PlayStation Classic Controller Tear-Down vs. PS1 Original

We took apart the new PlayStation Classic's controller, looking at an original PS1 controller vs. the PS1 Classic remake for comparison.
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Original tear-down of PS1 Classic: • PlayStation Classic Te...
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The PS1 Classic is an interesting device, and is one we already took apart (link above). The PS1 Classic is primarily interesting for how much more powerful it is over the original PS1, but also how it runs an emulator that can be sometimes hard on the low-end components. We next wanted to take apart the PS1 Classic's controllers, looking at the pre-dual shock PS1 controller from 24 years ago and comparing it to the retro remake controllers.
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Host: Steve Burke
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[@GamersNexus]

Find our tear-down of the PS1 Classic here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4q6Xmd3hKueeqc Links to everything in the description above, or grab a GN shirt or modmat here: store.gamersnexus.net/

[@Elwenil]

The PS1 controller is actually an aftermarket controller. Still made by Sony, but sold as an accessory rather than the one that shipped with a PS1. The construction is usually pretty similar, but in my experience, the accessory controllers will have slightly better build quality than the originals, especially if the originals are early models. In my opinion, the transparent PS1 and PS2 controllers were some of the best as the plastic seemed a lot more durable than the original controllers. The build of the PS Classic controller is pretty similar to the innovations in the PS3 and newer controllers. The plastic circuit board for the buttons almost looks like the X, Circle, Square and Triangle buttons could be pressure sensitive. If the black contact on the silicone layer is domed, this could be the case.

[@mattsmechanicalssi5833]

I want to see Buildzoid's analysis!

[@uss_04]

Didnt need to pay for one, im not sure if you asked. Pretty sure the community might have a new one or barely used one they could send you. I got one thats fairly good condition.

[@natedunn51]

I know old controllers can be a little bit of a pain, but I don't think you should be drinking that.

[@serkanermis9404]

Hi Steve that black part on the rubber pads is a conductor that completes the circuit for the button press (ps from the netherlands so sorry for the bad english)

[@mjc0961]

I was not expecting an internal USB port That's actually really nice, because you could remove the stock cable and replace it with one that doesn't have the giant plastic shell on the USB A end

[@madfinntech]

Indeed. They should sell these controllers separately.

[@nabagaca]

you could even mod it to have USB C compatibility as well, couldn't you?

[@ManicMyna]

Looks like really smart business sense design that cable appears to be the same as the charging cable for the DS4 meaning they just make a few extra cables and chuck them in this thing to get the tooling costs down

[@yellowcrash10]

Manic Myna It's just a micro USB cable. There's nothing special about it other than the plastic bit at the end to make it look like the old controller connector.

[@Streetw1s3r]

Would definitely come in handy if your wire breaks. You can just open it up and replace it with a new one. It's actually brilliant design. Props to whoever came up with that genius idea.

[@bradley3549]

"Resources they had at the time" Steve acting like the 1990s was the stone age. LOL.

[@TheTca211]

Kinda was >.>

[@pleasenobadwords3728]

@Fizzy Your whole childhood was like vocal percussion on a whole other level coming from your mind

[@aprisia]

Compared to 1990s vs today, the difference between the Stone and the Bronze Age is a much smaller gap. As a frame of reference, my phone is far more powerful than anything other than the most advanced supercomputers of that age. A 2700k puts an entire lab filled with $100k SGI systems of that era to shame. My car has more computation power than most universities of that era, FFS.

[@bradley3549]

@@aprisia I don't disagree, but availability of massive computing power is really a relatively small factor in the ability to build a decent PCB...

[@aprisia]

@@bradley3549 No, but the processes to get to the ability to create current chips also factor in the massive reduction in size and increase in efficiency when compared to older PCBs. Go and take a look at the 80s era stuff if you really want to see a massive difference, it was basically LEGO.

[@420BulletSponge]

Now THIS is the kind of tear down comparison that gets my 50 year old gamer brains full attention.

