Here's a simple question I haven't seen anywhere on the site. Sometimes controllers stop working the next time you boot your console on, but have you ever experienced the loss of some or all functions of a controller midway through your game?

I remember it happening to me just twice. One is my only PS4 controller, which lost the R1 button some time ago, and not long after it the L1 button followed suit. I mostly play racing games and those are the main buttons for shifting gears, so I had to replace two of my most used buttons with any other button available. And sometimes there aren't any free spots to replace two unresponsive buttons in modern videogames, like it's happening to me in Persona 5 Royal (though luckily what I lose from the re-assigned buttons isn't any big deal).

This weekend, however, I almost lost the controller entirely. It suffered a couple of big hits to the ground while it charged up, and suddenly it showed like it wasn't charging at all, not even with the console on standby. Luck was on our side, however, and a simple reset and reboot fixed the problem.

Also during this weekend, I lost my main Gamecube controller. It was working perfectly as I played the Story Mode of Mario Party 4, and right when I accept Bowser's challenge the Control Stick went haywire and then stopped working altogether. Good thing I have three other controllers I can use, which have been left almost untouched for several years since I didn't play multiplayer all that often, otherwise while getting a new one could have probed cheap it could have been a bit hard to find.

I'm quite glad it lasted like 15 years or more by my side. I haven't used it extensively since the Wii hit the house, and even less since my PS3 and later my PS4 landed on my room, but still it's a decent span of time for a controller to not fail. Also kind of a shame that old videogames don't allow for the same button customization we currently have, otherwise I could keep my black controller alive while the three standard purple looked on.

How about you guys? Got any story like this to share? Tell us all about it!

This has never happened to me (yet). I've only had my PS4 and Switch for 3 years and besides notorious joycon drift, I've had no instance of a controller ceasing to function during, or even when turning the console on. Going farther back, I've never had a controller fall apart for my Wii or GameCube. In fact, the two original GameCube controllers that I had with the GameCube are still going strong 15 years later despite seeing a lot of use for Smash Bros games over the years.

Overall, I'm surprised that I've never had a controller die/fail on me yet. I know a lot of people throw their controllers at the wall in anger or frustration or allow centuries of disgusting grime to accumulate on them and while I never treated my controllers like that growing up, I've made a point of taking extra good care of my gaming controllers and accessories. When I'm done using it, it immediately gets wiped down with a microfiber cloth and periodically cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and when it isn't charging or being used, it's neatly put in a bag or container near my console cabinet. If I had to guess,, this is probably what I'd attribute the long lifespan of my controllers to.