The Xbox 360 introduced the Xbox Guide button on its controller.
The Xbox 360 controller placed a glowing Xbox Guide button at the center of the gamepad. Pressing it opened the Guide interface, giving players access to profiles, messages, friends, downloadable content, music controls, and console settings without leaving the game completely.
The button became a defining part of Xbox controller design. It also acted as a power control in some situations and displayed a quadrant light pattern identifying the connected player on wireless controllers. The Xbox 360's wireless gamepad communicated with the console through Microsoft's proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless system.
Later Xbox One and Xbox Series controllers retained the central Xbox button, although the surrounding interface and controller shape changed. The original Xbox controller did not have the Guide button; its center area contained the Xbox logo but lacked the same system-wide navigation function.