[@GamersNexus]

Glad to hear this type of content interests some of our core audience!

[@uss_04]

-Only 90s kids will- Just kidding, always love trying to see them try to reinvent retro stuff.

[@MlSTERSANDMAN]

“50 year old” “core audience” LUL

[@hurricane31415]

Nice to know I'm not the oldest here ^_^

[@nathangillmore5064]

As a 44 year old gamer, I agree!

[@0ctothorp]

Your dissasembly video was actually the first indication I had that the PS1 classic was even out.

[@1brokedrifter287]

Octothorpe same

[@Quicksilver_Cookie]

@@1brokedrifter287 That's because barely anybody care for the selection of games they offer. I'd gladly give money to Sony, but for that much to miss out on so many platform defining games? Also, some games come with inferior PAL version? WTF. No, thanks. Back to emulators. Which is actually what this thing is - it's running an emulator. And looking at how it's built Sony spent fuck all of effort to make it. It's a really really cheaply made cashgrab, running a FREE emulator.

[@jdrok5026]

@@Quicksilver_Cookie I mean it has final fantasy 7 and a decent amount of good games. And if your good with screwing around with it you might even be able to get it to run a rom from siphon filter which wouldve been badass but I don't think sony even remembers that game series.

[@England91]

@@jdrok5026 apparently if you hock up a keyboard you can get to the emulator

[@IanC14]

I saw a whole bunch of them in Currys PC World the other day. Doesn't look like they sold any. Meanwhile they sold out of damn SNES Mini's, lol. (Argos nearby had some in stock so I finally got my SNES Mini)

[@im.a.nickel]

There isn't any switches. It's just rubber with carbon pads. When you press down the carbon pad completes the circuit on the ribbon.

[@nicolaspinto2927]

It is in fact a switch, looks to be some form of rubber dome though it could be a capacitive switch. Just because they aren't mechanical switches doesn't mean they're not switches, all a switch does in a simplified sense is complete a circuit when actuated.

[@dickr9345]

BlowMeWonKenobi So it makes (and breaks) a connection in a circuit... Yeah, that's called a switch, dude.

[@DeeSnow97]

The point is there's no switch "inside" either PCBs. (Yes, the blue thing on the new one is still a PCB, just a flexible one.) The PCB and the carbon pad on the rubber dome make up the switch together, meaning the rubber pad is definitely an electromechanical component.

[@GamersNexus]

Thanks! That's pretty cool. Is there specific terminology to describe those types of domes?

[@Xerazal]

@@GamersNexus yea, its called a switch

[@AKATenn]

Those black bumps are carbon, they act like wires to bridge the connections on the flatflex

[@JoeJacksonJr]

Was just fixing to comment the same thing... This is done in cheap keyboards and I can not believe he does not know how those buttons/key work.

[@hypurban]

@@JoeJacksonJr I'm also pretty certain the header for the old controller cable DOES come off and he was being too gentle.

[@JusttheEdge]

@@JoeJacksonJr yeah the first clue he didn't know was when he said the bumper buttons where possibly Omron switches.

[@Rand2k1]

Yeah.. the new and old controllers work in exactly the same way. Only real difference is the contacts for the "buttons" on the new controller are on a plastic sheet, where the old one has them on the pcb itself. Its certainly considerably refined, and now on USB, but its the same thing.

[@RockwoodJoe]

Obviously, he's never taken apart an Atari 5200 controller.

[@mushroomsamba82]

I've been dealing in retro gaming hardware for the past 7 years or so and I haven't contracted any diseases from it yet, I wouldn't worry too much about it :P

[@MegaTechpc]

People kill me with their OCD germophobia. Relax dude, you'll survive.

[@brostenen]

He is just too scared from germs. Who makes time to point out germs anyway? Shure I understand if there is cola and cake leftovers on it. But germs? Dang... Just wipe it down with a cloth and soap water and it is good.

