Gamepads.

Used Xbox 360 for nearly 5 years and it still in great working condition.

Moved to Xbox one s (native bluetooth support with Win10 is a good thing). Feels like a considerable improvement in terms of overal handling.

Tried several dualshocks over the years. Symmetrical sticks never worked for me.

Regardless of your choice I highly recommend go with Microsoft/Sony. Second tier brands are simply not worth it.

I use an xbox 360 wired controller. I like it. But I don't really have any comparison.

Xbox One controller>>>

I've got one XBox 360, two PS4, one XBox One and one Logitech F310 gamepads.
The XBox 360 is by far the oldest one (2007) and is still rocking today. It's the white-wired version and the only problem is the left stick rubber is worning out with use. It still usable by the way.
The downside of the old XBox 360 pad in comparrison to the XBox One controller is the D-pad. Microsoft improved the D-pad in the XBox One piece.
So, to sum up, the choice between those 2 pads will depend on price, if you are planning to use the D-pad and features like BT.
XBox 360: +Durability, +Long cable, +Price, -D-Pad
XBox One: +Durability? (I haven't used too much), +Wireless (BT only in W10), +Wired option (works in W7), +D-Pad improved, -Price
If price is not a problem, I'll definitely go with the XBox One gamepad today. If not, the old XBox 360 is still a great value, and one of the best controllers ever made.

Xbox 360, wired, only got it for Dark Souls, kept it for many other consoles ports, still running perfectly after 6 years of utilization.

I use PS3 and PS4 controllers, and I've gotten used to it so xbox ones feel weird to me. My friends also all have Playstation or their controllers as well, and when we meet up for parties, we sometimes bring our own controllers to play games.

I use the 360's wired, too, but it's not a great controller, IMO. The D-pad sucks, LB at some point becomes hit or miss, and the analog sticks develop play. Still, it's supported pretty much everywhere and wasn't terribly expensive when I got it.

The XBOne is probably the way to go if you want it easy but a better controller than the 360's.

I've heard many glowing recommendations for whatever's called the PS4 DualShock, and it seems better bang for the buck, compared to the XBOne's, however the controls are laid out differently (potentially an issue with PC games designed around the XBox layout) and it used to require third-party software.

I am attracted to the Steam Controller, too, which I think would be a good option for playing KBM games (like, say, Civ) on a controller, but probably not as good as a dedicated controller in games that have native support for it.

I use Xbox 360 but the Switch Pro looks solid and I hear its good.

xbox 360 controller for me

If you can still get Xbox 360 controllers, they might be a bit cheaper now that the Xbone controller is out. I have two Xbox 360 wireless and one wired, and a Steam Controller. I bought the wired controller first years ago for $25 USD on Amazon. A couple of years later I wanted another one to do some local coop, and decided to get two wireless ones so I didn't have to mess with tangling wires. I think I only paid $35 USD or so for those back then on sale at Amazon.

I generally prefer the 360 controller for games that have built in controller support, and I like the Steam Controller for things like turn based strategy, 4x games, isometric RPGs, etc. I even played a first person puzzle game with it back when I injured my wrist and couldn't use a mouse for gaming. There have been a few exceptions, like Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition. It has native controller support, but I didn't like the controls with the controller. There were some things that you couldn't do at all and others that were more complicated than a KB/M. I took a few minutes to setup my Steam Controller and played the whole game with it.

I'll throw my vote in with the Steam controller. It takes some getting used to, but the amount of customization you can do with it is pretty impressive.

Steam controller or Xbox one S.

Logitech f710 the best imo

The 360 controller is still fine. I would go for the XBox One controller, though, as it is superior in many ways. If money is not a problem, even consider the XBox One Elite Controller. Best controller I ever had, with some cool features.

DualShock 4 is really nice

I have a steam controller and like it but I never used another one. Most seem to use the xbox360.

View attached image.

If you consider getting a 360 wireless one, have in mind that it's not using Bluetooth! This means you will need the official Microsoft receiver or a Chinese knockoff, but you can't use an ordinary dongle. Plus, this controller transmits only wirelessly, the cable is only for power. Apart from that, it's my gamepad of choice.

