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The following is a list of game controllers . It includes input devices that are notable and whose primary function is to control how the video games are played. Regional variants and models containing insignificant changes are not included.
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The following is a list of game controllers . It includes input devices that are notable and whose primary function is to control how the video games are played. Regional variants and models containing insignificant changes are not included.
| Name | Image | Platform | Specifications | Original release date | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnavox Odyssey controller |  | Magnavox Odyssey | Connectivity: Magnavox Odyssey controller port Input: 3 knobs, 1 button | September 1972 | [1] |
| Shooting Gallery |  | Magnavox Odyssey | Connectivity: Magnavox Odyssey controller port Input: 1 trigger, photodiode | September 1972 | [2] |
| Atari CX40 joystick |  | Atari 2600 | Connectivity: Atari joystick port Input: 1 digital button, eight-directional digital joystick | 1978 | [3] |
| NES/Famicom controller |   | NES | Connectivity: NES controller port Input: 4 digital buttons, D-pad, microphone (Famicom only) | July 15, 1983 | [4] |
| NES Zapper |  | NES | Connectivity: NES controller port Input: 1 trigger, photodiode | February 18, 1984 | [5] |
| Master System controller |  | Master System | Connectivity: Master System controller port Input: 2 digital buttons, D-pad | September 1986 | [6] [7] |
| NES Advantage |  | NES | Connectivity: NES controller port Input: 4 digital buttons, 2 adjustable knobs, 3 toggle buttons, 1 switch | 1987 | [8] |
| Sega Genesis/Mega Drive controller |  | Sega Genesis | Connectivity: Sega Genesis controller port Input: 4 digital buttons, D-pad | October 29, 1988 | [9] [10] |
| Nintendo Power Glove |  | NES | Connectivity: NES controller port Input: D-pad, A, B, Start, Select, Turbo Buttons | December 3, 1989 | |
| SNES/Super Famicom controller |  | SNES | Connectivity: SNES controller port Input: 8 digital buttons, D-pad | November 21, 1990 | [11] |
| Gravis PC GamePad |  | DOS | Connectivity: DA-15 game port Input: 4 digital buttons, 2 switches, D-pad | 1992 | [12] |
| Menacer |  | Sega Genesis | Connectivity: Sega Genesis controller port Input: 4 buttons, 2 infrared transmitters | 1992 | [13] |
| Super Scope |  | SNES | Connectivity: 2nd SNES controller port Dimensions: 23 inches long Input: 3 digital buttons, 1 switch, photodiode | 1992 | [14] |
| 6-Button Arcade Pad |  | Sega Genesis | Connectivity: Sega Genesis controller port Input: 8 digital buttons, D-pad | 1993 | [9] [15] |
| Sega Saturn controller |  | Sega Saturn | Connectivity: Sega Saturn controller port Input: 9 digital buttons, D-pad | November 22, 1994 | |
| PlayStation controller |  | PlayStation | Connectivity: PlayStation controller port Input: 10 digital buttons, D-pad | December 3, 1994 | [16] |
| Virtual Boy controller |  | Virtual Boy | Connectivity: Virtual Boy controller port Input: 2 D-pads, 6 digital buttons, power switch | July 21, 1995 | [17] [18] |
| Apple Pippin controller |  | Apple Pippin | Connectivity: P-ADB Input: 9 digital buttons, D-pad, trackball | March 28, 1996 | [19] |
| Nintendo 64 controller |  | Nintendo 64 | Connectivity: Nintendo 64 controller port, Controller Pak slot Input: 1 analog stick, 10 digital buttons, D-pad | June 23, 1996 | [20] |
| SpaceOrb 360 |  | PC | Connectivity: Serial Input: 6-axis rubber ball, 6 buttons | 1996 | |
| ASCII Sphere 360 |  | PlayStation | Connectivity: PlayStation controller port Input: 6-axis rubber ball, 10 buttons, D-pad | ||
| 3D Pad |  | Sega Saturn | Connectivity: Sega Saturn controller port Input: 9 digital buttons, 1 analog stick, 1 toggle switch, D-pad | July 5, 1996 | |
| Dual Analog Controller |  | PlayStation | Connectivity: PlayStation controller port Input: 10 digital buttons, 2 clickable analog sticks, 1 toggle button, D-pad | April 25, 1997 | [21] |
