What did you think of the original Duke controller for the OG Xbox?



    Posted by KillBoosh

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    19 Comments

    1. ComradeBob0200 on

      I liked it because I have big hands. It still sort of looks ridiculous when compared to the size of other controllers.

    2. silkymitties on

      As an OG Xbox owner, I hated the D-pad and the controller was a bit too large. But we got used to it until a smaller version came out.

    3. despitegirls on

      I found it too big and uncomfortable after a couple of hours. The S version is god tier to this day though.

    4. ThatDudeJuicebox on

      My favorite controller with my big hands. Wish they made an official one. The unofficial ones get drift so fast

    5. No-Atmosphere-4145 on

      I got my first xbox along with this controller when I was maybe 8 years old or something… this controller was way too big for my tiny hands and I absolutely did prefer the smaller version of it.

    6. Natural evolution from the Dreamcast controller. If you were used to that, it didn’t even feel that large.

    7. My tall, large handed friends loved it. I always hated it and found it very uncomfortable. Also as a guy who started on PlayStation the black and white buttons always felt stupid. Why would I won’t more buttons in an area that already has 4 and is only comfortably reachable with my thumb. Sure the Sega six button was fun for the time but being able to hold left and right bumper while pressing ABXY opens so many control options. PlayStation had it right with 4 shoulder buttons and Xbox eventually caught on.

    8. I thought it was fine. I remember it had a clever cord that would intentionally come unhooked if you tripped over it or something which was neat. People joked about its size but it was perfectly comfortable to use.

      I seem to remember that early on in the gen I replaced it with a “type S” that did feel even and seems to be the form they have been iterating on since.

    9. Sumo_Cerebro on

      My dad and uncle were both PC gamers. And they both had a controller like this before the Xbox came out.

      So I was kind of used to it.

      Preferred it over the dual shock actually.

    10. Pleasant-Reason9533 on

      Surprisingly comfortable and the best d-pad Ive used. I love it way better than the smaller controller they came out with.

    11. I have bigger hands so I liked it. At the time I felt like it gave me a competitive advantage in Halo because I didn’t mind it while it seemed to be too large for everyone else lol.

    12. Dirk_McGirken on

      The Duke was the oy controller I was allowed to use when we got our Xbox, I was 6 years old and had to learn to adapt. I’ve probably been primed for some form of arthritis, but man was it worth it for all those SSX Tricky races

    13. PinkovaSiili on

      Not *impossible* to use but it hasn’t aged well. Imho, the S version was already superior and the 360 controller perfected it.

      The story goes they intended to make the Duke smaller but the initial Mitsumi-manufactured circuit board was so massive it forced Microsoft to design a controller that fits the board rather than what’s ideal for people’s hands.

      Few months after the launch they got the two-piece boards also used by PlayStation, which enabled them to make the Controller S.