I have wired dualshock 2 replica and use X360 emulator like a 3rd party software.
Still works on any games.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1712946892833213377

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27766192/817181596da53a62e63586af4a3334433e1e818f.jpg

Xbox controllers are the most common PC controller
Xbox controllers are essentially the default controller for PC games, and this fact is apparent in the controllers stats. Nearly 40 million Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers have been connected to Steam, representing 64% of all controllers. How, exactly, did they become the default? A decade ago, Microsoft made a concerted effort to drive adoption of XInput, the underlying protocol, and that work resulted in widespread support by game developers. Because built-in support is overwhelmingly XInput support, an Xbox controller is a good bet to seamlessly play many different titles.

PS4 controllers are surprisingly abundant
PlayStation 4 is an extremely popular console with a great controller. The reason we're surprised by 12 million is, historically, the PS4 controller has not been treated like a PC gaming controller. Built-in support is uncommon, so players turn to software that translates their PS4 controller input into Xbox controller input. This has a few drawbacks. For example, a game may prompt you to 'press Y to jump', when, in reality, you should be pressing the triangle button. These mental translations can be a deal-breaker for certain PS4 controller users, and we see evidence that this is occurring in the monthly playtime data.

The Switch Pro controller is pretty popular for a new device
The Switch Pro controller arrived in 2017 and players immediately began attaching them to their PCs. At the time, support was mostly limited to basic Steam Input remapping; meaning the UI did not match the physical device and features like motion control and rumble were not available. In May 2018, a Steam update enabled the full feature set of the device, added matching artwork in the UI, and improved the overall experience. The result was an acceleration in Switch Pro controller registrations, noticeable in the graph below, and a rise to the 7th most popular controller type on Steam.

Steam Controllers are played with a diverse set of games
With the Steam Controller we set out to make a device compatible with your whole library, including mouse-driven games. The unique combination of trackpad and gyro inputs make for better precision pointing and aiming controls than a typical thumb stick and help bridge the gap between controller and non-controller titles. To date, we have sold 1.3 million Steam Controllers, but it's how they're being used that is most interesting to us. The Steam Controller community plays a more diverse selection of games than other controller types, interacting with nearly twice the total number of titles compared to the next closest device. Additionally, many of these are titles without built-in controller support. We're happy to see our customers engaging with all kinds of games and will continue to improve the Steam Controller experience for our existing and future users.

By supporting over 200 controller models, full Steam Input integration has the additional benefit of creating a uniform experience across devices. And, because it is a part of Steam, future Steam Client updates will extend support to new controllers without any effort from the developer.

I had a Logitech F710 and 2 Xbox One Controller (one with bluetooth, one without bluetooth)

• My Logitech F710 kept disconnecting, a chronic problem with that. F310 is a much better choice if you want to get a Logitech one.
• Xbox One Controllers are superior in most aspects, EXCEPT QUALITY, which for me is very important. The d-pad down button on my non-bluetooth version broke after 4 months, Amazon sent me a new one. Last week (after 2 years) the left analog click button seems to have broke. It doesn't do anything anymore.

So like you I have also been searching for a controller recently. I think I will go for Dualshock 4 v2 and install DS4Windows. My computer already has bluetooth.

All I can tell you is to get a 1st party controller. So either an official Playstation or Xbox controller.

Gamepads are nearly total trash if you buy a cheaper one. Not because of their build quality or anything like that. Instead, games just don't recognize the controllers. Either the buttons can't be rebinded, so the indicators are wrong because everything's so decentralized with their control schemes, or the game just flat out never recognizes the controller. Plus, you'll be having issues with the analog sticks and their directions because sometimes they're inverted for no reason with no way of changing it.

You either get the best stuff or you get nothing. Don't be a dummy like me who hopes that a cheaper product actually works. Game devs are too lazy to do that.

XBOX 360 or XBOX One. I personally like the wired XBOX 360.

hi mate! =)
for JRPGs on Steam I have always used a wireless XBOX controller - it never gave me a single problem, it works perfectly with a bluetooth connection and it's also quite lightweight compared to other ones, at least for my right hand!
in particular, it's an XBOX One controller which, according to the official box, can be used only with windows 10 - for previous windows system it says that it needs a usb cable or a wireless adapter, all "sold separately":. anyways I play on windows 10 professional and it works perfectly as wireless bluetooth, extremely recommended!!

The XBOX 360 wired controller was doing some excellent work for me, so when I had to pick up a replacement controller, I wanted to use something similar. The ESM-9100 from EasySMX performs just as good as the original and comes with a turbo button on top of it.

Xbox 360 (wired) since 2014. Want to buy wireless as a second contoller.