Posted November 22, 2015
I got to try the new Xbox One Elite controller for a solid 10 hour try out. Some people may be interested in the result. But keep your fanboy crap out please, i don't give a shit about companies, MS, Sony, GOG who cares? If they sell something i want, then i buy it no matter the company.
I didn't steal it, honest. I helped out a PC illiterate friend build a new system that effectively saved him over $1000 on the high end proprietary name brand system he was going to buy- but didn't truly need. He used that saved money to upgrade his entertainment system, including purchasing a new Xbox One Elite system for his TV. That package came with CoD Black Ops 3 which he has no interest in and he offered it to me as he has no interest in that type of game. Though he fully intended me to trade it for something i wanted, of course i decide to at least play the single player campaign and we also swapped controllers whilst i played it, so i could try out the new Elite version.
The controller feels quality, not toy like as other controllers do. The case is a weird feeling "soft" plastic that feels silky smooth yet grips even when your hands get sweaty. The closest thing i can compare too is the material used in those self healing cutting matts. The underside has a toothed texture for grip. It feels heavy and solid.
The 6 sticks are metal can be fitted any way you like. Longer throw sticks are slower but give better precision, the reverse for shorter sticks. The case has what seem to be teflon inserts for the sticks which, with the metal sticks results in a really smooth feel.
The 2 metal "hat" switches swap around just as easily, one is just a metal version of the standard plastic one, the circular one is new and a vast improvement i found- it would be especially handy for something like Street Fighter IV combo's which i found impossible on the old 360 controller. The reverse side has provision for 4 flipper switches that can then be mapped to any other function of the controller. Though it's not advertised, the flippers are fully interchangeable and can be placed into any of the four slots...they can even end up with a slight overlap which effectively results in two buttons being pushed at once. I don't know if that is a design intention or if it's just accidental.
Lastly the triggers have a "hair trigger" setting on the back, that physically shortens the trigger throw and brings forward the trigger point. So for something like using the trigger for throttle control you use the long gradual throw, for shooting you use the shorter faster setting.
It comes with it's own little suitcase for storage of the controller and all the little pieces.
All the functions are programmable and swap able using the Xbox App and the controller has it's own memory to store and retrieve two settings. So this can be used to swap configs for any game regardless of if the game itself supports button mapping. I experimented and found for CoD what i worked for me was to use just the top two flippers assigned to L3 and R3, so that i could sprint and aim the sniper rifle without pressing those annoying stick buttons- which i always find tend to knock my aim off when i press them. I tried out some other things like using the bottom flippers assigned to the melee so that i could look around and melee at the same time, ie so you don't have to take your finger off the camera control to melee something. But for that game melee was so rare that i ended up removing the bottom flippers and not using them.
It also comes with a long braided micro USB cable to use it as a wired PC controller, which works with Win 10 automatically or Win 7 and 8 with a driver download. I think the PC app is going to have a lot more use as it's looking like the PC app will eventually be getting key mapping to all the functions of the controller. But i didn't try it on PC.
In my parts, the controller retails for AU$199! My verdict, is it worth AU$199? For me, no it's not. It's a luxury item, not an essential item. Is it the best controller i've used though? Yes, without a doubt- in fact nothing else i've used is even close. At some point i'll probably even buy one, but i haven't yet worked out at what price point it will become viable for me.
It does seem that a lot of people think the price is just fine. Demand has completely stripped supply. The first two batches have failed to even make it to store shelves and have all gone to pre-orders. It's still on pre-order for the next batch. So someone wants them. I checked on Ebay and people have been buying a AU$199 retail item for over AU$250! I assume some people just cannot wait for the supply to catch up. I've told my mate that maybe he should sell it on ebay and just buy a regular controller!
So here's the final thing to ponder...given that MS have proven this is viable, it's not going to be long before others clone the luxury controller concept ina more mass market way and force the price down.
I didn't steal it, honest. I helped out a PC illiterate friend build a new system that effectively saved him over $1000 on the high end proprietary name brand system he was going to buy- but didn't truly need. He used that saved money to upgrade his entertainment system, including purchasing a new Xbox One Elite system for his TV. That package came with CoD Black Ops 3 which he has no interest in and he offered it to me as he has no interest in that type of game. Though he fully intended me to trade it for something i wanted, of course i decide to at least play the single player campaign and we also swapped controllers whilst i played it, so i could try out the new Elite version.
The controller feels quality, not toy like as other controllers do. The case is a weird feeling "soft" plastic that feels silky smooth yet grips even when your hands get sweaty. The closest thing i can compare too is the material used in those self healing cutting matts. The underside has a toothed texture for grip. It feels heavy and solid.
The 6 sticks are metal can be fitted any way you like. Longer throw sticks are slower but give better precision, the reverse for shorter sticks. The case has what seem to be teflon inserts for the sticks which, with the metal sticks results in a really smooth feel.
The 2 metal "hat" switches swap around just as easily, one is just a metal version of the standard plastic one, the circular one is new and a vast improvement i found- it would be especially handy for something like Street Fighter IV combo's which i found impossible on the old 360 controller. The reverse side has provision for 4 flipper switches that can then be mapped to any other function of the controller. Though it's not advertised, the flippers are fully interchangeable and can be placed into any of the four slots...they can even end up with a slight overlap which effectively results in two buttons being pushed at once. I don't know if that is a design intention or if it's just accidental.
Lastly the triggers have a "hair trigger" setting on the back, that physically shortens the trigger throw and brings forward the trigger point. So for something like using the trigger for throttle control you use the long gradual throw, for shooting you use the shorter faster setting.
It comes with it's own little suitcase for storage of the controller and all the little pieces.
All the functions are programmable and swap able using the Xbox App and the controller has it's own memory to store and retrieve two settings. So this can be used to swap configs for any game regardless of if the game itself supports button mapping. I experimented and found for CoD what i worked for me was to use just the top two flippers assigned to L3 and R3, so that i could sprint and aim the sniper rifle without pressing those annoying stick buttons- which i always find tend to knock my aim off when i press them. I tried out some other things like using the bottom flippers assigned to the melee so that i could look around and melee at the same time, ie so you don't have to take your finger off the camera control to melee something. But for that game melee was so rare that i ended up removing the bottom flippers and not using them.
It also comes with a long braided micro USB cable to use it as a wired PC controller, which works with Win 10 automatically or Win 7 and 8 with a driver download. I think the PC app is going to have a lot more use as it's looking like the PC app will eventually be getting key mapping to all the functions of the controller. But i didn't try it on PC.
In my parts, the controller retails for AU$199! My verdict, is it worth AU$199? For me, no it's not. It's a luxury item, not an essential item. Is it the best controller i've used though? Yes, without a doubt- in fact nothing else i've used is even close. At some point i'll probably even buy one, but i haven't yet worked out at what price point it will become viable for me.
It does seem that a lot of people think the price is just fine. Demand has completely stripped supply. The first two batches have failed to even make it to store shelves and have all gone to pre-orders. It's still on pre-order for the next batch. So someone wants them. I checked on Ebay and people have been buying a AU$199 retail item for over AU$250! I assume some people just cannot wait for the supply to catch up. I've told my mate that maybe he should sell it on ebay and just buy a regular controller!
So here's the final thing to ponder...given that MS have proven this is viable, it's not going to be long before others clone the luxury controller concept ina more mass market way and force the price down.
