Playing video games on a different system than you are accustomed to can be difficult. Growing up and playing every system from PC to Nintendo to Game Gear, I rarely had any trouble, and if I did, adjusted quickly to the new style. But somebody never knowing life outside of a Sony Playstation may have a hard time adapting to a Game Cube controller and become very frustrated. They are different sizes, shapes, weight, and most importantly, the buttons are entirely different. Playstation and it’s newer sibling PS2 share the same controller, which is nice for people accustomed already, and compliments the fact that PS2 is backwards compatible with PS1 games. No learning curve to experience because it’s an identical system. I’m familiar and comfortable with Playstation, however I personally prefer Nintendo. I believe the N64 controller was pure genius, but frustrated and alienated other gamers not familiar with games. It’s very entertaining to watch a newer gamer try to figure out what goes where in your hands. I didn’t think they could improve on their design, but was proved wrong when Nintendo Corp. broke into my house and took a mold of my hand to make the Game Cube controller. At least that’s what it seems like they did, because it’s terrific. Something even veteran gamers have had difficulty with however is with emulation games for the PC. I have no trouble playing PC games on a keyboard and mouse, but playing an emulation of an 8-bit NES game, I sometimes have a hard time. I find myself reverting back to old memories (some possibly just motor memories that have been dormant for several years) and trying to use my left hand to control direction of characters. On standard console controllers, the joystick and/or directional pad are on the left, on PC, the arrow keys are on the right. In intense situations, it’s easy to lose track and have a meltdown trying to avoid flaming balls when your hands are doing the opposite things. So in that sense, even a veteran gamer may experience problems. But in general, the learning curve for different systems is minimal to a skilled player. Without ever holding an X-Box controller (or playing the particular game), I was able to defeat the CPU in NBA 2K2. At this level, it becomes intuitive based on previous experiences.