The Evolution of the Controller - Episode #35

Bored Certified Gaming Podcast

This week, Andy and Amar discuss something that no one really thinks about, but is absolutely essential to gamers everywhere. Controllers. That's right. Controllers. You thought we were going to say imagination or skill? Nah.

You're probably thinking to yourself how boring an episode on controllers can be, but just hear us out. We as players of video games are so used to looking at the screen, we don't care what's in our hands. We know where the buttons are, what each one does, and that's all we need. But that's the point here. We don't think about the impact that controllers have on our gaming experience or how they've changed over time, when we need them to play literally any game out there.

The guys go through the history of video game controllers and uncover an interesting narrative of sorts between the big gaming companies of the time. Competition breeds innovation, but it also might breed copycats too. There have been bad ones, awesome ones, and weird ones too. Some companies have kept their aesthetic, some change it up a little bit from time to time, and some have very interesting ideas about how hands work. Looking at you Nintendo.

We hope this episode will get you to look down at your hands once in a while and actually think about that piece of plastic you're holding. Without it, you'd really suck at video games.