And yet, this week’s hands-on time with the Hyperkin Xenon has made us think: ‘is the Xbox 360 actually the best one?’ Sure, it has its issues like the ‘mushy’ d-pad and the protruding battery pack on the wireless version, but the pad just feels amazing in the hand, and the more we use the Xenon, the more we’re reminded that maybe we forgot how good the 360 controller was.
The original Xbox pads deserve a shout too – even the Duke. We reckon the ‘S’ controller does edge it, but the Duke is still a great controller in our eyes, even if it is absurdly large. Let’s be honest, every Xbox console has had a fantastic controller to match – we’ve been blessed in that regard!
Still, sometimes you just have to pick a favourite… right? So, which is the best Xbox controller? We’re not counting things like the Elite or third-party pads here; we’re just sticking to each of the official controllers that came bundled with Xbox consoles over the years (although we will allow for two choices with the OG Xbox).