The Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller

The Xbox 360 controller continues the evolution of the Xbox controller S. The expansion/memory card bays have been removed and the awkwardly placed buttons of the controller S have now been relocated to more convenient places.

The back and start buttons have moved from the left face of the controller to the center. And the black and white buttons have been transformed into shoulder buttons. What is novel about this is that the Xbox 360 controller now has one set of shoulder buttons like the Playstation controller and one set of triggers like the GameCube & Dreamcast controllers - a best of both worlds kind of solution.

The spherical logo/button in the center of the controller is used to access the Xbox 360 user interface and can also be used to turn the Xbox 360 on or off.  There are four lights around the button to indicate which player the controller is.

The controller comes in wired and wireless varieties.  The wireless controller may use either a rechargeable battery pack or standard AA batteries.  The battery pack may be recharged by plugging the controller into the Xbox 360's USB port.  There is also a small button on the back of the controller which is used to set the radio link to the Xbox 360 - it is normally only set once or when you want to switch the controller to use a different Xbox 360. 

Lastly, there is a headset/microphone connector on the front of the controller for Xbox Live use.

You can see a pre-production Xbox 360 controller here, and an early prototype here.