Xbox One's Controller Torn Apart - All the New Stuff Revealed

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Richard Walker

Not only is your Xbox One controller designed to last you ten years, but it also does other stuff too. As well as enabling you to control games, the Xbox One controller is sporting around 40 innovations, and Microsoft has specified what some of those things are and what they mean for your next-gen gaming experiences.

Here's a rundown of some of the innovations the Xbox One controller will be packing:

  • Impulse Triggers - Xbox One has four vibration motors - one behind each trigger and one in each grip - providing precise haptic feedback to your fingertips. The idea is that it gives gamers a sense of "in-game directionality and depth" adding to the immersion in a game, bringing gunshots, crashes and explosions to life.
  • Higher Quality Headset Audio - Microsoft has improved the data transfer rate between the controller and console, enabling higher fidelity audio in communication headsets. In-game chat over Xbox Live, according to the team, will be in many cases clearer than talking on a phone.
  • Revamped Thumbsticks - Built for precision and comfort, the controller's analogue sticks are smaller and outlined with 'knurled' (bobbly) texture to improve grip. They require 25% less force to move (ha!) and the centre deadzone has been reduced.
  • New D-Pad - A cross-shaped d-pad replaces the old design, with more precision and tactile feedback for sports and fighting games in particular. Sweeping movements and combinations should be much easier to input.
  • Better Buttons - The controller's face buttons have been lower to the controller and have tighter spacing, which apparently makes the transition between each button smoother. They also look nicer thans to a three-step manufacturing process, and the Xbox guide button has moved to make the new view and menu buttons more accessible.
  • Seamless Connectivity - Invisible reflective technology and LEDs send a patterned infrared signal to your console and Kinect sensor, making the pairing between devices seamless. Kinect can associate the controller with whoever is holding it, meaning switching positions is monitored for local split-screen games et al.
  • Low Power State – Step away from the TV or the controller and it'll enter a low power state to conserve your battery. Pick it up again and it'll be immediately ready to use without having to resynchonise with your console.
  • Refined for Comfort - Apparently, the controller's ergonomic design has been honed to the closest tenth of a millimetre to ensure that it's as comfortable as it can possibly be in your hands. It's been tested across a broad age group making it suitable for all ages.
  • Angled Triggers and Bumpers - The triggers and bumpers have been carefully designed for performance and comfort. The specific angling allows for a natural fit for your fingers, and the triggers require a lighter pull, so squeezing it repeatedly is an easier and more precise action.
  • Internal Battery Cavity - The compartment that houses the controller's AA batteries is built into the interior of the controller, providing more room at the bottom for your fingers to grip. The controller is both wireless and wired, so you can plug it into your console with a mini USB cable and the connection automatically switches to preserve battery life. Presumably, you'll have to buy separate rechargeable battery packs. Again.

All of your old Xbox 360 accessories and peripherals won't work with Xbox One, so prepare to shell out for a bunch of new controllers and other bits of plastic to complement your shiny new console. Pricing on the Xbox One controller has yet to be confirmed.

