The ginormous ‘Duke’ is making a comeback baby! Once the laughingstock of the industry, a combination of nostalgia and irony has propelled it to production and Xbox One owners can finally own a tribute to the real Xbox One.
Production is being handled by Hyperkin, makers of retro controllers such as the SNES mouse, and ‘premium’ NES controller. They also handle replacement game cases for older consoles, cables, and of course a camo wireless gaming helmet.
#NewDuke will aim to retain the ‘same old feel’ while adding ‘many improvements’, according to Seamus Blackley, the ‘father of the Xbox’. Two extra shoulder buttons will be added to match current standards, and a detachable cable almost three meters long is provided for those that think wireless signals steal their brain activity.
Microsoft makes big things. Their super-sized, bigger-is-better attitude is part of the reason Japanese success has eluded them since joining the console gaming industry 16 years ago. Space is a valuable premium in Japan, hence their consistent support of mobile, the PSP/Vita, current love-affair with Nintendo’s Switch etc.
Sony’s PS2 did extremely well as a small console that doubled as an affordable DVD player. The original Xbox and its first controller were the size of a Japanese sofa and largely ignored.
Of course, cracking Japan is already a tall order for foreign companies. Microsoft was the first American company to take a stab at console development after Atari shut down their division in the late ’90s. Atari’s Jaguar also had a horribly large controller. Microsoft had the benefit of copying Sony’s industry standard controller layout, while Atari went with 12 NUMERICAL BUTTONS.
Will Sony answer the call of their competition and release the horrible prototype PS3 Boomerang controller?
Will this bring about a fad of ironically terrible controller throwbacks? Maybe we can expect to see these freaks in stores this Holiday.
Are you excited for the Duke? Do you have the space for it?