[@ColtaineCrows]

There aren't very many diseases that survive without some kind of moisture for very long. I do somewhat remember that Tuberculosis is one of the ones that can survive for many many years without water. Not that Tuberculosis was very common in the 90's from what I remember.

[@yellowcrash10]

Adam You mean you haven't contracted the bubonic plague from twenty year old dead skin cells?

[@brostenen]

@@yellowcrash10 Good one. Though bubolic plaque is no laughing matter, and it is still around. Just be aware of what you eat around the world. www.cbsnews.com/news/kyrgyz-teen-dies-from-bubonic-plague-after-eating-marmot/

[@mushroomsamba82]

Those are carbon contacts on the pcb and carbon impregnated rubber on the membrane that complete the circuit.

[@MrV1NC3N7V3G4]

Amazing how he can be an expert on "cherry" switches but never has seen old carbon contact switches that have powered electronic devices for ages.

[@w4stedspace]

Enjoyed getting a PS1 classic ad alongside this, feels somehow appropriate to see it's their ad money going towards this! ;)

[@the1truefluffy]

Man, this takes me back. Those lands on the original PCB and on the newer controller are conductive pads, with the black pads on the back of the button electrically bridging them; the analog function of the next iterations used variable contact by way of dome-shaped electrically conductive pads on the back of the buttons. I see some comments talking about button lifetime on a controller that's a minimum of two decades old and still working…

[@lancesmart2667]

They moved to the electrically printed film for the PS2 with the dualshock 2, it worked great at the time but over several years the print degrades leaving you with faulty buttons, I always got the impression this was a 'timed obsolescence' decision as much as it was for cost savings.

[@KBABZ]

Thanks for posting this! I was hoping to refurbish an original PS1 controller with a PS1 Classics, but it looks like there's SO MANY differences that I can't even use the rubber button pads!

[@Lott.Z]

This was genuinely more interesting than I would have thought. Cool

[@mjc0961]

"Don't zoom in too much" **Immediately zooms in too much** 😋

[@draketungsten74]

Yeah, I think that was on purpose.

[@Hevethee]

What is this tech jesus has no knowlege how membrane keyboard works. You know the nonmechanical one.

[@Malus1531]

I think he's locked memories of membrane keyboards away. Too traumatic.

[@michelvanbriemen3459]

Membrane is like the Old Testament

[@Lambda_Ovine]

@@Malus1531 The old IBM model M keyboard, one of the best keyboards you can ever type on, is a membrane.

[@Malus1531]

@@Lambda_Ovine Buckling spring over membrane, not really the same as modern membrane keyboards.

[@nimrodquimbus912]

Who is jesus?

[@nitrax8629]

Quite interesting - Sony's been using a similar construction since the PS2. The d-pad on the old one used that retention mechanism to bypass a patent Nintendo had on their D-pad design, which is very similar to the new controller. Perhaps their patent expired and Sony found it easier / cheaper to do it that way?

[@ComputerTechnic217]

I even saw something like that on my Dualshock 3 though it only went diagonally in one direction not two

[@killtothrill3269]

Hey now you can use that controller micro usb cable to power the system!

[@hanyoukimura]

This is great content. I love seeming old and new equivalent tear down and comparisons like this!

[@hellishinc]

Ugh those silk screened "PCB" are horrible to work with. Basically nulls any modding. The "gross solder work" is flux. Standard to leave the residue.

[@Niloc0]

So you're saying the old controller has a flux capacitor and the new one doesn't? Rip off!

[@thekrautist]

@@Niloc0 Yeah! Flux that!

[@kayos1203]

Do you also listen to Black metal? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@Rikorage]

Modding? What, were you planning on adding a turbo button or something? Cheater? I mean, it is an emulator. Might be able to get a soft-mod turbo option if you were going that route.

[@thekrautist]

@@Rikorage Maybe a different power connector so he doesn't have to sacrifice a USB wall wart. Which, for the record, is easy to mod at the cable level. Did it with an electric razor not two days ago.

