Saitek P3000 Wireless PC Controller

Hardware - Sam's "spaghetti junction" eases slightly...

After the debacle that was the 4Gamers Xbox controller I'm so glad that the next piece of hardware I got to review was Saitek's P3000 Wireless gamepad. Whereas the 4Gamers controller was a well laid out and built device that was let down by broken wireless connectivity, the P3000's wireless functionality works perfectly. Even in amongst all the electrical interference that must be coursing around my computer the P3000 never stuttered or lost connection once. As a wireless controller the P3000 performs flawlessly. Fortunately this level of excellence features in just about every single other aspect of the P3000's design and construction.

Apart from a minor issue on looks which concerns personal taste, there are only two other problems, of omission, with the P3000 Wireless. As many games that demand a gamepad are console conversions, the decision to leave out a second tier of shoulder buttons seems a bizarre one. As the digital shoulder buttons won't be able to emulate the analogue precision of the Xbox's triggers you would think that Saitek would make sure that the controller could do everything that that PS2 controller can do. Okay, so you can assign the two spare buttons on the top of the controller the R2 and L2 functions, but anyone who has played Pro Evolution Soccer 4 on the Xbox can tell you that this is a less than ideal compromise. But at least the potential is there, so when it comes down to brass tacks it's far from a fatal flaw. Hopefully in the next incarnation of the joypad Saitek sticks in a couple of extra shoulder buttons. And vibration, which this pad is also missing. Personally this doesn't trouble me, but if you require a shaking joypad then you will have to take a pass on the P3000. If Saitek were to address these issues, (and maybe make the top two buttons analogue triggers) and leave everything else alone then the P3000 would be the perfect joypad for the PC.

The d-pad is a curvaceous affair with some very useful topography. I've always found getting diagonals the most challenging thing to do on a joypad, so the P3000's superior dimpling comes as a blessing. There's a central depression which helps to keep the thumb in the centre of the pad yet it's still very easy to slide the thumb into one of the diagonal dimples to ensure you pull off the right move. The amount of distance the d-pad travels may be slightly too much for some but otherwise the action and layout of the d-pad is as close to perfect as this reviewer has experienced. The analogue sticks are also both uniformly excellent. The top coverings of each stick have a very slight give to them which helps to prevent thumb slippage. As the rim that surrounds the base of each stick is square shaped with rounded edges it's just as easy to get the diagonals as it is with the d-pad. This design should be standard for all analogue sticks in the future.

Ergonomically the P3000 fitted into my hands perfectly. With my fingers curled underneath each arm, my thumbs sat naturally on both of the sticks as well as the button array and d-pad. Underneath the fleshy base of your thumb and curling around towards the underside of the joypad is a covering similar to that on the sticks. This is slightly tacky to the touch and again helps to ensure that the only thing which moves are the characters on the screen. Accompanying the diamond layout of the standard four buttons are those two extra buttons. They are slightly offset from the diamond array making it less likely that you will inadvertently tap one of them when the going gets frantic. The buttons themselves are sturdy enough, although there's a little too much of a gap between the buttons and the joypad's casing which means they feel a little flimsier than they actually are. Build quality appears to be high throughout and I imagine Saitek wouldn't offer a two-year manufacturer's guarantee if they thought there was much chance of the pad being unable to handle the rigours of its task.

Suiting in the middle of the pad is the LCD screen. This gives a readout of the batteries current charge so you can swap them over before you run out of juice. Swap them over you say? Yes, we are now getting to the P3000's best feature. Rather than condemning its owners to the hell of constant battery replacement the P3000 comes with two battery cartridges. Plug the base unit into the PC via the USB cable and you can start charging up the batteries. Yes, there are two of them. So while you run down the power of one battery while gaming, the other sits in the base unit charging up, ready to take over from its exhausted comrade whenever it's needed. This ingenious design means that you will never run out of power at the wrong time and that you will never have to shell out money for a stream of AA batteries. The base unit also acts as a cradle for the gamepad when it's not in use. Even with all this technology and functionality the P3000 is very light, almost suspiciously so, making it real joy to use for extended periods of time.

As it stands I can't recommend this controller enough for anyone that wants to play console conversions and arcade games on their PC the way they were meant to be played. Although it may be considered pricey you are getting what you pay for; a wireless controller with two rechargeable batteries, perfect ergonomics, highly responsive buttons and sticks and a number of tiny design choices which work flawlessly and actually set new standards of excellence in their respective areas. The only thing that galls me about the P3000 is that this review is so glowing that some of you may think I have been bought by Saitek. If they wish to send me some money for this overwhelmingly positive review I would happily accept it, but until then you will just have to trust me in my view that the P3000 is one of the very best gamepads in the entire history of videogaming. It really is that good.

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