Google Stadia controller pays homage to gaming lore with its Konami Code Easter egg

Google earlier today finally took the wraps off Stadia, the company’s cloud gaming service that debuts later this year. However, eagle-eyed viewers of the announcement noticed that the Stadia controller features an important piece of gaming lore: the Konami Code.

You can spot the famous cheat code on the back of the Stadia controller, though it’s only visible for a second or two during Google’s GDC 2019  presentation. We managed to grab a screenshot of the code, which you can see in the image below.

Polygon found that the Stadia website also features the Konami Code as an Easter egg. When you visit Stadia’s website, type out the Konami Code on your keyboard (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a). Once that’s done, the website presents you with a 3D model of the Stadia controller.

It’s a nice callback to the most recognizable cheat code out there. The Konami Code first showed up in 1986’s Gradius for the NES and gained popularity from its inclusion in the original Contra.

The Stadia controller likely won’t be as recognizable 33 years from now, but it still impresses. Connecting to your device via Wi-Fi, the controller features a dedicated Google Assistant button for in-game assistance and a Capture button to save and share your gameplay to YouTube.

Stadia will launch later this year in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and most of Europe.

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