[@MichaelHarto]

15:46 that tiny diagonal plastic crossbar in the PS1 D-Pad section is what makes it so good for playing fighting games. it prevents too many directional buttons to be pressed contrary to modern controllers which you could press all 4 (up-left-down-right) buttons at the same time.

[@faux_gray]

Can see you've never had to open up a PS1 controller to repair it! :D

[@nojoojuu]

So old consoles are the new thing now? Did not see that coming. For us old gamers it's cool! TNX!

[@absurddive]

"Retro-gaming" has been a thing for quite some time. The whole "X BRAND-CLASSIC" thing is new tho.. But useless imo. I mean come on, it's basically a "custom" raspberry Pi with a random emulator core

[@nojoojuu]

Should have added "in this channel" to my comment. Sorry for the inconvenience. @@absurddive

[@Asdayasman]

Except it's not because they're a complete ripoff and badly made. Controller looks good though. I'd recommend buying one of those off eBay, and using it with a RetroPie.

[@Malus1531]

Raspberry Pi w/ Retropie is awesome. Though still haven't figured out how to get mine to scale on my 1440p monitor lol (there's black on all sides). I'm pretty sure it's not that hard, just haven't bothered yet.

[@Asdayasman]

@@Malus1531 Well you probably don't WANT it to fill the space. You want to scale it up by an integer multiple so you don't get oddly shaped pixels.

[@x3lA]

Steve's greatest fear realized

[@Danmandingo]

*Looking so forward, to Gamers Nexus talking about the leaked RYZEN 3000 specs.* *2019 Looks to be one hell of a year for AMD.* 😀

[@OIFIIIOIF-VET]

Danmandingo only if I can keep my X470 board 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@thepolticalone961]

@@OIFIIIOIF-VET I think you can. Bios update will be needed

[@-eMpTy-]

They don't like to talk about leaks and rumors but yeah im really interested in where AMD is going

[@mareksendecki5695]

Probably only up to R7 with 12 cores as R9 spec exceeds AM4 spec and you'll need new X series mobo wich will be shown in May along R9 50th anniversary chip :)

[@thepolticalone961]

@@-eMpTy- they're gonna stick it to intel I hope

[@mariushmedias]

It's cost reductions. They can make more smaller circuit boards on a panel and they moved everything to surface mounted stuff including connectors, which means they can use super fast chip shooter style pick and place machines to populate the boards. No through hole, no soldering connectors means fewer steps in manufacturing. The printed foil is much cheaper than circuit board - you basically pay once a few hundred dollars for tooling and then they print huge rolls of plastic with your traces and then they cut them to shape... costs cents per foil. It's super cheap for volume production but more expensive for hobbyists. There's carbon or some other conductive material on the foil with traces and on the buttons, and the buttons basically create a short between two traces when they're pressed down. Nothing fancy or clever... same stuff as with keyboards, although probably no multiplexing involved on this, considering there's so few buttons.

[@iamdmc]

MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF 2018 HOLIDAY SEASON Dualshock, actual good games, actual good emulator, scan lines, GUI, etc skip

[@danpope3812]

Don't be silly. Dual shock is coming out next xmas.

[@noire1001]

Plus they could have added network capability, so you can access the PS store and buy loads more games in future. It seems so pointless to go to all this trouble for a handful of games when there are so many classic games for PS1 that will be lost to time.

[@zeikjt]

Not gonna fundamentally change anyone's opinion but apparently if you hook up certain usb keyboards you can hit ESC and access more emulation options (including scanlines). Looks like Sony didn't strip out all of the PCSX configuration.