| DualShock |  | PlayStation | Connectivity: PlayStation controller port Input: 10 digital buttons, 2 clickable analog sticks, 1 toggle button, D-pad | November 20, 1997 | |
| Dreamcast controller |  | Dreamcast | Connectivity: Dreamcast controller port, 2 expansion sockets Input: 1 analog stick, 2 analog triggers, 5 digital buttons, D-pad | November 27, 1998 | [22] |
| DualShock 2 |  | PlayStation 2 | Connectivity: PlayStation controller port Input: 2 clickable analog sticks, 8 pressure-sensitive buttons, 2 digital buttons, 1 toggle button, pressure-sensitive D-pad | March 4, 2000 | |
| Nintendo GameCube controller |  | GameCube | Connectivity: GameCube controller port Input: 2 analog sticks, 2 clickable analog triggers, 6 digital buttons, D-pad | September 14, 2001 | [23] |
| Xbox controller (aka The Duke) |  | Xbox | Connectivity: Xbox controller port, 2 Memory Unit slots Dimensions: 6.5 × 5 × 3 in Input: 2 analog triggers, 2 clickable analog sticks, 2 digital buttons, 6 pressure-sensitive buttons, D-pad Mass: <16 oz. | November 15, 2001 | [24] [25] |
| Xbox Controller S |  | Xbox | Connectivity: Xbox controller port, 2 Memory Unit slots Input: 2 analog triggers, 2 clickable analog sticks (offset), 2 digital buttons, 6 pressure-sensitive buttons, D-pad | 2002 | |
| Xbox 360 controller |  | Xbox 360 | Connectivity: USB, wireless (proprietary 2.4 GHz protocol), 2.5 mm headset jack Input: 2 analog triggers, 2 clickable analog sticks (offset), 10 digital buttons, D-pad | November 22, 2005 | [26] |
| Sixaxis |  | PlayStation 3 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB Input: 2 clickable analog sticks, 2 analog triggers, 6 pressure-sensitive buttons, 3 digital buttons, pressure-sensitive D-pad, accelerometer, gyroscope | November 11, 2006 | [27] |
| Wii Remote |  | Wii | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Accessory connector port (400 kHz I²C) Input: 8 digital buttons, accelerometer, D-pad, gyroscope (Wii Remote Plus only), infrared sensor | November 19, 2006 | [28] |
| Nunchuk |  | Wii | Connectivity: Accessory connector plug (400 kHz I²C) Input: 1 analog stick, 2 digital buttons, accelerometer, | November 19, 2006 | [29] |
| Classic Controller |  | Wii | Connectivity: Accessory connector plug (400 kHz I²C) Input: 2 analog sticks, 2 clickable analog triggers, 9 digital buttons, D-pad | November 19, 2006 | |
| DualShock 3 |  | PlayStation 3 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB Input: 2 clickable analog sticks, 2 analog triggers, 6 pressure-sensitive buttons, 3 digital buttons, pressure-sensitive D-pad, accelerometer, gyroscope | November 11, 2007 | [27] |
| Classic Controller Pro |  | Wii | Connectivity: Accessory connector plug (400 kHz I²C) Input: 2 analog sticks, 11 digital buttons, D-pad | Early 2009 | |
| PlayStation Move |  | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, mini-USB port Input: 1 analog trigger, 8 digital buttons, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer | September 15, 2010 | [30] |
| PlayStation Move Navigation controller |  | PlayStation 3 | Connectivity: Mini-USB port Input: 1 analog trigger, 1 clickable analog stick, 4 digital buttons, D-pad | September 15, 2010 | [30] |
| Kinect for Xbox 360 |  | Xbox 360 | Connectivity: USB 2.0 Dimensions: 282 × 68 × 70 mm Input: 1 RGB camera, 2 infrared depth sensors, four-microphone array Mass: 1360 g | November 4, 2010 | [31] |
| Wii U GamePad |  | Wii U | Connectivity: Proprietary wireless, Accessory Connector port, AC adapter port, headset jack, near-field communication Input: 13 digital buttons, 2 clickable analog sticks, touchscreen, D-pad, accelerometer, front-facing camera, infrared transceiver, gyroscope, magnetometer, microphone, slider | November 18, 2012 | [32] [33] |
| Wii U Pro Controller |  | Wii U | Connectivity: Bluetooth Input: 2 clickable analog sticks, 13 digital buttons, D-pad | November 18, 2012 | |
