[kendallpark]

The Pro Controller is a fine controller and sees a decent amount of competitive use in the Smash scene.

The octagon gate on the GC controller is advantagous for Smash and other games that benefit from precise directional inputs... It's to the point where there are Pro Controller mods to add an octagon gate. The Pro Controller analog seems to wear out faster than that of the GC controller and it's a tricky replacement to perform (on an already expensive controller).

[qqssccfftt]

> The Pro Controller analog seems to wear out faster than that of the GC controller

That's just because Nintendo ruined the design of their newer analogue sticks, though.

[timw4mail]

Or the GameCube was the only console with decent analog sticks.

[adelrune]

The octagon gate is actually a hindrance for some techniques in melee, notably wavedashes and shield drops.

[kendallpark]

How would having a octagon gate be worse than a round gate for wavedashing?

For shield drops you take it a step further and notch the gate.

Octagon gate also provides good reference point for MSDI.