Game controllers are magical devices. They are the physical entity that whisks us away into digital worlds, granting us the ability to be a master of the sword, steering wheel, gun, or all manner of other things. Controllers let us traverse vast worlds, dominate in sporting arenas, and become characters we could never be in reality. Without controllers, games would be nothing.
The story of 200 of the most important and fascinating game controllers is told in Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers, which gathers everything from stock pads and high-end fightsticks to branded novelty joysticks and misguided oddities. To give you a taste, we’ve picked half-a-dozen of the book’s most unusual and distinct game controllers, including those with more of a legacy than you might imagine.
Brøderbund U-FORCE (1989)
While the iconic Power Glove marked the most famed attempt at bringing motion control to the Nintendo Entertainment System, Brøderbund’s U-FORCE presented a rather more ambitious approach – hands-free gesture-based control. Serving delicious retro-futuristic product design, a laptop-like a dual-panel infrared sensor system tracked hand movements in real time, translating them into the equivalent of button presses. It also supported a range of handheld accessories that would simulate handles, triggers, and the fists of Mike Tyson for Punch-Out!. But the U-force was infamously imprecise, and ultimately flopped. It would take Nintendo until the Wii’s 2006 launch to finally thrust motion control into the mainstream.
ASCII Grip range (1996)
For RPG players in particular, the ASCII Grip controllers offered a fascinating proposition. They presented a one-handed take on traditional pads; the idea being that the other hand was left free for holding a pen with which to make notes while tackling RPGs. At least, that was how they were marketed. Over time, the ASCII Grip had a more profound impact; it became an admittedly imperfect option for gamers with conditions that made two-handed play complicated or impossible; with models for the SNES, Saturn, and PlayStation adapted for all manner of machines. Today things have moved on. The tremendously customisable PlayStation Access controller is built with accessibility in mind, and supports one-handed play. Even the packaging is designed to be suitable for one-handed opening. Maybe the Grip even deserves a little credit.
The Cheetah Bug (1992)
Cheetah’s undersized, understated Bug joystick quickly faded into obscurity, when it should have debuted a whole new controller class. Designed to sit in the palm, the two eye-like buttons gave the Bug its name, but it was what was on top that made it stand out. The slender microswitched stick brought striking precision and robustness – making it perfect for arcade-informed genres such as fighters, platformers, and shmups. On release the furiously multiformat controller took some stick (pun intended) for its unusual looks and design. In reality, it should have introduced a new category of highly portable performance fightsticks.
Namco NeGcon (1995)
Inspired by the analog-stick controllers of Namco’s arcade cabinet title Cyber Sled, the NeGcon’s central gimmick was in fact so successful that this distinct controller loses some of its oddity rating. And yet it is a pad that strives to simulate steering wheel use by letting you twist its entire body lengthways. Broadly taking the form of a traditional controller, the twisting motion felt a little more like using a motorbike throttle, but it turned out to offer finessed control for games like Ridge Racer, Wipeout, and Gran Turismo. It certainly attracted attention. As noted in Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers, Time magazine called it ‘simultaneously bizarre and functionally intrepid’. It’s a perfect summary.
Atari CX50 Keyboard Controller (1978)
A subset of gamers – and particularly competitive players – will always assert that keyboard and mouse is the ultimate input system. And the rest likely long for a keyboard every time they use a pad to enter text. Controller designers have for years tried to bring the attributes of a keyboard to pads – with Microsoft even introducing a tiny clip-on keyboard for the 360, Blackberry phone-style. Years before that, video game pioneers Atari took a rather different approach. The CX50 had 12 buttons, could be attached to a second unit for 24-button input, and housed game specific overlays – a concept Atari returned to with the stock Jaguar controller. It really was an attempt at putting a keyboard in the hand, but was only meaningfully workable with a handful of games.
Nuby Tech Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw (2005)
Infamous and grizzly, the Nuby Tech Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw really is a straight up novelty controller. Well; almost. Its novelty value certainly drew attention, helped shift units, and established its legacy as a classic controller oddity. But it was also a bold attempt at bringing immersion – albeit a misguided one in a game where the lead spends a great deal of time with a gun in their hand. Casting logic aside, it did feel neat to lift the undersized chainsaw to pull your gun – but overall Nuby Tech’s effort was ergonomically messy and largely unwieldy. And still, it was a lot of fun to use.
If that list has sent you scurrying to the loft to dig out a controller oddity from your own past, or made you curious about the wider world of game controller – including the best, worst, and most unusual – be sure to check out Bitmap’s latest book, Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers. As with any Bitmap Book, it is packed with eye-catching design, superb photography, detailed expert writing, and insight from industry legends.