[@bland9876]

The problem with Sony controllers is that they're all identical so they had to put the one without the joysticks on there unlike the NES and SNES where their controllers are uniquely different and look different and thank God they changed the controller on the PS4 because that controller was super uncomfortable only good thing it had going for it was the placement of the buttons and sticks

[@jasonbourne1374]

take a drink every time you hear the word "PCB" take 2 drinks for every germ reference... 🤪

[@shawndiaz7528]

Thanks for taking one for the team Steve

[@UltimateDailga12]

9:10 did I hear.....A NOTCH ON A CONTROLLER?!?!? 🤣🤣🤣

[@RussiaGoodFantastic]

15:54 youre wrong that X-shaped holder on the original makes the controller a lot better for fighting games.

[@Staticsoup]

I'm really happy they did as much as they could to retain the original feel of the buttons. Its cool that they didn't really cut corners and used almost the same mechanical parts

[@kelakakku]

I like the way they implemented the cable. Really easy to fix.

[@Me_I_Suppose]

I love how this is longer then the entire system teardown.

[@Weaver_Games]

The PS1 had one of the coolest copy protection mechanisms I've ever heard of. A lot of people think the black discs had something to do with it, but that was actually just a colouring they added for style. Here's how it worked: CD lasers have a tracking mechanism to follow the groove of the track sort of like a vinyl record. The laser actually can make small adjustments left and right to the track to make sure the groove is being followed. What the PS1 games did is official discs were written with an intentional wobble to all the tracks. The PS1 actually verified if the CD head in the PS1 was following the wobble pattern - if it wasn't it presumed the disc was a burned copy as all CD burners you could buy would just burn everything in as straight as tracks as possible.

[@mLgz0rn]

Other than the fact that you could hear when it checked if it was a legit copy, then time it and swap out the legit disc with a burned copy of another game just as it was done checking on the legit disc. Amazing protection xD

[@Weaver_Games]

@@mLgz0rn Yup it was so clever but so easily circumvented lol

[@QOTSAPT]

Micro usb inside is really cool, makes it a great item for use and collecting. only that was an analog.

[@enocpac]

Over the lifespan of my PSX I had eventually rebuilt my own controller from reconstituted parts of at least 4 other broken ones. I recall there were differences in PCB size and mounting between dual shocks of the same era.

[@chinchy111]

gamers nexus could disassemble a banana and i would watch it

[@Folsomdsf2]

your ps1 controller isn't the original model. Also, if you're wondering, the way the buttons function are identical, one is just a cost reduced version and is how later versions of the controller were made anyhow.

[@koulkrith]

Those rubber caps serve an electrical purpose. They are coated with graphite. This coating serves as contact to link two electrical pathways.

[@inlovewithi]

I think the new PCB is so cool, and love that it has a micro USB connection, but it's really not some sort of major technological advancement.. The components are just placed into the smaller area, while the part that makes the connection to the button is spread out on a clear plastic. While the original controller's PCB is mainly bigger because it also covers the function for the physical connection of the buttons.

[@kmysamaXX]

So its basically the same but they replaced the traditional PCB with the flex/plastic circuit and added the USB driver .

[@anarchoarchitect5192]

20 years from now Old Man Steve will be doing a teardown of the PS4 controller and you whippersnappers will feel old as fuck too.

[@ambushb0y]

Should have ran a toothpick through the crevices, the neighbor kid used to always eat Cheetos and play mine....

[@maniacaudiophile]

That's actually conductive bumper and it will contact the carbon contact on the plastic sheet to complete the circuit. The plastic sheet alone is only half of the switch.

[@willaimkazer9754]

Black bump is conductive. It connects the pads on the controllers PCB or ribbon in that and the PS3's case as in both use ribbon. Yes carbon, like pencil led. Both are conductive.

[@m4xwellmurd3r]

The micro usb cable is actually really awesome. If the cable ever breaks you can always swap it with a standard usb lead. Way better than having to hack a new lead onto a controller

[@Burning_Typhoon]

The original controller changed a lot between the Dual Shock 2 and 3 revisions. The new classic controller adopts a lot of the changes from the Dual Shock 2. I've had to take apart plenty of PS controllers, since fighting games really tears them up. If I remember correctly, that cross bar on the original controller was used until the later Dual Shock 3 controllers. I remember the first time opening up a replacement controller, and not seeing it. Great, considering they would usually break, leaving the d-pad to fall deeper into the controller than necessary. Seems like the PS Classic controller is basically the newest Dual Shock 3, except with the vibration and sticks removed.

