Xbox dual analog controller claim by CEO Asha Sharma, Digi Mart USA News: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma praised the brand’s innovative consoles and accessories while celebrating the Xbox 25th Anniversary, according to a blog post. Her claim that Microsoft “pioneered dual analog controllers” has drawn criticism.
The predecessor to the PlayStation DualShock is widely credited with that accomplishment. The PlayStation Dual Analog Controller arrived in 1997 with symmetrical sticks, and the DualShock later followed on the PS1, adding vibration motors.
The source notes that Nintendo’s N64 accessory used analog technology in a single stick before the PlayStation peripheral reached the market. Sony’s first-party Ape Escape, released in 1999, also used a dual-stick layout, with the left stick guiding characters and the right handling gadgets and actions.
The original Xbox controller, known as the “Duke,” combined elements from PlayStation, Nintendo and Sega, including analog triggers for finer acceleration and braking in racing games. It offered a six-button layout and asymmetrical dual analog sticks, a feature that continued in later generations.
Microsoft’s Halo: Combat Evolved was among the earliest shooters to use dual sticks, but the source states that Alien Resurrection for the PS1 had already implemented a similar scheme in 2000.
The source says it is unclear why Sharma would misrepresent the history of the original Xbox controller. Some social media posters questioned her knowledge of gaming history, noting her previous jobs were in unrelated fields, while others blamed an overreliance on generative AI for inaccuracies in the anniversary address.
These points are reported as the source describes them and have not been independently verified.
