They were SO close! - Weird controllers that defined modern gaming
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Check out what you can fix with iFixit at ifixit.com Game controllers have been around for as long as games have… But WEIRD controllers have probably been around for longer. Let’s try a few of the (IMO) most important for ourselves… Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com ►GET MERCH: lttstore.com ►SUPPORT US ON FLOATPLANE: floatplane.com ►LTX EXPO: ltxexpo.com AFFILIATES & REFERRALS --------------------------------------------------- ►Affiliates, Sponsors & Referrals: lmg.gg ►Check out our podcast gear: kit.co ►Private Internet Access VPN: lmg.gg ►Our Official Charging Partner Anker: lmg.gg ►Secretlabs Gaming Chairs: lmg.gg ►MK Keyboards: lmg.gg ►Nerd or Die Stream Overlays: lmg.gg ►Green Man Gaming lmg.gg ►Amazon Prime: lmg.gg ►Audible Free Trial: lmg.gg ►Our Gear on Amazon: geni.us FOLLOW US ELSEWHERE --------------------------------------------------- Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: @LinusTech Instagram: @linustech Twitch: twitch.tv FOLLOW OUR OTHER CHANNELS --------------------------------------------------- Mac Address: lmg.gg Techquickie: lmg.gg TechLinked: lmg.gg ShortCircuit: lmg.gg LMG Clips: lmg.gg Channel Super Fun: lmg.gg Carpool Critics: lmg.gg MUSIC CREDIT --------------------------------------------------- Title: Laszlo - Supernova Video Link: youtube.com iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com Artist Link: soundcloud.com Outro Screen Music Credit: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High youtube.com Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa @mbarek_abdel Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 geni.us CHAPTERS --------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Intro 0:51 The most interesting one's in the thumbnail 4:02 A viral Canadian classic 5:49 Feedback on why gameports mattered 6:56 A moving story 7:40 Truly touching 8:28 Let's play some games 10:25 Conclusive results
The video opens by reframing the familiar gamepad design and then dives into historically influential, yet strange, controllers that helped shape modern gaming. It kickstarts with the XE-1 AP from Dempa Micomsoft, a bulky, early analog thumbstick controller released in 1989 for the Sega Mega Drive and MSX. The host traces a lineage from the XE-1 AP to Sega’s 3D control pad for the Saturn, then to the Dreamcast controller, and finally to the original Xbox controller, illustrating a through-line from experimental hardware to mainstream gamepads. Technical details about how the stick works are explained clearly, including the use of two potentiometers and a clever stem mechanism that translates movement into axis signals. The segment also emphasizes ergonomics of the time, noting that despite awkward handling, the XE-1 AP represented a radical departure by introducing analog control and shoulder grips well before rival consoles. The discussion makes a broader point about how early innovations were often ahead of their time, and how they influenced later designs while also facing adoption challenges due to limited game support and hardware constraints.
Topics · technology · gaming hardware · history · computer peripherals · console gaming