Video game consoles have been released over the decades with various types of controls, and a new video charts the evolution of controllers across the generations. While the latest console generation has some pretty similar controllers barring the Switch's Joycon, this YouTube video offers a plethora of different iterations on the same concept of controlling video game characters.
As home video games have evolved over the years to match their appropriate hardware, so have the controllers which had humble beginnings and were iterated upon numerous times to get to where they are today. Many modern gaming console controllers share some similarities that players have become accustomed to over the years, notably two control sticks, multiple face buttons, and at least one shoulder button. A new video compiles a comprehensive evolution of how the controllers from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox came to be.
Popular tech website Engadget recently released a YouTube video highlighting home gaming console controllers from the first generation all the way up to the Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The YouTube video begins with the Coleco Telstar which features controls on the game console itself that are used to play Handball, Hockey, or Tennis from integrated software. Generation 2 is a clear upgrade from the original tech as the controllers are separate from the console with Engadget examples like the Ataro 2600, ColecoVision, and Magnavox Odyssey 2, each having their own take on this detached formula.
Illustrating the rise of Nintendo in the gaming industry, the YouTube video shows what iterations were made to get from the NES to the SNES, with companies like Sega using similar designs at the time. Making playing in a 3D space possible with the N64 controller, Nintendo changed its tech with an analog stick which is something that PlayStation later adopted in its controllers as well, with both consoles having necessary ergonomic handles that remain used today. The YouTube video then spotlights how Nintendo quickly implemented two sticks with the GameCube, something Sony started with the PlayStation, and barring motion controllers and the WiiU tablet, these designs only slightly deviated since.
Though the YouTube video does highlight differences between the Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox controllers, it's more of a showcase for controller design changes across console gaming history. With the strange origins of controllers, and virtual reality like the PS VR 2, Valve Index, and more continuing to innovate on them, it may be hard to imagine what things look like in another nine generations.