Comments
60
  • Him, the face buttons are closer together. Looking at my 360 controller the buttons are pretty close at the moment. I just hope there won't be a problem where people start hitting multiple buttons at once.
  • hmm*
  • i always disable vibration
  • Good, the current controller is great, don't fix what isn't broken. I think everyone just wants it to last long, those things are expensive.
  • once we get used to it im sure it will feel great :)
  • 'Him' lol, you must have some serious sausage fingers if you managed to accidentally press i instead of m :) OT; I like the look of the new controller except for the bit at the top with guide button. It looks like they forgot to put the guide button on then added that section at a later point.
  • "next-gen gaming experience"...wait. You mean the Xbox One will play games?
  • i have to admit this is the one part of the console thats looking good to me, might have to have one for my PC
  • I have no interest in the Xbox One, but I'm really liking the controller. All I want to know is if it will be able to hook up to a PC.
  • So glad its not a built in rechargeable pack. Nothings worse than none removable batteries, right Apple fans?
  • how heavy will it be?
  • Nice breakdown, the new controller looks and sounds so sexy.
  • It does look better yeah. I'm liking the Low Power State bit, just makes batteries last longer which is a necessity in my house, endless batteries of unknown life in them scatter the kitchen drawers.
  • It looks like they improved the best controller ever ^^
  • Kind of reminds me of "the duke".
  • Too bad I'm not that interested in the Xbox One. I would really love this controller for my PC though.
  • @16 There is a wireless USB adapter for the current Xbox controllers, maybe they'll do one for this too.
  • i like the d-pad :)
  • Great info, but I remember seeing this earlier on Major Nelson's blog: http://majornelson.com/2013/06/06/more-details-about-xbox-one-controller/ Which he got his info from: http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/xbox-one-controller-feature Yet I don't see where you got your info from?
  • Controller looks great I love the 360 controller. Good to know they didn't change much. Now lets wait for some good news about the xbox one. I hope e3 clarifies a few things
  • It will literally be torn apart when Dark Souls 2 comes out on the xbone.
  • So basically not only does it look like the original Xbox controller, they're using the old school cross style D-pad that Nintendo have stuck with for decades while others went with the style the 360 had that Sega used for the Mega Drive in the mid 90s? Still not even tempted by this console because it doesn't sound like there's actually anything new being added, it's just bits and pieces that other consoles over the years have had. I'm also hoping the backwards compatibility and used games issues are fixed because even a massive price reduction to say £150 for the console wouldn't tempt me to get it with those two features. Honestly, until E3 happens, this console looks like a DVD player from 2001 with the original Xbox controller from 2002 but catering more to those with more money than sense who would buy brand new games at full price even though those games will end up being terrible (Aliens: Colonial Marines being a recent example).
  • "...compartment that houses the controller's AA batteries..." What year are we in? AA batteries? I don't miss the days of constantly recharging those things for my GameBoy Color and GBA, and making sure I had a spare pair fully charged, just in case. This thing should come with an internal battery or a battery pack, both of which can be recharged. Other than that I like the look of this. The 360 controller is comfy enough as it is, so if they have improved it then I can't wait to test it out.
  • How about a stronger thumb stick so my player does not walk away.
  • I love everything except for: "Revamped Thumbsticks - [...] They require 25% less force to move and the centre deadzone has been reduced." The stiffness of the sticks was my main reason for preferring the 360 controller over the PS3's. The PS3's sticks require very little force to move and it makes playing platformers and shooters extremely difficult for us strong-handed gamers.
  • I still haven't heard anything about a wired version. That's all i use. It goes back to knowing the pros were only allowed to use wired controller for MLG. That's wen i started using wired and haven't looked back.
  • @26 You must've skipped over this part: "Internal Battery Cavity - The compartment that houses the controller's AA batteries is built into the interior of the controller, providing more room at the bottom for your fingers to grip. The controller is both wireless and wired, so you can plug it into your console with a mini USB cable and the connection automatically switches to preserve battery life. Presumably, you'll have to buy separate rechargeable battery packs. Again."
  • @ i welcome this, battery packs are what i would hate because it runs out you have to play wired or charge it and wait, at least with actual batteries you can have recharagables and have as many spares as you want plus a set of good rechargeables in a 360 pad last weeks so its not like your running out all the time
  • This all sounds pretty good, but I agree with #25.
  • @25 i love the very little force in the sticks it takes to move the ps3 sticks. So i'm kind of opposite here, the faster i'm able to move the sticks means the better i'll be at aiming. At least that's how i am on ps3
  • but what about headsets?? i read accessories and peripherals but nothing on headsets (which dont really count as either)
  • @31 Higher Quality Headset Audio - Microsoft has improved the data transfer rate between the controller and console, enabling higher fidelity audio in communication headsets. In-game chat over Xbox Live, according to the team, will be in many cases clearer than talking on a phone. its the second thing on the list... oh and a head set is a peripheral
  • @32 for some reason my comment was cut. i did read that section i meant current headsets such as TBs, trittons, that sort of thing. headsets are not capped at the 360 quality (128kbs?) so i presume that if the new controller has the 2.5mm jack, all current headsets should work?
  • @17 it says in the article it has a USB charger. I know it says mini, but that must be the controller end. Hopefully this will stop all the pathetic 'not designed for games' and 'only works with Kinect' xbox one haters.