[@DrathVader]

Pretty cool that they used a micro USB connector internally. That way if you ever break the original cable you can just replace it with a regular off-the-shelf micro USB cable.

[@swrzesinski]

The black CONDUCTIVE carbon pads on rubber actually have ELECTRICAL function. The "switches" on flex are actually two pads that are bridged by the carbon pads. When you are doing technical companion you need to know how the technology "they had back then" works...... The bumpers on old controller are probably same style buttons but on separate PCB, there is probably no delay whatsoever because of slightly longer signal path.

[@meinnase]

11:05 thats really longwinded when you couldve just said "it works like a rubber dome keyboard" :D

[@chaython]

Is Tech Jesus a germaphobe?

[@brostenen]

Soap water and a cloth actually does a pretty good job. I understand if there is leftovers from cola and cake. So sticky. One piece of dust and he is all like "oh my god". I think he has some kind of cleaning OCD kind of thing going on.

[@Fresco272]

I think so... It was like he was planning to use the controller as a plate or something. Just wash your hands after the shooting, that's all :-D

[@nimrodquimbus912]

Who is Jesus ?

[@leehutton1983]

I thought the same, probably more germs on he’s unkept hair than that controller ever saw.

[@vgm_composer]

Nimrod Quimbus Jeez! The frickin’ man! That’s who! FYI: Anyone who brushes dead skin onto the floor of the place they work, is not a germaphobe.

[@scythelord]

New one works almost identically to membrane switch keyboards, which are still most keyboards. Hell even the original IBM mechanical clicky keyboards used a membrane switch underneath it all.

[@DEMENTO01]

4:33 THE MICRO USB LMAOOOOO

[@bambooex]

This reminded me of when I was 11 and opened up my ps1 controller out of curiosity!!

[@kalmtraveler]

do the new ones work as USB controllers on a PC?

[@GLDragon93]

Well thanks to the teardown people can easily replace the sony usb cable with a thinner one

[@behemothokun]

@@GLDragon93 that is a really nice detail with the cable. which makes swapping it no effort at all.

[@renehoyvik]

​@@xnonsuchx I'm sure a USB extention cable will get you arround that problem. I'm more concerned with driver support. You'd probably need to get a open source universal driver and map every button.

[@fetB]

is the PS4 controller still not officially supported?

[@GLDragon93]

I think as long as you use x360CE you should be fine. Im still using a third party 10$ ps3 controller which wasn't advertised to work with PC and wouldn't work on my pc despite being recongnised as a controller, just used x360CE and had to remap only the analog sticks, the other buttons were correctly recognised.

[@thomasesr]

The new one is basically a usb rubber membrane keyboard. Plastic sheet with contacts and dome button conductor and a small controller PCB.

[@daniel7242]

I remember how happy i was to have a PlayStation, still have it to this day

[@Malus1531]

Then once every few years you'll go "man I used to love such and such, I'm gonna hook it up." Then you play for 30 minutes, realize it was actually shit compared to modern games, and put it back in the closet.

[@stefanklass6763]

With a really compact pcb layout you might be able to put the whole console into the controller.

[@marcelokurashima]

Why did I decide that this would be a good video to watch while having breakfast?

[@chaddles623]

Nice comparison video, but I wonder if the newer PlayStation controllers have any of the newer stuff the PS Classic controller has.

[@Deadmeme64]

Got the console pretty cheap at walmart just for the controllers. Retroarch has native support for them now they are awesome for classic games and ps1 emulation.

[@randysmith7094]

Sony sure does love to use cheap flex film cables and contact pads. The membrane contact pads on the old controller, I believe they are domed to make them pressure sensitive. The harder you press the button, the more surface of the pad contacts and this changes the resistance within that black carbon contact material. So flat "bumper" pads would make digital buttons and domed pads make analogue buttons.