| Ouya Controller |  | Ouya | Connectivity: Bluetooth Dimensions: 163 x 109 x 53.5 mm Input: 2 clickable analog sticks (offset), 2 analog triggers (LT, RT), 2 shoulder buttons (LB, RB), 5 digital buttons (O, U, Y, A, Menu), Touchpad, and Digital D-Pad Mass: 275 g | June 25, 2013 | [34] |
| DualShock 4 |  | PlayStation 4 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Micro-USB, 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, extension port Dimensions: 161 × 57 × 100 mm Input: 9 digital buttons, 2 analog triggers, 2 clickable analog sticks, accelerometer, D-pad, gyroscope, two-point capacitive clickable touchpad Mass: 210 g | November 15, 2013 | [35] [36] |
| Xbox Wireless Controller |  | Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Connectivity: Propriety Wireless, Micro USB (revisions prior to Elite Series 2), USB-C (Elite Series 2 and third revision), 3.5 mm stereo audio jack (after first revision), Bluetooth 4.0 (second revision), Bluetooth LE (third revision) Dimensions: 153 × 102 × 61 mm Input: 2 clickable analog sticks (offset), 2 analog triggers (LB, RB), 2 shoulder buttons (LT, RT), 9 digital buttons (Y, B, A, X, Menu, Options, Home), 1 Share button (third revision) and Digital D-Pad | November 22, 2013 | |
| Kinect for Xbox One |  | Xbox One | Connectivity: USB 3.0 Dimensions: 249 × 66 × 67 mm Input: 1 RGB camera, 1 infrared depth sensor, four-microphone array Mass: 1.4 kg | November 22, 2013 | [31] |
| Steam Controller |  | Linux, Mac OS, Windows | Connectivity: Micro-USB, wireless Input: 2 clickable analog triggers, clickable analog stick, 2 clickable touchpads, 9 digital buttons, accelerometer, gyroscope | November 10, 2015 | [37] [38] [39] |
| Joy-Con |  | Nintendo Switch | Connectivity: Bluetooth; R: near-field communication Dimensions: 102 × 35.9 × 28.4 mm Input: Accelerometer, gyroscope; L: 10 digital buttons, clickable analog stick; R: 10 digital buttons, clickable analog stick, infrared motion camera Mass:L: ≈ 49.3 g; R: ≈ 52.2 g | March 3, 2017 | [40] |
| Nintendo Switch Pro Controller |  | Nintendo Switch | Connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth, near-field communication Input: Accelerometer, gyroscope; 13 digital buttons, 2 clickable analog sticks | March 3, 2017 | |
| Google Stadia Controller |  | Google Stadia | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, USB-C, Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 (BLE), 3.5mm stereo headset jack Dimensions: 163 x 105 x 65 mm Input: 2 clickable analog sticks, 2 analog triggers (L2, R2), 2 shoulder buttons (L1, R1), 9 digital buttons (Y, B, A, X, Menu, Options, Capture, Google Assistant, Stadia), and Digital D-Pad Mass: 268 g | November 19, 2019 | [41] [42] |
| Sinden Light Gun | Windows, Linux | Connectivity: USB-A Input: D-pad, 4 buttons | September 2020 | [43] | |
| DualSense |  | PlayStation 5 | Connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth 5.1, 3.5mm TRRS (OMTP) stereo headset jack Dimensions: 160 × 66 × 106 mm Input: 6 axis motion sensing (3 axis accelerometer, 3 axis gyroscope), 2 clickable analog sticks, 2 analog triggers, 9 digital buttons, D-pad, 2 point capacitive touchpad with click mechanism (see buttons) Mass: 280 g | November 12, 2020 | |
| Amazon Luna Controller |  | Amazon Luna | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, USB-C, Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 (BLE), 3.5mm stereo headset Dimensions: 156.4 x 107.6 x 58.5 mm Input: 2 clickable analog sticks (offset), 2 analog triggers (L2, R2), 2 shoulder buttons (LB, RB), 8 digital buttons (X, Y, A, B, Home, Action, Menu, Microphone), and Digital D-Pad Mass: 281.5 g | March 1, 2022 | [44] [45] [46] |
The following is a list of gaming mice , mice which are designed specifically to play games:
| Name | Image | Platform | Specifications | Original release date | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super NES Mouse |  | SNES | Connectivity: SNES controller port Input: 2 buttons | July 14, 1992 | [47] |
| PlayStation Mouse |  | PlayStation | Connectivity: PlayStation controller port Input: 2 buttons | December 3, 1994 | [48] [49] |
