The Most Memorable Game Controllers from the Last 40 Years

[Julio Franco]

As video games have evolved, so have the ways that we control them. In the very early days, there were just knobs, joysticks and trackballs. Today's controllers have one or two analog joysticks and anywhere from 10 to 12 buttons. Here's our list of the most memorable console and PC controllers over the last four decades.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1843-most-memorable-game-controllers/

 

[treetops]

That intella controller pad was awesome in games like Frog Bog, Shark Shark and Tron deadly discs. The multi buttons made the base ball game really fun too. Every button was a different player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKkJwseFnuU

 

[amghwk]

Before WSAD or cursor keys, there was AZOP.

 

[Squid Surprise]

No love for the Wii controller? It's basically what revived Nintendo after the dark days of the Gamecube...

And as for ambitious... how about the NES PowerGlove? While it didn't really work very well, it did look pretty cool!

And how about the NES Power Pad - and its successor, the Wii Balance Board?

 

[MarkHughes]

The Konix Speedking was my favourite, Bought for the C64, Used on the Amiga, Still up in my loft and works as well as ever.

http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/userdata/images/large/8/75/product-110875.jpg

 

[mcborge]

I still have a couple of Atari CX40's and they both still work ok.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Keyboard and Mouse is the uncontested king of computer gaming until VR and full body immersion become possible.

My favorite controller has been the Xbox 360 S controller. The Xbox One controller was too cheap and broke too quickly.

My favorite joysticks were the Playstation Dual Analogue Flight Stick - which deserves a remake and PC compatibility for space flight simulators and the Saitek X45.

and then there's the unlicensed GUNCON for Playstation with full slide recoil.

and then there's the iON Rocker Drumset which sucked me into Guitar Hero Metallica and demanded I spend more money for two bass drum pedals.

 

[elementalSG]

Thanks Techspot for the trip down my childhood's memory lane!

 

[ShagnWagn]

The Gravis Xterminator was my first PC gamepad. It was a great improvement over the keyboard on racing games. I put many hours on it.

 

[arrowflash]

No NES or Xbox 360 controller? To me they became more iconic than any in this list other than maybe the Atari 2600 joystick. And I'd replace the N64 with the Dreamcast controller.

My first PC controller was a Gravis Gamepad clone sold by some budget brand. But it was identical to the original, it also came with the attachable screw stick, but instead of an invert switch it had a turbo switch.

After a couple of years of use the Gravis clone simply stopped working, and then I had the idea of replacing it with an original PS1 DualShock controller together with a LPT port adapter, a choice I came to regret. The darn thing never really worked right. If I recall correctly I could never get the analog sticks working, and support in games and emulators was very hit or miss. Also sometimes it would stop working during use and the only way to get it working again was to reboot the PC. I ended up getting tired of it, threw it in the closet and bought a few different PC gamepads in the following years that honestly, were all garbage.

Finally the Xbox 360 came out and I bought a Xbox 360 wired controller, and my PC gamepad problems were over. I still have it and it's still working in perfect condition after over 10 years of use. Just finished RE2 using it. Everything just works with it, often without the need for any configuration. PC gamepad support really came a long way since the Windows 95 days.

By the way, funny choice of pic for the PS1 controllers with the busted DualShock sticks

The true origin of the WASD configuration is lost in the mists of gaming history and lore, but the setup gained popularity when Dennis "Thresh" Fong defeated Tom "Entropy" Kimzey at the first nationwide Quake tournament in 1997. While he may not have been the first to use that particular binding, it was his winning of the match that standardized the layout for decades to come.

I have always thought that ESDF or RDFG are better. Even though I've gotten used to WASD out of laziness and stopped using alternate layouts.

Before WSAD or cursor keys, there was AZOP.

Never played any game that used AZOP as default, however a lot of old games use AZ<>.

 

[OcelotRex]

If the purpose of the list was "memorable" not including some of the joy-sticks for flight sims in the mid-90's is a glaring omission especially considering the inclusion of the steel battalion rig.

