# 516: Celebrating the Best (and Worst) Video Game Controllers - The Retro Hour EP516

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-retro-hour-retro-gaming-podcast-454884/516-celebrating-the-best-and-worst-video-game-controllers-the-retro-hour-ep516
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-retro-hour-retro-gaming-podcast-454884/516-celebrating-the-best-and-worst-video-game-controllers-the-retro-hour-ep516.md
Podcast: [The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-retro-hour-retro-gaming-podcast-454884)
Published: 2026-01-30T15:15:28+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8854791
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/arttrk.com/p/ABMA5/pscrb.fm/rss/p/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8854791.mp3?modified=1769786481&sid=4970769&source=rss
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-retro-hour-retro-gaming-podcast-454884/episodes/516-celebrating-the-best-and-worst-video-game-controllers-the-retro-hour-ep516
Duration seconds: 6474

## Resource

This week on The Retro Hour, we’re getting hands-on with the unsung heroes of gaming: video game controllers! We’re joined by Christian Wenk, author of Trigger Happy, a stunning visual celebration of over 200 iconic (and sometimes downright bizarre) controllers from gaming history. From mushy Commodore joysticks to the ergonomic oddities of the N64 and beyond, Christian shares the nostalgic stories, design quirks, and sheer passion that fuelled his epic project. Trigger Happy: https://tinyurl.com/2s4nyfpc Contents: 00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories 59:11 - Christian Wenk Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books - https://www.bitmapbooks.com Go to https://surfshark.com/retrohour or use code RETROHOUR at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Leeds Gaming Market: https://leedsgamingmarket.com/ Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://theretrohour.com/support/ https://www.patreon.com/retrohour Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 Website: http://theretrohour.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ X: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.com Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour Show notes PS3 Mod Breaks Limits: https://tinyurl.com/339xt3ky Escape 2049 Hits Mega Drive: https://tinyurl.com/5n7n7npe Atari ST Mini Teased: https://tinyurl.com/3af6pxhx Yakuza Arcade Game Ported: https://tinyurl.com/dzx7neps Atari Hotel Scaled Down: https://tinyurl.com/3j9atphj New Saturn Console Successor: https://tinyurl…

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