Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers

A survey of 200 controllers from collector and photographer Christian Wenk's personal collection, shot exclusively for this book. The scope runs from the earliest joysticks through classic gamepads, wireless innovations, and the stranger corners of controller history, including licensed oddities, regional exclusives, and designs that did not quite catch on. Co-written by veteran game journalist Steve Jarratt, the book is organized into four sections tracing how controller design evolved alongside the games themselves. Commentary comes from John Romero (DOOM), Trip Hawkins (Electronic Arts), James Rolfe (Angry Video Game Nerd), and Rare's Kevin Bayliss, among others. Five full-color art prints of iconic controllers are tucked into a pocket inside the cover. A4 hardcover, 396 pages, 560 photographs. Published November 2025.

Bitmap Books is a UK-based publisher specializing in high-quality retro gaming reference books. They work with experienced writers, designers, and photographers to produce books that are as well-researched as they are well-made. Trigger Happy is a good example of their approach at its best, a subject that could have been a simple photo book treated instead as a genuinely informative piece of gaming history. For readers interested in industrial design, game history, or the hardware that shaped how games are played.