Microsoft Credits Original Xbox With an Invention Sony Introduced Four Years Earlier

Xbox chief Asha Sharma credited the original Xbox with pioneering dual-analog controllers in a message marking the brand’s 25th anniversary. Sony had released a controller with two analog sticks four years earlier.

The Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, and played an important role in the development of the gaming industry. Microsoft entered a market dominated by Sony and Nintendo with a console that had a built-in hard drive and an Ethernet port. Those features helped pave the way for Xbox Live and the growth of online gaming.

In a post about the brand’s history, Sharma said the first Xbox pioneered controllers with two analog sticks. Sony had released such a controller for the original PlayStation in 1997, four years before Microsoft’s console arrived.

The DualShock was not initially included with the PS1, but that changed with the release of the PS2 in 2000. By the time the Xbox arrived, players were already familiar with the benefits of two analog sticks.

Sharma may have meant analog triggers, but Microsoft was not first there either. The Sega Dreamcast controller had triggers that responded to pressure in 1999.

The original Xbox had plenty of strengths of its own, and its controller left a mark on the industry. The claim is especially amusing during the brand’s 25th anniversary celebration: Microsoft has plenty to be proud of without taking credit for its competitors’ ideas.

Source: iXBT.games