Tier list: Ranking retro and modern video game controllers

While video game controllers have greatly evolved over the past four decades, each era has seen its duds and highlights.

With video games now holding a status as a decades-old cultural pastime, it’s clear that every aspect of gaming has drastically changed over the course of the art form’s lifespan.

Though a large amount of focus in evaluating individual video games is lent to its development, storyline, gameplay, controls, music and atmosphere, it can be easy to overlook just how much the console’s controller itself can impact the level of enjoyment in any given game.

With a collection of several consoles and over 450 physical video games, our library also spans a wide range of controllers that correspond to major systems over the past 40 years.

This tier list is not meant to be exhaustive – it does not include any first- or second-generation consoles, nor does it include any controllers I’m not personally familiar with. The only controller included on this list that is not in our collection is the DualShock 4 for the PlayStation 4, a controller I’ve still used several times.

With our collection having not yet expanded to include Sega games, the controllers for the Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast are also not included.

Additionally, the template I used is fittingly from 2019 – before the release of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2. This works with where our collection is currently, as we do not own a PlayStation 5 or Switch 2 while the Series X/S controller is essentially indistinguishable from the Xbox One controller.