The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. Spacewar! was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student hobbyists in 1962 as one of the first such games on a video display. The first consumer video game hardware was released in the early 1970s. The first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, and the first arcade video games were Computer Space and Pong. After its home console conversions, numerous companies sprang up to capture Pong's success in both the arcade and the home by cloning the game, causing a series of boom and bust cycles due to oversaturation and lack of innovation.
A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a television or other display devices and controlled with a separate game controller, or handheld consoles, which include their own display unit and controller functions built into the unit and which can be played anywhere. Hybrid consoles combine elements of both home and handheld consoles.
A game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device or input/output device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game. Input devices that have been classified as game controllers include keyboards, mice, gamepads, and joysticks, as well as special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games. Controllers designs have evolved to include directional pads, multiple buttons, analog sticks, joysticks, motion detection, touch screens and a plethora of other features.
The Wii is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, following the GameCube and is a seventh-generation console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
The history of video game consoles, both home and handheld, began in the 1970s. The first console that played games on a television set was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, first conceived by Ralph H. Baer in 1966. Handheld consoles originated from electro-mechanical games that used mechanical controls and light-emitting diodes (LED) as visual indicators. Handheld electronic games had replaced the mechanical controls with electronic and digital components, and with the introduction of Liquid-crystal display (LCD) to create video-like screens with programmable pixels, systems like the Microvision and the Game & Watch became the first handheld video game consoles.
Voice chat is telecommunication via voice over IP (VoIP) technologies—especially when those technologies are used as intercoms among players in multiplayer online games. The VoIP functionality can be built into some games, be a system-wide communication system, or a third-party chat software.
A video game accessory is a distinct piece of hardware that is required to use a video game console, or one that enriches the video game's play experience. Essentially, video game accessories are everything except the console itself, such as controllers, memory, power adapters (AC), and audio/visual cables. Most video game consoles come with the accessories required to play games out of the box : one A/V cable, one AC cable, and a controller. Memory is usually the most required accessory outside of these, as game data cannot be saved to compact discs. The companies that manufacture video game consoles also make these accessories for replacement purposes as well as improving the overall experience. There is an entire industry of companies that create accessories for consoles as well, called third-party companies. The prices are often lower than those made by the maker of the console (first-party). This is usually achieved by avoiding licensing or using cheaper materials. For the mobile systems like the PlayStation Portable and Game Boy iterations, there are many accessories to make them more usable in mobile environments, such as mobile chargers, lighting to improve visibility, and cases to both protect and help organize the collection of system peripherals to. Newer accessories include many home-made things like mod chips to bypass manufacturing protection or homemade software.