[@kenabi]

its pretty clear they used the tech advances and the newer controller designs as a base to made a simple hid usb controller for the classic system, while stuffing it inside a shell that copies the external spec for the original.

[@thetruetekno9925]

The controller is fucking phenomenal. Easily the absolute best thing about the PlayStation Classic, and it's a god damn controller.

[@alex_cookie33]

Same flex ribbon used on dualshock 3 and dualshock 4, easily replaceable when buttons don't work.

[@ratchet1freak]

PS2 and PS3 used most of the same design for controllers. I've taken apart my PS2 dualshocks and the plastic film was present in there. (along with analogue sticks and vibration controllers)

[@Krystalmyth]

Not one company, not one, has been able to replicate and surpass the Sega Saturn 6 Button Gamepad. I'm sure the world would love it if anyone could prove me wrong.

[@bluephreakr]

Hey, that's actually the same kind of layout (sort of) to the SCPH-10010! The PS2 DS pads are mostly the same as the SCPH-110's _except_ for the fact the rumble motors are in their own housing, where also the flexboard rests upon and its also a removable component, however it is a similar approach to the PS Classic controllers because the flexboard is entirely removable. It's held in with plastic pegs and take a zebra strip approach made evident with SCPH-10010 top housings having a piece of rubber to literally squish the contacts onto the "Board". Other interesting notes about the flexboard; they're kind of similar to... clicky keys? It's weird, but there's an entirely separate piece of plastic for all of the buttons which isn't connected to anything, it's only when the rubber dome is pressed, and forces contact between the button pad and the pad underneath an electrical connection is made. Try taking one apart yourself and you'll see what I mean.

[@guycomputer829]

This ended up being much more interesting than expected. Haha, thanks.

[@thegasman7161]

Anyone else like it when Steve is pushing those buttons?

[@elerileigh7926]

I honestly don’t know why they bothered with this, I’ve been taking controllers apart to repair them for about 15 years and have taken the original apart, they’re basically all still made the same way with a membrane switch on each button.

[@astraldragon01]

Man I sold those when they first came out. You had to open them to clean out the gunk because the buttons would jam up some times and very rarely the rubber hat died

[@ottersdangerden]

The way they construct the new controller is very similar to how they make the newer ps3 and ps4 controllers. I had a couple that probably were clones that had a regular pcb in em instead of the flexible pcb

[@davidminor1254]

Yesterday at work I saw a GN "Steve the God" follower sporting a black foil looking GN tee. I wanted to say "Hey! Gamers Nexus!"

[@tedcrilly1]

Whats wrong with the good ol' finger nail round the sides technique.... mmmmm, noice.

[@mewserino]

Wow, didn't expect a replaceable micro-USB cable inside the new controller!

[@mewserino]

Also really neat they used a flexible PCB in the new one, seems like an exact work-alike as the old rigid PCB version

[@decretumdeluxe9670]

I recommend nitril gloves for next time you deal with old pads

[@ManWithBeard1990]

What I find interesting is how the contacts for the D-pad look different from those for the face buttons. I wonder why that is. For a moment I thought that's because the face buttons were analog, but apparently that wasn't a thing until the DualShock 2, which by then was also true of the D-pad...

[@TriccyViccy]

#AskGN Hi Steve, I'm a new watcher and I'm really enjoying the way you do things, from the minimal advertising to the in-depth analysis of everything I've seen. Keep it up, you've got a new viewer! I was hoping you could answer a question: Is it worth using Liquid Metal on a GPU, and if so: is there anything I'd need to know before going in aside from the issues present in replacing a delidded CPU's TIM? Have you tested this before? Thanks for the videos!

[@jasongooden917]

It's cool that you can easily replace the cord if it gets damaged.

