You told me your favorite controller ever – and I don’t believe you

• December 6, 2025

Last month I ran a poll asking you, dear TechRadar readers, what your favourite controller of all time was. I included pretty much all the first-party controllers with thumbsticks I could think of, going as far back at the Nintendo 64.

I’d expected, like any self-respecting gamer, to have see the likes of the latest Xbox Wireless Controller, DualSense Wireless Controller, or maybe the DualShock 4, to top the list. But that didn’t happen.

Rather, the original Valve Steam Controller was voted as readers’ favourite controller of all time… yes really. It got 15% of the votes, putting it in first place, while second was taken by the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller with 13%; an older controller but a fantastic one for the time, and many years after it.

Third place went to the PlayStation DualSense Edge, one of the most modern controllers on the list, and a personal favorite of mine, with 11% of the vote. Now that pick makes a lot of sense, as does joint fourth place going to the latest Xbox Wireless Controller and DualSense with 9% of the vote respectively.

So those are the results the poll ended up kicking out. But here’s the thing: I’m not buying it.

Maybe it was because I headlined the article with the Steam Machine controller, so sucked in diehard Steam fans. Or maybe you thought I meant the controller built into the Steam Deck… or a lot of you are just trolling me.

I like what Valve tried to do with the original Steam Controller, but I simply can’t believe people think the weird trackpad-meets-gamepad design it made for the people’s favorite controller of all time.

Perhaps, I should have asked what you think the best controller of all time is, instead of favorite – as those can be different things.

So while I try and come up with a new poll that’s potentially troll-proof, why don’t you hop to the comments and tell me, genuinely, what your favorite controller of all time is and which of the big players has the best controller right now?

The best PC controllers

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Last month I ran a poll asking you, dear TechRadar readers, what your favourite controller of all time was. I included pretty much all the first-party controllers with thumbsticks I could think of, going as far back at the Nintendo 64. I’d expected, like any self-respecting gamer, to have see…