Xbox Controller S | a brief history and retrospective

As Microsoft began development of the original Xbox they wanted to make sure they captured the then lucrative Japanese market. Ideally the original Duke controller; which was designed with western hands in mind, wasn't going to cut it for the Japanese market. These first arised when Seamus Blackley first demoed the Duke controller in Japan, where he was able to demonstrate it's adequate size by being able to balance it on his knee. However when a Japanese TV host tried to replicate the same test, it simply fell on the floor with him replying "no". Communication with Japanese developers saw continuous complaints about the size of the controller, so much so Blackley made a spread sheet of the complaints which he comically states "is when things get serious". At this point a new controller had to me made for Japan and done so in time for it's debut release.

Development duties for the new controller would be handed to Stratos, a product design and development studio who had previously worked with Microsoft in creating force feedback triggers for their PC Sidewinder controls. While commercially the controller would be called the "Controller S", during development the controller adopted the name "Akebono". Lead Xbox marketer at the time Albert Penello states the following as the reason for the codename:

"Akebono was a US-born Japanese sumo wrestler. Since the development of the Japanese controller was happening in the US it fit"

Early prototypes of the controller can be seen in the top banner and in the Japanese Microsoft poster with a photoshoped Bill Gates holding onto a nice burger. In both pictures you're able to see some minor differences from the final version. First the d-pad is more pronounced featuring lines that protrude outwards from the centre as apposed to being straight. The engraved Microsoft logo at the top would also be removed on final units as well as the beautiful blue colour with retail controllers only being available in a number of see-through colours and a light grey exclusive to Japan.

Translation - "we meet in a strange place, huh?"

Once the Xbox finally released in the U.S and in Europe, many felt the controller was simply too big. This was especially problematic for anyone with small hands which meant pressing all the necessary buttons was a bit of a stretch. On the 22nd February 2002, the Xbox launched in Japan with the controller S exclusively releasing in that region. As time went on people started picking up on the Japanese controller S as being the superior controller with people resorting to importing them from Japan. During this time the demand for the controller started making headlines as Microsoft were asked multiple times as to whether or not the controller would arrive.

Eventually Microsoft saw enough of a demand for the Controller S as to start selling to American audiences. However on the 24th of June 2002, a UK Xbox PR manager stated that there would be no Xbox Controller S for Europe. However he didn't dismiss the possibility and would reconsider if EU demand matches that of the US. First announcement of the controller S for sale in the US appeared on the 30th of May with Initial batches of the S controller became available on the 15th of October 2002 in the US in conjunction with a Sega bundle for $199. Inevitably the success over the comically large 'Duke' controller meant Europe had to wait till the 23rd of April to be able to get our hands on the controller S. It was inevitable that once the controller arrived on sale, it pretty much killed off the Duke entirely. As stock for the Duke steadily reduced, the controller S would become it's replacement, becoming the bundled controller for all future console releases.

However despite the controller making it's way over to western shores, there were some slight alterations on the model that you probably may not know about. The most notable difference you're instantly going to recognise comes from the middle of the controller which ditches the black corporate logo of the Xbox name for an eye catching green colour. Mechanically the only different present is that the triggers for the Japanese model S controller features lighter springs as apposed to the firmer ones on the western model. One last difference is the letters on the face buttons feel deeper engraved making it slightly easier to know which button your thumb is on when not looking at the controller. Aside from that however the controller is identical to it's western counterpart and it's unclear as to why these little changes were exclusive to Japan.

Final model in the west

The Xbox S controller was a natural progressive step for Microsoft as the Xbox 360 would take a inspiration from the controller S and build from it to build an even better controller. The Duke on the other hand was abandoned forever and became a comical reference for Microsoft when talking about the history of Xbox. After the successful praise Microsoft received from the controller S, development of future controllers where to be handled in house. Microsoft's Duke controller was a learning curve for them, shifting from exclusive software development to hardware development would inevitably show some hiccups along the way. Stratos ultimately left Microsoft with a solid controller to work from with the Xbox 360 controller building off what worked well while restructuring the controller for greater ergonomics. Interestingly the controller S would mark the last time a console manufacturer would ever release a region specific controller. 

Links:

• https://www.stratos.com/project/microsoft-xbox-controller-product-development-case
• https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2002/5/31/spotlight.htm
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rUODlNffWmU  (17:10)

Archived Links:

• http://gamesindustry.biz:80/content_page.php?section_name=ret&aid=175
• http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-bundle-with-sega-games/1100-2885439/
• https://twitter.com/albertpenello/status/798615638755287040