I'd remove the first PlayStation controller from the list as the dual shock (and the line of successive controllers based on it) is sufficient.

This list appears to be written mainly from the console perspective ending with the PS1 and N64. The Dream Cast controller, while not as successful as those 2, is as memorable:

The Xbox original "Duke" was memorable for all the wrong reasons:

Lastly the Rock Band crazy of the 2000's might have warranted the inclusion of that set along with the Guitar Hero controller:

 

[syrious01]

You forgot the best controllers.

Nintendo Arcade Controller
- https://images.lukiegames.com/t_300e2/assets/images/nes/accessories/nes_advantage.jpg

The POWER GLOVE BRO!
- https://www.geekygiftideas.com/wp-c...u4g8jm8zbq6d7z7weqqmkkp6bxlqcv308ak7jy45k.jpg

 

[Rock Dirty]

The Dream Cast controller, while not as successful as those 2, is as memorable:

The Dreamcast controller was (is) awesome.

 

[EClyde]

OMG ya got no life if it's filled with plastic memorabilia

 

[Stingy McDuck]

"was a shareware title called “Captain Keen: Secret of the Oracle.”

When you write it like that, it makes it sound like it's a little known title, perhaps that also explans why you wrote "Captain Keen" instead of "Commander Keen". BETHESDA, make a new one, dang it!. Put Arkhane Studios to work on it, we need an immersive sim of this IP.

 

[Knot Schure]

Was that 40?

I counted about 11 pics.

 

[Vulcanproject]

Memorable to me were Namco's two experimental PlayStation controllers. Namely the Jogcon and the Negcon. The Jogcon was particularly innovative I felt, with its force feedback wheel. It worked a treat for Ridge Racer Type 4.

It had a lot of potential for racers if it had been developed a bit further, the wheel moved slightly to a better position.

 

[Soulburn74]

I started with the cx40. My first gaming console, that predated my first computer (c64), which I used the cx40 with often. I've had most of the rest as well at some point or another.....I have boxes filled with all that stuff somewhere. wonder if it all works still?

 

[TheBigT42]

That intella controller pad was awesome in games like Frog Bog, Shark Shark and Tron deadly discs. The multi buttons made the base ball game really fun too. Every button was a different player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKkJwseFnuU

I wish I could get a usb version of the controller...The only way to play most of the games

 

[psycros]

While k/b and mouse were always king on PC sometimes a joystick was nice, esp. for flight sims. Its worth mentioning that PCs had a unique port, the "game port", for controllers and a few other peripherals until USB finally took over. My first two USB-equipped gaming PCs had both connections.

 

[p51d007]

Can't tell you how many times I fixed my 2600 controller. Back then, I rigged up a way to hook a 12" tv to my car, along with an adapter to make the 2600 work on the car as well. In the summer, we'd hang out and play the video games, have a few beers until the battery died, jump start it, make a beer run and do it all over again...yeah, times were pretty dull in a small town in the late 70's.

 

[Rvnwlf]

I've said it before, the one controller that never seems to get any love is the Space Orb 360. It was one of the most unique designs for a controller ever released. I use to crush Decent with that controller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceOrb_360

 

[picka]

No love for the Wii controller? It's basically what revived Nintendo after the dark days of the Gamecube...

And as for ambitious... how about the NES PowerGlove? While it didn't really work very well, it did look pretty cool!

And how about the NES Power Pad - and its successor, the Wii Balance Board?

Curious omission. The Wii controller has been hugely influential and was genuinely innovative.

 

[Nitrotoxin]

Where is the ORB 360? Best controller ever made...

 

[Mugsy]

There was a tiny adapter plug you could buy for the 2600 joystick that allowed you to turn it right 90 degrees for left handed players.

The plastic insert inside the stick itself had a plastic ring at the base that depressed the bubble-buttons on the PCB. That ring broke all the time. Damned annoying. A cottage industry of compatible joysticks arose as a result.

Still better than a "pad" controller.