Best video game controllers of all-time, ranked

digitaltrends.com:

Table of Contents Atari 2600 NES controller N64 controller Sixaxis Xbox Duke controller GameCube controller DualShock Xbox 360 controller DualSense Edge Xbox Elite controller

It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the best game of all-time or one of the worst if you’re holding a terrible controller. These are our gateway into the world of gaming, and depending on how they are designed can completely change how we look at a console. The best NES games wouldn’t have taken off if it weren’t for its controller, and we’ve only been iterating on them since then. Graphics are important, but the best consoles of all-time wouldn’t have succeeded without a great controller. Let’s go back through the ages and pick out the best controllers we’ve ever held.

Atari 2600

We have to hand it to Atari for keeping it simple but functional early on. A lot of competing consoles around now tried to get crazy with controllers, adding things like number pads and spinning dials. This joystick and button is about as limited as you can get for a controller but is more than enough for the type of games that were coming out at the time. It served as a great starting point to build off of.

NES controller

Nintendo basically set the standard for all consoles going forward up until the 3D era with the NES controller. Its D-pad was a revolution that we still use to this day, and the simplicity of the two-button layout was natural without getting too complicated. The form factor is a bit small, and its edges are a little sharp, but is otherwise about as close to perfect as you can get for 2D games.

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N64 controller

What is left to say about the three-pronged N64 controller? It worked well enough holding the center and right handles, but that D-pad and left bumper were effectively useless based on the design. The Z button was the first trigger button we’d seen, and that alone