turning - I was sliding all over the place trying to use it in Ridge Racer, but in WipEout, the more gradual turning motions of the ships suit the NeGcon mechanism very well.

An extra note I'd add on using it with WipEout - make sure you switch the accelerator and weapon buttons (I and II on the controller). The default means that you have to take your thumb off of the accelerator to use weapons (and with the air brakes being assigned to the shoulder buttons, the accelerator has to remain on the face buttons), whereas swapping them means that you can lean your thumb down onto both buttons to use weapons.

[Ragfish]

I wound up pulling this out again last night to give it another try, and oddly I still find myself disagreeing with the opinion that it's great for Ridge Racer.

I'm not sure if it's just the controller I own, but there's a very defined mid-point to the turning mechanism - it almost clicks into place when returning to the central point. This noticeably hindered smooth steering for me.

Are you playing in third person mode by any chance? It'd be awful in that case

[OlivusPrime]

Are you playing in third person mode by any chance? It'd be awful in that case

I am - and actually that's a good shout. I know that drifting in Sega Rally 2 and Daytona USA 2001 when using a wheel only really feels right in first person mode, so I'll give the NeGcon another shot in first person.

[Ragfish]

I am - and actually that's a good shout. I know that drifting in Sega Rally 2 and Daytona USA 2001 when using a wheel only really feels right in first person mode, so I'll give the NeGcon another shot in first person.

Yeah unfortunately third person mode is kind of messed up in the old ridge racer games, I don't know how to describe it but it almost feels like the camera doesn't immediately move when you start steering, so finer movements are impossible. But in first person mode, every tiny movement feels right.