The original Xbox 360 white controller, which launched with the console – oh my, 17 years ago now – will be brought back to life as an Xbox Series X peripheral thanks to peripheral makers Hyperkin behind Duke’s phat-and-phabulous reboot for modern hardware.
Called “The Xenon” (for the Xbox 360’s early development codename), the returning gamepad comes in four colors: pink, red, and the classic white and reissue black familiar to most. The Xenon can be used with any Xbox One, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, or Windows PC. Pricing and availability were not mentioned in Tuesday’s announcement.
While the buttons, thumbsticks, and directional pad look like 1:1 mappings, there are also menu, view, and share buttons to support current functionality. A promotional tablecloth from Hyperkin said the controller has a rumble feature, but he didn’t say if it comes through triggers, as it has since the Xbox One.
Unfortunately, the Xenon is only a wired controller, although at least it’s not wired. (The USB-C cable is detachable). So does the remade Duke, though, and it seems like a small price to pay for the nostalgia.
It’s always fun to watch. In fact it reminds me the spring I spent living with my grandfather after the 2008 financial crisis, playing 1 against 100 with friends in other time zones after going to bed. Good times, long gone.
