So, I bought a Hyperkin Duke...
...which, for those unfamiliar, is a remake of the original and infamously large controller to the original Xbox, launched in 2002. It was made famous by it's massive size and love/hate relationship with gamers. I'm guessing the taste for it boils down to hand size, it fits mine nicely.
Microsoft ended up releasing a smaller S model of the controller back in the day to better suit the general audience of the console. Drastically reducing size and increasing comfort for players that were complaining. To be blunt, the controller is not nice to use if your hands are small. You need to try it, before you buy it.
Back story
The main reason for it's size, which you can tell from my pictures, is that Microsoft relied on one single circuit board inside, Sony's controller manufacture did not. The PS2 controller had two circuit boards stacked inside, with a ribbon cable between them, thus reducing size. The company making the PS2 controller was Japanese and refused to help out a competing American company.
The result was that MS had to come up with their own size reduction, post-launch. The large launch controller, though, got it's famous nickname "The Duke".
Fast forward to recent years and two of the original Xbox creators, most famously the chief of Xbox at the time, Seamus Blackley, decided to remake the Duke for Xbox One and PC. After a large and positive following on Twitter, current Xbox chief Phil Spencer greenlit the project and Blackley, sitting on the rights for the controller, went ahead with planning and production together with old colleagues that made the original.
They had to settle for a third party company to make the somewhat risky project viable. Hyperkin was the chosen company, and for that reason, sadly, a wireless solution was out of the question.
Overview
On the original controller the large Xbox logo was a static round, shiny frame. However, it was intended to be used as a frame for a Dreamcast VMU-like screen. This idea was scrapped for the final release. This time around, though, they've added the original Xbox boot logo animation to it! Shown on a tiny OLED screen each time you press the button. Fun fact: this logo was generated by algorithms on the original hardware each time the console booted up, so getting hold of this tiny video sequence wasn't as easy as it sounds!
There are a few other differences from the original Duke. The two memory card/microphone slots on the top are, obviously, removed. A standard Xbox One mic input is added at the bottom. Right and left buttons are added as an alternative to the black and white face buttons for compatibility assurance with modern Xbox One titles.
The triggers underneath feature a higher quality feel, with a more springy press and the face buttons have the modern tactile feel. The sticks are also made of a plastic with more grip. Otherwise everything is alike.
Playtest
How has this reunion to the Duke been? I tested Halo: The Master Chief Collection first. Within, I could play the legendary Halo 1 & 2 from the OG Xbox, just like I did back in the day with the old Duke. Although Halo:MCC now runs everything at 4K with HDR, I got a nostalgic kick out of it. It was weird to be reintroduced to the long forgotten memories of playing these games back in the day, with the same feel of the controller!I also tested out Crimson Skies, Black and SSX3, all of which are OG Xbox games that are backwards compatible on the XB1 and the Xbox Series S/X family.
Apart from the obvious size, and therefore a large grip for the hands, don't get this controller if you think current controllers are too big. The first noticeable difference from modern controllers are the tops of the analogue sticks. As you can clearly see in my pictures, the left stick looks fairly normal, but the right stick has a pointy shape to it's top. At first I thought that shape would be strange, but since the right stick is typically used for looking around in a first person shooter it actually feels nice. Your hands are set further apart than a typical XB1/PS4 controller and the pad rests nicely in your lap too.
Elsewhere, the face buttons are oval shaped and the black/white buttons are placed above the typical A/B/X/Y ones. It's very neat for fighting games like Street Fighter, that typically have six buttons in use. Although, the smaller size of the black and white buttons make them a little oddly placed. I'd love to see a main modern controller take back the six face button layout. Something like Sega used to have on the Saturn.
Apart from the obvious size, and therefore a large grip for the hands, don't get this controller if you think current controllers are too big. The first noticeable difference from modern controllers are the tops of the analogue sticks. As you can clearly see in my pictures, the left stick looks fairly normal, but the right stick has a pointy shape to it's top. At first I thought that shape would be strange, but since the right stick is typically used for looking around in a first person shooter it actually feels nice. Your hands are set further apart than a typical XB1/PS4 controller and the pad rests nicely in your lap too.
Elsewhere, the face buttons are oval shaped and the black/white buttons are placed above the typical A/B/X/Y ones. It's very neat for fighting games like Street Fighter, that typically have six buttons in use. Although, the smaller size of the black and white buttons make them a little oddly placed. I'd love to see a main modern controller take back the six face button layout. Something like Sega used to have on the Saturn.
The D-pad on the Duke is bad, I could imagine playing 2D styled games to be underwhelming with it. They could maybe have changed it for the modern style on XB1 controllers for this remake, but then again it works fine to swap weapons and functions with.
Unless you have experience of using a Duke back on the OG Xbox and are planning on playing some of the old classics available through backwards compatible from that console, I wouldn't recommend this controller over the stock XB1 ones without trying one prior to purchase. After all, the shape and handling of a controller is often a very personal matter of taste from player to player.
The Duke may be consistently joked about from players that don't really have experience with it, merely for it's large size, but the joke is on the ignorant herd of sheep that follow the memes. For the players with the hands that need a larger controller, or the ones that need a different grip, really should give the Duke a try. It might end up as your favourite controller for a lot of older classics, especially first and third person shooters!
Recommended after testing your own grip and playstyle before purchase!
Summary
For such a strange project to actually finalise, in such a high quality product, is impressive. Not only is the controller really solid built, but it replicates it's old original perfectly. For those that have missed this giant controller and want to jump straight into a nostalgic memory, for old OG Xbox classics on the Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and PC, then this is a great purchase. While the lack of wireless support is indeed the biggest letdown, everything else is a positive reunion, well maybe not the d-pad.Unless you have experience of using a Duke back on the OG Xbox and are planning on playing some of the old classics available through backwards compatible from that console, I wouldn't recommend this controller over the stock XB1 ones without trying one prior to purchase. After all, the shape and handling of a controller is often a very personal matter of taste from player to player.
The Duke may be consistently joked about from players that don't really have experience with it, merely for it's large size, but the joke is on the ignorant herd of sheep that follow the memes. For the players with the hands that need a larger controller, or the ones that need a different grip, really should give the Duke a try. It might end up as your favourite controller for a lot of older classics, especially first and third person shooters!
Recommended after testing your own grip and playstyle before purchase!