• 15

    The DS Touch Screen

    Nintendo DS

    Number 15 on our list is, admittedly, a bit of a cheat because it isn’t really a controller as much as it’s a part of a handheld console. Still, it’s one of the best ways to control games that we have seen in ages. Everyone is trying to come up with new ways to control videogames. Motion control was a big thing this generation. Smartphone and tablet integration is coming next generation. Heck, Nintendo even fooled around with allowing you to connect handhelds to your console with the GameBoy Advance and Gamecube. But the only method of new control that really stuck was the touch screen and the DS was largely responsible.

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  • 14

    The Dreamcast Controller

    Sega Dreamcast

    Sure the Dreamcast controller was kind of a gigantic flying saucer monstrosity. Sure, the buttons were small and the triggers were a bit hard to hit. But the Dreamcast controller had one thing that no other console has had to this day: memory cards that were their own portable systems. The VMU was one of the most interesting and innovative devices that gaming has ever seen. The ability to play microgames on the go with the save data from your console games was genius. In a way, it can be considered the predecessor to Sony’s cross-play functionality on the Vita.

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  • 13

    The Xbox S Controller

    Microsoft Xbox

    The Xbox S Controller’s shining achievement was that it wasn’t the original Xbox controller. While the original controller was a lot like holding a big sloppy burger in your hand, the S controller fit into your hands nicely. While the original controller had a strange slanted button layout, the S controller had a cross layout like we were all used to. It also had more buttons than almost any other controller at the time, adding new functionality through the black and white buttons. It was just a great solution to a horrible problem caused by its predecessor.

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  • 12

    The NES Controller

    Nintendo Entertainment System

    What controller list would be complete without this baby? It may be boxy and have sharp edges, but it was the first controller to really popularize the “game pad” layout. It was so simple! Buttons on the right side. D-Pad on the left. Start-Select in the middle. Nearly every other controller that has come out since has been a product of this one simple formula.

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  • 11

    The Sega Genesis Six Button Controller

    Sega Genesis

    The original Sega Genesis had three face buttons. The Super Nintendo had four. So Sega said they would one up Nintendo and make a new controller with six buttons on its face, and it worked! There weren’t many titles that took advantage of the six-button Genesis controller, but for those that did it certainly provided unparalleled levels of control for its time. It also served as the basis for the fight pads mentioned below and many professional gamers still mod their old Genesis six-button controllers for tournament use on modern day consoles.

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  • 10

    The Nintendo 64 Controller

    Nintendo 64

    The Nintendo 64 controller did so many things right. It was the first modern day controller to use an “analog stick” (it was actually digital but it felt like analog.). It had an expansion slot that let you put in memory cards or, even better, the rumble pack which was one of the first examples of dedicated console controller vibration. It was also the only controller ever designed for people with three hands!

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  • 9

    The Atari 2600 Joystick

    Atari 2600

    Sometimes simplicity is genius and that is the case with the Atari 2600 Joystick. One stick. One button. Infinite possibilities. Back then games were simple but elegant, not needing shoulder triggers or analog sticks or d-pads to work. All you needed was a way to move and a way to do a thing, and that’s exactly what Atari let you do.

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  • 8

    The Kinect

    Xbox 360

    Whether you are an Xbox 360 fan or not you have to admit that the Kinect has changed how we look at gaming and motion controls in general. It mapped out your body in ways other motion controllers simply could not. Sure, we then used this technological advance to play Dance Central over and over again, but the Kinect could do so much more. At this point, the Kinect has been integrated as a medical and scientific tool that allows doctors to work in a virtual space. It’s been used in physical therapy programs to help teach trauma patients how to move again. It’s also been used as an input and sensory device for robotics projects. It’s one hell of a little peripheral, that seems better geared for work than play.

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  • 7

    The Wiimote +

    Nintendo Wii

    Every company jumped on the motion control bandwagon last generation, but it was the Wii that started it all. The Wiimote itself was great, allowing us to play tennis and bowl right in our living rooms, but it was the Wii Motion + that eventually made this controller spectacular. With the WM+’s new rotation sensor, the Wii was able to detect the orientation of the controller along with its position relative to its user. This made motion tracking far more accurate than it originally was.

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  • 6

    The Madcatz TE Fight Stick

    Madcatz

    When you are a professional gamer you need to have a professional input device, and this is exactly what the Madcatz TE Fight Stick is. Madcatz previously made controllers of varying quality for many different systems. However, during the big fighting game resurrection that came with Street Fighter IV, fighting gamers demanded arcade perfection, and so Madcatz made controllers with the exact parts that Japanese arcades use. In addition, the ease in which they are taken apart bolstered the joystick modding community as well.

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