8 Reasons Why Xbox 360 Was Basically The Dreamcast 2

5. The Controllers

It's an old truism that the Japanese favour small form factors when it comes to electronics design. It's why the original Xbox controller, nicknamed "Duke" by its fans, was swapped out for the S design for the release of the Xbox in Japan and minimal changes were made for the Xbox 360's wireless controller, too. In designing the Xbox 360, Microsoft curved the front of the machine to give it a sleek and clean appearance. This addressed the fact that both Sony's and Microsoft's previous consoles had been likened to old VCR players or (in the case of some memes) earth-shattering asteroids. Similar to the Dreamcast, the Xbox 360 was off-white and more inviting than the standard black or grey that had come before for most other consoles (okay, there was the shiny purple Nintendo GameCube that one time...) Further to this, line up a Dreamcast controller alongside a white Xbox 360 controller and the similarities are self-evident. Four coloured face buttons, two analogue triggers and a d-pad underneath an analogue stick are all elements Microsoft favoured for the design of its own 360 controller. SEGA may have invented analogue triggers for the SEGA Saturn 3D Control Pad, but Microsoft took those for its own. Sony since added analogue functionality to its L2/R2 shoulder buttons, too, so they were a definite hit with gamers. Comfortable and simple, the Dreamcast hit upon a classic design that has been modified only slightly by Microsoft going forward.