You can't play basketball without a ball, you can't do yoga without a mat and a sense of dreamy self-satisfaction, you can't write novels without a pen and a deep well of insecurity, and you can't play video games without a controller.
For those of us predisposed to nerdiness, video game controllers are one of the important talismans of our upbringing. I remember being four years old and feeling the stiff, rubbery joystick from the original Atari 2600 system. A couple years later I got my first Nintendo Entertainment System and was busy rocking my specialty NES Advantage controller. The years tumbled away, one by one, like leaves falling into the Seine and every new age of my life brought a new controller, new graphics, new loves. The technology moved from simple beeping boxes to elaborate, beautiful fantasy worlds. The controllers became more curved, more comfortable, more intimate. You can lose yourself for hours in the video game universe but without a controller you're forever barred from that glittering, garish Eden.
Pwned!!
Remember back in the day when you could buy a Nintendo Entertainment System action pack and it came with two controllers, a light gun, and two games? Wasn't that nice? Well guess what; now you pay the equivalent of one month of city apartment rent and you get the machine and one controller and ''that's it''. If you want to have a second controller it's gonna cost you another fifty or sixty bucks.
They getcha coming and going.
Anyway, every system has its own controller type, from the classic black Playstation controller to the Nintendo Wii's motion controller remote. They're necessary accessories for any console owners and, since they're apparently sold at nearly the cost of manufacture, it's very difficult to find them at reduced cost. You can go with a 3rd party manufacturer, but I've owned many 3rd party controller and I can tell you that the quality is usually pretty inconsistent. Logitech controllers usually work pretty good. Finally, there are some games that have specialty controllers, like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, or special arcade sticks meant for hardcore players like Street Fighter.
