Not for Retail

This controller was given to Microsoft employees that worked on the Xbox 360 during the 2005 launch. It was technically part of a console bundle with a matching green HDD trim counterpart. It's possible some of these were given out individually as well. The main special thing about the controller is the glossy green bottom trim, and it also has a unique part number with it ending in -005.

*This one is probably the easiest to fake, though, not that I have ever seen this being faked. As a safety precaution, I would still look at the back and make sure it has -005, and the serial ends in 544.

Bundled with the yellow Simpsons console and only 100 made. Was given out for a sweepstakes, and this was painted by a 3rd party company, Colorware. So this controller may not be considered official to some.

From Wikipedia: “To promote The Simpsons Movie, Microsoft created a specially designed, yellow Xbox 360 console. The configuration was based on the Xbox 360 package of the time, the only difference being the color scheme of the Xbox 360 console and wireless controller. The consoles were to be given out to winners of drawings taking place between July 18, 2007 and July 27, 2007, in which a name was randomly drawn each day in the "10 Days and 10 Chances to Win" sweepstakes. 100 consoles were produced in total”.

The controller is glossy yellow front and back, including a glossy yellow battery shell(with a white release button). Has a non-shiny guide button, white start/back, bumpers, sync, triggers, and glossy white top trim with “Microsoft” in the middle. Still has the normal grey thumbsticks, d-pad, bottom trim, and top/bottom input ports. Also appears to have no hologram sticker.

These were sent to press and Xbox MVPs only. The controllers came with a LIVE brochure that had a timeline from 2002 to 2007(5yr celebration of Xbox Live), showing the main games of each year.

The controller has one of the most unique designs. Shiny metallic orange front and back, with a Live Turns 5 logo on the front-left. Has a glossy white top/bottom trim and the non-shiny guide button. White start/back, bumpers, triggers along with a white sync button. Then grey thumbsticks and grey dpad. And I believe it only came with a white battery shell.

*As a side note, there is a ‘Live Is 5ive’ orange controller made by Llamma.com back around the same time. Wouldn’t count them as official, but do resemble just about everything the same as the Turns Five controllers but with Is 5ive on the left side.

Given to Microsoft Employees that worked on the NXE dashboard update for the Xbox 360 in 2008. Employees were also given a matching faceplate for the console as well. An ebayer claimed only 10 were made, but I feel like I’ve seen more out there, so unsure, probably was a super low amount, though.

Has a special glossy design on the front(blue and black pattern), with the words “Launch Team 2008 THE NEW XBOX EXPERIENCE”. The back is a plain matte white and the top trim is glossy black, while the bottom trim is matte black. Then, white start/back and triggers, but, black thumbsticks, d-pad, bumpers, and sync button along with a non-shiny guide button. According to the pictures, the serial sticker should also say “Not for Resale”.

I bought this on Ebay for $25.30 in Feb. 2018 in New/Loose condition, but it was in a foam wrapper with matching serial sticker. Not 100% sure on how official these would be considered, but the sticker and screws on the back have not been tampered with. So I consider these to have been made from Microsoft factories on a special order for the COD MW3 tournament.

It’s basically the standard Black/Black wired, but with the wireless MW3 front shell, black concave sticks, and the transforming d-pad. The controller itself also had lots of little clear protection strips along the top/bottom trims and even little strips on the triggers. I did play with the controller for a bit before I thought about taking pictures, so why the protection strips aren’t on the controller better.

*91 were sold on Ebay from that specific seller, so there are more out there. I couldn’t find much more information other than they were used in the Championship Finals of Call of duty Modern Warfare 3 in late 2011. With the serial ending in 133, that would put them to be made in August 2011.

Super small number made(only 5?). They were given away to select XBL members for being with Microsoft since the 2002 launch of Xbox Live. It came bundled in a matching 360 slim console. I also believe they were painted by Colorware since the hologram sticker isn't there.

It's a metallic silver front and back. Black normal thumbsticks, d-pad, start/back, bumpers, sync, and triggers. The top and bottom trims are a glossy black, with black top/bottom input ports as well. It appears to not have a hologram sticker, but does have a matching metallic battery shell/cover with a black release button.

It seems to be an official controller even though it comes in a standard, sealed ‘Liquid Black’ controller box that is labeled as For Japan Only(also standard for Japan packaging). The box also has a Copyright of 2011 and a standard Japan part number for the black wired controllers released there. All the seals were intact, and upon opening, it didn’t have the manuals or paperwork that I'm pretty sure should have been included if meant for retail.

I inspected the back of the controller, and the hologram sticker was legit, the serial on the controller matched the serial on the outer box and none of the screws or serial sticker show signs of being tampered with, meaning not shell swapped. It has the standard 9.7ft cord with the breakaway section, and while a weird thing to note, the smell upon opening reminded me of the same of other officials I've opened.

Between all of the above, I feel confident these are official. It's just a matter of why were they made and or what the intention was for them?

The wireless green camouflage came out in April of 2013. Using the last 3 digit serial trick, this wired controller ends in 309, putting it at being manufactured on Feb. 25th - Mar. 3rd of 2013. So nothing out of the ordinary there as far as dates.

I messaged the seller that sold them in Oct. 2019 on Ebay. They said there were about 20 of them in the back of a warehouse and the warehouse owner didn’t even know the controllers were there. The seller didn't say where the warehouse location was, but the seller was from California, so I presume the warehouse was there as well. It adds to the mystery of where these came from. Were they even made For Japan?

I personally suspect it was made for a Japanese dev team as gifts or maybe even as giveaways at a Japan gaming convention. But another person that bought one of these with me had the idea they were accidentally made while producing the wireless versions.

*Something I’ve noticed, fake wired boxes have a very wide/U like gap for the wire on the front, official boxes have a more slim/V like gap. Below has that V/slim gap, so that gave me inclination it was legit when buying.