Nintendo claimed at this year's pre-E3 press conference that they were wary of revealing their Revolution controller because they feared that the competition would steal their ideas.  Maybe they have reason to hold back.  This video game console controller family tree traces the lineage from original Atari 2600 joystick to the classic Nintendo Entertainment System controller all the way up to the upcoming Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 controllers.

Interestingly enough, the family tree shows how major every controller since 1985 has been based on the original NES design.  The only two controllers on the tree that don't descend from the NES controller are the controllers for the Intellivision and Coleco, both of which are from before the NES's time.  Also of note on the tree are some of the more unconventional controller features, such as the Sega Saturn's massive size, the NES Max's thumb stick, the Nintendo Virtual Boy's double control pads, and the Sega Dreamcast's VMU ability.  Don't fall for the Photoshopped Nintendo Revolution controller either - it's a mock-up that really doesn't have a place on this tree since nobody knows just how it will or will not compare to past controllers.

(via waxy.org)