  • @35 That won't happen lets be real. Peeps on the internet need something to complain about and its cool to hate MS.
  • Love everything but the bit about the thumbsticks being easier to move, I want a lot of resistance mainly for racing-games and a lot of shooters...
  • The controller is the only good thing about the Xbox One.
  • Oh yay, I have to buy a new guitar hero controller or perhaps band set. Really?! Come on, with the rumours we have already (pre-owned game fees of £35 - as I said rumour so don't quote me on it)how much money will we be shelling out? Quite a fair bit I'm guessing :/
  • @32/34: I've been wondering the same since reveal. I noticed right away the connector on the controller didn't look the same. Maybe other people don't care because they don't use headsets ?
  • tighter spacing on the face buttons ... crap. Some of us have big thumbs and won't help. :|
  • @1 There's a behind the scenes video @ gametrailers.com showing the tests they do to stuff like that. It's pretty fascinating, judging how they tested the controller itself, I don't think there will be too many button slips lol
  • Any plans for a line of wired controllers? Don't judge... some people just prefer to deal with the clutter in exchange for a slightly better controller.
  • Dang it, I was hoping they would put some buttons underneath (one or two on each side). There is the occasional game that could use some extra buttons or hitting the ones they want have you let go of the sticks or some such. I had a programmable controller that had buttons underneath and it was great. Also, I was kind of hoping the controller would be programmable or be able to have the buttons reassigned. Many games do allow this, but not all and it would have been nice. These updates just seem like refinements with nothing really new or added. I would have thought an extra button or two could have been useful and if people did not like them, they would not have to use them. Oh well...
  • @44 The controller can plug in with a mini-USB cord, so even if there are no wired-only models, you can still play wired the whole time. I'm liking the sound of this controller. I highly doubt it, but it'd be cool if you could also use 360 controllers on the X1.
  • @41 agreed. i havnt seen anything on the interweb about it. and nobody on this site seems to ever ask constructive questions, just complaining. its pretty important for me as i have a surround sound headset that isnt even 12 months old yet, that cost a fair bit. (BF3 is the shiz with it!
  • they said the original xbox controllers were too big, so they made them smaller for the 360, and yet again they are making them slightly smaller. The original xbox controllers were perfectly fine in size, and I wouldn't say I have that large of hands. So why do they keep making them smaller?
  • If it works as well on PC as the 360 controller does, I'll get one. But fucking AA batteries again? You goddamn mad, Microsoft?! It is two thousand fucking thirteen, get with the times and put a fucking lithium-ion pack in there already.
  • 46, that's kind of cool, but it's not exactly what I'm asking. See, here, look. The 360 controller, you know it comes wired and wireless. Now, the wireless one, when you plug it into your console by the Play n Charge kit, doesn't become a wired controller. Basically, that wire is supplying power to the controller via the system, but, the controller is still using the wireless frequencies to communicate with the system. It's the reason that a wired 360 controller is PNP with a computer, but a wireless controller via the Play n Charge wire, can't be recognized by a computer without an external adapter sold by Microsoft. I ask, because I've owned many wireless and one wired. All my wireless controllers crapped out on me eventually; joysticks begin to drag too much, the batteries go to shit, whatever. Or I broke them, because I have a rage problem, lol. I currently own a wired controller. My wired controller never has and still doesn't have problems with joystick drag, it's responsive, it's light, it's balanced, it's cheaper, and I don't have to worry about its battery life ever. So, I'm just hoping I get the same option on this system.
  • But will my wired usb fight stick still work?
  • Glad they've not carried over the terrible twisty d-pad, which was actually worse for accuracy than the original ...
  • @49 AAs are actually with the times. YOU need to get with the times and get a decent set of rechargeables. Get a good set of eneloops and you'll never want for anything AA-battery related for the rest of your life. Literally.
  • Funny how so many of you don't aren't worried about them loosinging up the analog sticks. Do you people want the controller to suck for first person shooters as much as the ERGONOMIC NIGHTMARE DUAL SHOCK 3 Is? The PS3 controller has little to no resistance in their analog sticks and is the sole reason why I absolutely refuse to play any game from the First Person Shooter Genre on that console. Competitive gamers should be worried and so should anyone who plays alot of FPS games. This just keeps getting worse and worse.
  • Looks almost exactly the shape of a Wii U pro-controller with 360 button & stick layout - which is a good thing.
  • New features to make TV watching more enjoyable. Because the way it's set up, I'll barely be able to play any fucking games on it. Sure as shit won't be renting any.
  • @49 Totally agree with you on the Li-Ion battery packs! Those Ni-MH battery packs that are "supposed" to provide 25-hours of wireless gaming on the 360 were lucky to give you 16 - 18 hours. A good Li-Ion battery pack the size of that Ni-MH pack would yield about 60+ hours of wireless gaming. @53... YOU need to get with the times! If you had a cell phone with only a Ni-MH battery in it... you'd be cursing up a storm after getting 3 hours of use before needing to charge your phone again.
  • What's the physical durability and endurance like? If, worst case scenario, CoD pisses me off and I throw the controller. What's the abuse threshold I wonder????
  • At the price they are selling xbox one they could have easily put a charging dock. That would have been a nice addition cuz for now everything i read makes me wanna stay on the 360 or go back to PC
  • Hi Richard you might want to look at the end of Seamless Connectivity segment and @ 1 I know I hit two buttons sometimes get annoying
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