About

How this started:

I started this controller project in late 2018 on Google Docs with the idea that I would only put harder to find controllers/info on it. But, over time I wanted to find a controller I needed information such as the release date or if the design was on the front and back. It would require multiple google/bing searches, and still not finding what I wanted. Thus, starting this ever growing list with as many details as I can find about every official 360 controller.

I rely mostly on ebay listings for pics and correct information(when it comes to packaging/controller part numbers/serials/fcc models). Then use archive.org of xbox.com for information on release dates, pricing, along with using restricted year searching on google. This method means it takes a while to get what I need, but possibly the most reliable way to keep my data accurate.

My Gaming shelf: As you can tell it's very controller oriented. I do like to change it up every now and then as well, so this is pics from 2 different time periods.

What I've learned:

Just how complex 360 controllers can be. From all the different package designs/part numbers, controller part numbers/differing board types or how a serial can be the only mark if it is significant or not.

It can also be tricky to know if I have found the correct information when it comes to website listings, sometimes they have wrong information. For example, Amazon won't always put a correct release date, they use a listing date. So even if I can find something, it doesn't help me find the actual day it came out. Doing this has taught me how to research better, but, I do lack on keeping track/organizing of my sources perfectly.

My most unique, and possibly best discovery is the last 3 digits of the serial marking the year and week the controller was manufactured. If a serial ends in 133, that means it was made in August 2011. I barely discovered it in late Dec. 2019-Early January of 2020. I had been looking for all sorts of ways to know this sort of thing as the console serial has a full breakdown guide. But I never could see a pattern on 360 controllers or find anything through googling. It took me a few months to feel 100% right, but over time I haven't seen anything that proves it wrong. Technically Microsoft also uses it as a lot number, and they continued this trend into the xb1 controller era. Either way, it's a very neat trick to keep track of just how old a controller is.

Along my journey, I have also stumbled into controllers not found anywhere online. A few that I was lucky to buy them and see for myself they are 100% legit. Or in the case of the Dragon Walton DV2 controller, it was in a sealed package, with absolutely no special markings. This forced me into looking at the serial some more as the last 4, well, I now know more specifically the last 3 digits weren't found on any other retail controllers. This is also how I discovered the when controllers were manufactured. I didn't even plan on opening the packaging, but I'm so glad I did. It now has me on the hunt for what else is sealed but has a Not for Resale controller inside. Which is why I've started to track as many serials as I can in hopes I'd be able see if it's special without needing to unseal it.

I have no doubt that there are more waiting out there to be discovered. And if you are reading this, and have a controller you don't see in this guide, I'd love to get it up on here.

Making this guide has made me appreciate all the work/processes that goes into getting every controller out to retail. I have no manufacturing background, but I ended up finding it rather fascinating how it all pieces together.

Personal history:

I actually didn't grow up with my own Xbox 360 console, but I was able to still fall in love for 360 controllers because of how easily they worked on PC which is where I got the majority of my experience with them from. I also still got to enjoy some of the more well known 360 titles through a good friend when he'd bring over his console for us to play. I'm sure I missed out by not playing on the 360 while it was hugely popular, but I'm glad the compatibility was always there to use the controllers between PC and Console. I always felt at home when playing on my friend's 360. Finally, in 2014 I got my own 360 console(black slim), which led me to wanting a few more controllers as backups and for achievement boosting.

Have never had much money, so I mainly targeted the ones I could find cheap. And while I ended up satisfying my need for backups, I kept finding cheap controllers I didn't know existed. Leading me down the path of a collector, but more so got addicted to seeing all the variations being sold on Ebay whether I could afford to buy them or not.

In the summer of 2018, I found a super cheap listing of the For Windows White/Grey Wireless Controller bundle, 2 sealed for $38. Which makes it a rather nice deal for a new controller and a PC receiver. They had the Windows Vista logo on it, and while I never specifically bought this packaging for my PC playing. I thought it was crazy to find something from 2007, in 2018, and being new/sealed at that.

The seller didn't have much of a history, and part of me wondered if they weren't official. But of course, I took the gamble and bought them. Once I got them, I wanted to find more info, but searches would come up empty. The seller didn't put the exact amount they had, but did change the listing to individual selling at $22-24. So, I kept watch, and over a few weeks, I watched nearly 100 of them get sold.

I think this is what started my interest in collecting what data I could on 360 controllers and by the fall of 2018, I started a guide that I thought would only have For Windows controllers in it, a quick and simple project to add data I found from multiple of places into 1 easy to find place.

As you can tell, it's now turned into a full on guide of every known controller. It's required lots of my time, sometimes even spending more time on this than actually playing with my controllers. So bit of irony there.

I hope others will be able to use this site or the doc to always know what official Xbox 360 controllers existed. Information gets lost over time. Many websites or store pages that had the information are long gone. So it seems silly, but I like knowing that this can be around to preserve the original history of 360 controllers.

Because I've been at this so long, I've ended up with many controllers, but not so good at getting all of the actual variations. In big part because I like having the minor ones as well, like having a For Windows white/grey packaging and then still the console packaging.