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

Man it would suck to be watching this if you randomly sold your old controller on ebay. You know no one's deep cleaning inside their controllers.

[@ultraorange1]

Been watching for awhile and often enough you guys always popped up. Just realized I had never subbed.

[@StriKe_jk]

With the internal USB port you could build a wifi-dongle to connect it wireless!

[@MadIIMike]

For a used PS1 on eBay it looked quite good... the ones I got send would likely have caused Steve to burn his modmat and spend a couple hours disenfecting his hands, but that aside: doesn't the PS1 Classic come with any games making use of the Dualshock controllers? I remember when I played Gran Turismo 2 with the original controllers and my thumbs were not happy...

[@neroxen_]

It probably would have had dualshock games if it actually came with dualshock controllers. But it doesn't.

[@MadIIMike]

@@neroxen_ I just looked it up... it does for example have Ridge Racer 4...

[@drewpickard554]

Pretty cool video, I didnt think I'd care much about controllers but that was a very good comparision between old and new tech. Wouldnt mind seeing more videos like this, Maybe teardown a psone (either original or mini or both haha) and compare to the new mini one would be neat.

[@StYfReX]

The best of the ps1 classic is the controller, you can change the cable if it broke, and the feel delicious. :d I really hope to see a ps2 classic with the fat form factor, hdd and internet like the fat. i would buy that for sure

[@MightyThunderbolt]

Sebastian Lara I still have that on my shelf. Still hacked. Hasn’t turned on since socom combined assault. Had a hard drive and saved games, prolly won’t even fire up

[@eraser2727]

"Resources they had at the time" Steve refers to 1994 as if they were cavemen back then. :D

[@HylerMusic]

As if this system wasn’t a mess already. They could’ve at least added Bluetooth support for those of us wanting to use control sticks who own a DualShock 4. I truly, truly believe I (and many others) receive more joy watching people pan this system, badmouth it, or tear it apart in videos than I could ever have actually playing it. No Crash, no Spyro, no Tony Hawk, no Tomb Raider... ...I’ll be using the money I would’ve spent on this on additional storage for my Set Top Box by adding a PS1 emulator with a full PS1 library of roms that Sony will never see a 1 cent from. (Not to mention, you can use whatever controller you want, rather than the cheapest possible one that Sony decided to produce)

[@mina47879]

The construction of the new controller is much more similar to the old ps2 dualshock controllers (I've messed around with hacking them to be used for other things so I've taken a few apart) than it is to the old ps1 controllers.

[@RisingRevengeance]

I was not aware the original controller had any transparent options, the more you know.

[@markitzero12]

The rubberish carbon contact pieces are simular to a PS3 Dualshock 3 controller and the plastic casing is close to a PS3 controller other then the Analog stick holes.

[@tee_es_bee]

Enjoyed this more than anticipated.

[@RockRedGenesis]

If i am being honest, I've been looking forward to the tear-down of the controllers more than the classic it's self.

[@uss_04]

Niice. GN needs to do more teardowns of peripherals.

[@ciprianwinerElectronicManiac]

I like the construction of the new one but I really hate those printed ribbon pcb's because they rot. I have plenty of PS2 controllers with bad printed ribbon pcb's, some of which I fixed with conductive carbon paint. Dualshock PSone named controllers also use the newer design with the printed ribbon pcb's.

[@InsaneFirebat]

There are several versions of PlayStation controllers, for both DualShock and non-vibrating styles. None of them would have compared to this new version though.

[@ThunderKat]

Micro USB to USB cable...Wish all head-sets and mouses where made this way, you could easy replace the cable once they brake (they allways do).

[@peterletran]

I would assume you knew the technical term "membrane". @11:55

[@peterletran]

You do realize laptops without mechanical keyboards and budget keyboards all use this type of membrane keys/buttons.

[@Stabzcell97812]

That's actually really impressive. Which makes it all the more upsetting they didn't make a fecking dual shock one!! 😂 Only just found your channel btw. Seems like great content. Just subscribed.