Which controller did you start with?

Atari 2600 followed by NES

A commodore 64 joystick. Next was the NES controller.

NES controller

Atari 2600 joystick

Atari 2600 controller. Joystick & button.

My parents bought us a Nintendo 64 for Christmas when it came out.

Never played any games or consoles that came in between those two. It was wild.

3 button megadrive controller

Intellivision II and Commodore 64 with joystick. Not sure which one we had first first.

Commodore 64 joystick.

Spectrum +2A

PS3

I appear to be quite young around here...

Atari controller

We upgraded to a Wica controller (same thing as the Atari controller just with better parts so it didn’t break so easily.)

Not a controller per say, but does a mouse and keyboard count?

N64, and no I'm still not sure how to hold it, I always end up walking funny.

Radio Shack Pong game.

The NES controller. Though I like 2 at the time. First one I remember playing is the SNES controller.

Yall making me feel like a little kid

SNES

PS1. Unless mouse and keyboard counts….

Pong.

I played many systems before the Dreamcast but I consider that controller my first.

This bad boy:

(Mattel Intellivision)

Trackball/Portable computer keyboard, followed by NES

Vic-20 joystick and keyboard. And the rotary knob on the woodgrain "pong" game.

Sega Master System II

C64 joystick was the first (playing Professional Ski Simulator...) but the Mega Drive controller was the one I used everyday.

A PS1 controller (without analogs) 😊

Sega Master System II

An Atari 800 joystick, which was basically the same as the 2600 one. Many evenings spent playing Zaxxon, Miner 2049er, and so on, as well as simple games typed in from magazines.

Then I bought an NES and didn't look back. Super Mario Bros. was way more advanced, not only in terms of graphics but also the fluidity of movement and the game pad design. And it was more fun!

My first controller was probably an NES knockoff. Nintendo never did (and still doesn't) sell consoles officially in my home country.

If you're not counting the GBA SP's controls, my first official controller was the Wii's Wiimotes.

Technically NES but mostly N64. These days I just play everything on a PS5 controller. Pretty nice.

Sega Saturn controller. Unplugged while my Uncle played Sonic and told me I was Tails.

The weird-ass Dreamcast controller. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/619JtZlXpWL.jpg

I never did figure out what the slot in the top was for as a kid.

ps1 (dualshock)

Atari

Not counting dedicated Pong-type machines, this magnificent bastard. Still one of the best for precise twitch gaming with the short throw of the stick, and the paddles seemed slightly less prone to jitter.

Keyboard and mouse, but when I started using computers I was so young that my hands were too small to hold the mouse properly, so I left clicked with my thumb up until three or four years ago when I got my first ergonomic mouse. Kinda funny how long habits can stay with you.

I had tac-2 style joystick on my spectravideo sv-738

Xbox 360 controller. we got the console quite late, around 2012-ish? other than that we were mostly a pc household.

TI-99/4a keyboard.

I’ve just had to search for the right model but the earliest that I remember is the Coin Control Competition Pro 5000. We had it in a dark/deep blue colour.