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Xbox controller

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Xbox Controller
Xbox "The Duke" Controller
Xbox "The Duke" Controller (primary controller from 2001-2002)
ManufacturerMicrosoft
TypeVideo game controller
GenerationSixth generation era
Release date
  • NA: November 15, 2001
  • JP: February 22, 2002
  • PAL: March 14, 2002
ConnectivityXbox controller port
  • 2× Analog sticks
  • 2× Analog triggers
  • 6× Pressure-sensitive buttons
  • 2× Digital buttons
  • Digital D-Pad
SuccessorXbox 360 Controller

The Xbox Controller is the primary controller for Microsoft's Xbox console and was introduced at the Game Developers Conference in 2000. The first-generation Xbox controller (nicknamed "The Duke") was the first controller bundled with Xbox systems for all territories except Japan. A smaller and redesigned variant, called "Controller S", was sold and bundled with the console in Japan. It was later released in other territories and by the end of 2003 had replaced the first-generation controller worldwide. The larger original controller remained available as an optional accessory.

History

The Xbox controller featured breakaway dongles to avoid damage to the console if the cord was tripped over.

The Xbox controller features dual vibration motors, two analog triggers, two analog sticks, a directional pad, a Back button, a Start button, two accessory slots and six 8-bit analog action buttons (A/Green, B/Red, X/Blue, Y/Yellow, and Black and White buttons).[1]

Xbox Controller S

The "Controller S" (codenamed "Akebono") is smaller and lighter, designed for users with smaller hands.[2][3] It was meant exclusively for the Japanese market.[4] After the original controller had received much criticism, and initial sales of the Xbox were very low, the "Controller S" was later released in other territories by popular demand and in 2002 replaced the first-generation controller in the US Xbox's retail package,[5] and Europe in 2003,[6] with the larger original controller remaining available as an accessory.

The Duke

Seamus Blackley was a Video game developer for Xbox and helped design an early prototype controller. The first-generation Xbox controller, originally nicknamed the "Fatty"[7] and later "The Duke"[8][9], was originally the controller bundled with Xbox systems for all territories except Japan. According to Blackley, the Duke name came from Brett Scneff, the project manager of hardware for Microsoft during the Xbox's development, whose son was named Duke.[10]

The controller was oversized and was not very well received. While the product was being announced some audience members threw objects at Blackley on stage. [11] The controller has been criticized for being bulky compared to other video game controllers; it was awarded "Blunder of the Year" by Game Informer in 2001,[12] a Guinness World Record for the biggest controller in Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008, and was ranked the second worst video game controller ever by IGN editor Craig Harris.[13]

Over fifteen years later Seamus Blackley contacted Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox division, and pitched an idea to revive the old controller, following a series of joking posts through social media that showed strong consumer desire for the controller. Spencer gave Blackley the rights to the Duke controller.[10] The original design was modified with some subtle changes to the bumper design, shoulder buttons and overall layout to make it compatible with the Xbox One, as well as an OLED screen that displays the original Xbox boot sequence when turned on.[14] The Duke was released for Xbox One and PC on April 30, 2018 through a partnership with Hyperkin.

Memory Unit

An 8 MB removable solid state memory card can be plugged into the controller in a manner similar to that of the Dreamcast's VMU. Game saves can either be copied from the hard drive when in the Xbox dashboard's memory manager or saved during a game whenever the memory card is inserted. Most Xbox game saves can be copied to the memory unit and moved to another console but some Xbox saves are digitally signed; each console has a unique signing key, and some games (e.g. Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball) will not load saved games signed by a different Xbox, limiting the utility of the memory card. Some game saves can be tagged as uncopyable (like Burnout 3: Takedown) or simply padded to over 8 MB (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic). The signing mechanism has been reverse-engineered by the Xbox hacking community, who have developed tools to modify savegames to work in a different console, though the signing key of the recipient Xbox (the "HDkey") and the ramped-up title key of the game (the "authkey") must be known.

It is also possible to save an Xbox Live account on a memory unit, to simplify its use on more than one Xbox.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Inside Xbox Controller".
  2. ^ Christopher Buecheler (June 24, 2008). "GameSpy.com - Hardware: Xbox Controller S". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  3. ^ "Xbox Retrospective: All-Time Top Xbox News". Gamer 2.0. Archived from the original on May 3, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Ninja Beach Party. Official Xbox Magazine (October 2002, issue 11, pg. 44).
  5. ^ Sam Parker (October 14, 2002). "New Xbox bundle with Sega games". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Sam Parker (April 23, 2003). "Controller S becomes Euro Xbox standard". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Tour". IGN. May 13, 2005. Retrieved July 2, 2011. the original "Fatty" Xbox controller didn't have a specific public name
  8. ^ "Xbox's original beast of a controller making a comeback?". CNET. June 15, 2005. Retrieved October 16, 2011. Anyone who purchased the original Xbox during its launch window quickly came to know its behemoth of a controller, now nicknamed "The Duke".
  9. ^ "Microsoft - Timeline Photos". Microsoft. May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014. Hi, I'm Amy Stevenson, the official Microsoft archivist. Need a CD-ROM of 500 Nations? An ActiMates doll? An old Duke controller from the original Xbox? I've got 'em all, right here in these boxes. Explore the Microsoft Archives here.
  10. ^ a b Joseph Knoop, May 18, 2018. "How A Twitter Joke Brought The Xbox 'Duke' Controller Back To Life – ING Unfiltered". IGN. Retrieved May 18, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Owen S. Good. "The Dukes return to Xbox redeems the original designer". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  12. ^ Games of 2001. Game Informer (January 2002, pg. 48).
  13. ^ "Top 10 Tuesday: Worst Game Controllers". IGN. February 21, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  14. ^ Sam Prell. ""I had things thrown at me" - Xbox designer on how the 'Duke' controller went from joke to beloved misfit". Games Radar. Future Publishing Limited Quay House. Retrieved April 29, 2018.


Further reading

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