The early to mid 2000s were a golden age for weird peripherals and novelty controllers. This was the age of Rockband guitars, Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard controllers, and all kinds of cheap third party knock-offs. The trend really came into popularity way back on the NES with the Power Glove, and from there no one seemed to learn that non-standard controllers would never be as successful.
Then there's the most infamous, unwieldy, and frankly baffling creation that was the chainsaw controllers sold to promote Resident Evil 4 in 2005. These boxy monstrosities made playing any game a chore, and were better off just being a collectors item than actually used. Thematically it kind of made sense, the chainsaw enemy from RE:4 is a highlight, but Leon himself never actually uses one in the game.
Fast forward over a decade to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Capcom has made a cute little reference to this odd marketing choice of their past. Reddit user Quitthesht noticed that when Ethan Winters, the player character, faces off with Jack Baker and he pulls out a chainsaw to attack you with, the color matches the yellow version of the old Gamecube chainsaw controller. To complete the reference, the chainsaw Ethan grabs to duel Jack with, yes it is that awesome, is a match for the controller's red edition.
While this is just a small nod to the gaudy controllers they sold way back in 2005, it is indicative of how Capcom has come to embrace the campy, somewhat ridiculous nature of a lot of their games. That tone was missing for a long time after Resident Evil: 4, but has started to come back when they took the RE series back to its roots in RE:7. A lot of people will probably look over such a small Easter Egg like this, but those who notice probably couldn't help but smile.
Resident Evil: Village is going to be the next game in the series, and we haven't seen much yet, but Ethan is supposed to be returning as the protagonist. Odds are he won't be swinging around a red chainsaw again, but who knows what other little throwbacks people will catch when the game finally comes out. Regardless of all that, though. this is still the controller you have nightmares about getting handed when going over to a friend's house to play games.
Source: Quitthesht/Reddit