The 25 Best Video Game Controllers of All Time

With the PS4 and the Xbox One controllers both inbound, we look to the past for which controllers fit best.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

The modern scientific standard for controller usability is measured by the number of times a controller can be angrily thrown against a wall.

But before controllers shed their wires, we paid more attention to minutiae such as ergonomics and button placement. And let’s not rule out the biggest factor of them all: nostalgia. Put an old joystick or gamepad in our hands, and our thumbs remember combo sequences like it was just yesterday 

A controller may just be an arrangement of buttons and a directional pad, but as games have evolved, so have controller layouts. The alchemy is a funny thing—same basic ingredients, but each company cranks out a distinct brew for every console. Every controller left its mark on our childhood and adulthood. Sometimes that piece of plastic was a landmark; at other times, a skid mark. Either way, we decided to rank our favorite man-machine interfaces since the home console first became popular, because good or bad, we still left Cheeto fingerprints all over them. Oh, and we’re limiting the list to stock first party controllers. Sorry, Mad Catz!

RELATED: The Best Video Games of 2013 (So Far)

RELATED: The Funniest Memes of 2013 (So Far)

RELATED: The Best TV Shows of 2013 (So Far)

25. Guitar Hero Controller

Not Available Interstitial

24. DDR Mat

Not Available Interstitial

23. NES Zapper

Not Available Interstitial

22. PlayStation Move Wand

Not Available Interstitial

21. NES Advantage

Not Available Interstitial

20. Kinect

Not Available Interstitial

19. Sega Genesis Six Button Controller

Not Available Interstitial

18. Hit-Box

Not Available Interstitial

17. Sega Dreamcast Controller

Not Available Interstitial

16. Nintendo GameCube Controller

Not Available Interstitial

15. Wiimote

Not Available Interstitial

14. Atari 2600 Joystick

Not Available Interstitial

13. Xbox Controller S

Not Available Interstitial

12. Nintendo 64 Controller

Not Available Interstitial

11. Sega Master System

Not Available Interstitial

10. Playstation 3 Controller

Not Available Interstitial

9. Neo Geo/AES

Not Available Interstitial

8. Keyboard and Mouse

Not Available Interstitial

7. Sony Playstation Controller

Not Available Interstitial

6. GameCube Wavebird Controller

Not Available Interstitial

5. Xbox 360 Controller

Not Available Interstitial

4. NES Controller

Not Available Interstitial

3. Sega Genesis Controller

Not Available Interstitial

2. Super Nintendo Controller

Not Available Interstitial

1. Playstation 2 DualShock Controller

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Pop Culture