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
The 2000s was the fourth decade of the video game industry. It was a decade that was primarily dominated by Sony, Nintendo, newcomer Microsoft, and their respective systems. Sega, being Nintendo's main rival in the 1980s and 1990s, left the console market in 2002 in favor of returning to third-party development, as they once were. Overall the decade saw the last of the low resolution three-dimensional polygons of the 1990s with the emergence of high definition games, and often focused on developing immersive and interactive environments, implementing realistic physics, and improving artificial intelligence. The sixth and seventh generation of video game consoles went on sale, including the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. Notable games released in the 2000s included Half-Life 2, Wii Sports, Grand Theft Auto III, BioShock, The Sims, Metroid Prime, Burnout 3: Takedown,Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Resident Evil 4, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Shadow of the Colossus,Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, LittleBigPlanet, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind,World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy X, Perfect Dark, God of War, Left 4 Dead, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Counter-Strike, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,Diablo II, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire,The Sims, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,Super Smash Bros. Melee, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Gears of War, Max Payne, Super Mario Galaxy, Halo: Combat Evolved, Tony Hawk´s Pro Skater 3, Guitar Hero, Devil May Cry, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus,Hitman: Blood Money, Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 2, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Fallout 3, Super Mario Sunshine, Rock Band, Beyond Good & Evil,Portal, Ico, Jet Set Radio, Silent Hill 2, Psychonauts, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves,Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006. Each new console introduced new technologies. The Xbox 360 offered games rendered natively at high-definition video (HD) resolutions, the PlayStation 3 offered HD movie playback via a built-in 3D Blu-ray Disc player, and the Wii focused on integrating controllers with movement sensors as well as joysticks. Some Wii controllers could be moved about to control in-game actions, which enabled players to simulate real-world actions through movement during gameplay. By this generation, video game consoles had become an important part of the global IT infrastructure; it is estimated that video game consoles represented 25% of the world's general-purpose computational power in 2007.
In computing, a motion controller is a type of input device that uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, or other sensors to track motion.
Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flight calculations, which can in turn be used to perform real-time gesture recognition and body skeletal detection, among other capabilities. They also contain microphones that can be used for speech recognition and voice control.
Virtua Tennis 4, known in Japan as Power Smash 4, is the third sequel to Sega's tennis game franchise, Virtua Tennis. It was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Wii and PlayStation Vita. This is the first main series Virtua Tennis game to not have an arcade release before the console releases. An arcade version was also released, which is powered by the PC-based Sega RingEdge arcade system. There are two versions of the cabinet: an upright 4-player cabinet, and a deluxe 4-player cabinet.
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
Puss in Boots is an action game based on the film of the same name. It was developed by Blitz Games Studios, and released by THQ for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS. It features support for Kinect and PlayStation Move on the respective platforms.
Angry Birds Trilogy is a video game co-developed by Rovio Entertainment, Exient Entertainment, Housemarque, and Fun Labs and published by Activision.
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox network and Xbox Game Pass. The brand is produced by Microsoft Gaming, a division of Microsoft.
Majesco Entertainment Company is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held company until acquiring operation-less company ConnectivCorp in a reverse merger takeover, becoming its subsidiary and thus a public company on December 5, 2003. ConnectivCorp later changed its name to Majesco Holdings Inc. on April 13, 2004.
In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and general marketing around their consoles. While console manufacturers are generally always trying to out-perform other manufacturers in sales, these console wars engage in more direct tactics to compare their offerings directly against their competitors or to disparage the competition in contrast to their own, and thus the marketing efforts have tended to escalate in back-and-forth pushes.
In the video game industry, the market for home video game consoles has frequently been segmented into generations, grouping consoles that are considered to have shared in a competitive marketspace. Since the first home consoles in 1972, there have been nine defined home console generations.
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