The game controller designed to interact with the original Xbox console, which comes in two versions. Both versions feature a faceplate with the Xbox logo on it, multicolored A, B, X, Y, Black, and White face buttons, asymmetrically placed analog sticks (an upper-left stick and a lower-right one), a disc-shaped D-pad underneath the left stick, Start and Back buttons, and two accessory slots.

The original version of the controller, nicknamed "The Duke", is known for its massive size. "The Duke" features elliptical face buttons, the Black and White buttons positioned above and right of the Y and B buttons, the Start and Back buttons placed between the right stick and the D-pad, and different designs for each of the analog sticks (the left stick featuring a concave center and the right stitch having a more convex crosshair design). Although it was derided when it first came out, it received enough modern-day support to warrant an officially licensed recreation for the Xbox One and Windows 10 manufactured by Hyperkin, who added a few modern touches including the addition of bumper buttons, the mapping of the original Black and White buttons to the later Xbox models' LB and RB buttons, an OLED screen in the faceplate (now made to be an Xbox One "Guide" button) that shows the original Xbox's boot sequence, and the removal of the no longer necessary accessory slots.

The second version, called the "Controller S", is smaller than "The Duke" and first released in Japan. It has circular face buttons, moves the Black and White buttons to be respectively under the B and A buttons, moves the Start and Back buttons to be underneath the left stick, features a redesigned (but still disc-shaped) D-pad, and features identical-looking concave analog sticks with four directional "nubs". This design proved more popular and would replace "The Duke" as the standard included controller worldwide, although "The Duke" was still sold as an optional accessory. The Controller S would also influence the design of the later Xbox 360 controller.