XboxElite
Latest
Xbox Elite controller opens up games to people with disabilities
AbleGamers program director Craig Kaufman knows he's done his job when a kid comes running up to him on a busy convention show floor and screams, "I can stab people now!" "And I'm like, you shouldn't yell that in public -- but it's exciting," Kaufman says. "All the kid wanted to do was stab people and we helped him." Kaufman is talking about stabbing people in Call of Duty, not real life. The AbleGamers Charity's core mission is to open up gaming to people with disabilities, which often means giving away specialized controllers that respond to breathing, can be mounted on wheelchairs, or offer single-click solutions for more complicated actions like using analog sticks. However, AbleGamers is always looking for simpler and more accessible options, and this year they found one: the $150 Xbox Elite controller.
The best PC gaming controller
By Kimber Streams This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. After putting in 15 hours of research and testing—in addition to hundreds of hours gaming on controllers in years past—and enlisting the help of an experienced panel of gamers, we found that the Sony DualShock 4 Wireless Controller (yes, the one that comes with the PlayStation 4) is the best gaming controller to use with your computer. In fact, we concluded that all the best PC controllers are console controllers. But a gaming controller is a highly personal object, and your preferences may differ based on your hand size, gaming style, and operating system. If you already own a controller that you love, you probably don't need to buy a new one.
Xbox One Elite controller review: A better gamepad at a steep price
Is a gamepad worth $150? That's the question Microsoft is asking with the Xbox One Elite controller, a revamp of its almost two-year-old paddle that shipped with the Xbox One. The company isn't targeting this as a device for the mainstream, though. Rather, the Elite is instead for highly competitive gamers -- the type that'd mod their controllers with third-party accessories for greater precision. The customization it offers comes at a steep price, costing over twice as much as the standard $60 controller.Why should you care? Because the vanilla Xbox One controller feels like a cheap knock-off of the vaunted Xbox 360 pad that came before it. Microsoft said it spent over $100 million designing it, considering smell-o-vision and even a built-in projector for the gamepad, only to wind up with a mostly inferior clone. It has too many sharp edges, feels incredibly hollow and seems, well, cheap. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I don't play my Xbox One much as my PlayStation 4 is because I prefer the latter's DualShock 4 controller. Keep all that in mind when you consider the following statement: I've been using the Elite controller for almost a week and I haven't wanted to put it down; this is the Xbox One gamepad we should've had from the outset.
All the news you need to know from Day Two of E3 2015
Day Two at E3 2015 means there's finally some breathing room between briefings, press conferences and literal breathing to play some of these rather exciting games. This year's E3 has turned into a pretty good one, with strong games across all the major consoles and platforms. We've interviewed some of the most influential players in gaming, including Sony PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida, games maestro Keiji Inafune and a few more. We explored space in an Oculus Rift-based spacesuit, think there's possibly a new king of the soccer games and took a deeper look at Xbox's new Elite games controller. One more day to go, so many games left to play. We'll sleep when we're dead. Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
Microsoft watched gamers at home to design the new Xbox Elite controller
By now, if you're an Xbox One gamer, you know that Microsoft has a pretty badass controller on the horizon. But what's truly interesting about the new Elite controller, announced at the company's major E3 press event this week, is that it's the product of several in-home research sessions. According to Xbox Hardware Project Manager David Prien, the company realized that today's gamers are all about "customization and personalization." And so Prien's team enlisted pro-gamers picked from leaderboards on the company's own Xbox titles to help mold this new modular controller design. But if you thought that the Elite controller was just for gaming's cream of the crop players, you'd be mistaken. Prien assured us that it's "not just for the pro-gamer. The idea here is that everyone can benefit from this." He also said that the hardware team had a "laundry list of over 100 feature sets," though, understandably, not all of that made it into the final design. We had an opportunity to get some close-up time with the new Elite controller here on the showfloor, so be sure to watch our interview with Prien below.
Elite owners, get HDD migration cable for free
New Xbox 360 Elite owners who've upgraded from a Core/Premium 360 may have been a little bummed to find out that there is no way to transfer an old HDD's data over to the Elite. But fear not, because Microsoft will give you a HDD migration cable for free ... you just have to ask for it. Either give Microsoft a ring-ring on the telephone or use the official migration cable order form and send it off. Full details can be found here. And be sure to keep using your 20GB HDD until the migration cable arrives, otherwise you'll have game saves on two HDDs causing you to lose data. And lost data is the suxorz.[Via Digg]
Happy Xbox 360 Elite launch day!
No matter if you are somewhat annoyed by the black beast or have been anticipating its release since its announcement, the Xbox 360 Elite is officially here. Today, April 29, 2007, is Xbox 360 Elite launch day when retailers can officially put the black console up on the shelves and fanboys all over the US can have it in their possession for a mere $479. Again, congratulations Xbox 360 Elite, we welcome you to the 360 family even if you are a different color, more expensive, have a bigger HDD, and are somewhat cocky (group hug).So fanboys, how will you be celebrating Xbox 360 Elite launch day? Will you be trading up to an Elite purchase or will you simply acknowledge its existence and carry on gaming on your white console?
Joystiq unboxes the Xbox 360 Elite
The evil menace known as Joystiq received their Xbox 360 Elite today. As is only fitting, Joystiq set about performing the unboxing ritual with utmost care. As you might expect, the box contained an Xbox 360 elite and all the related goodies (HDMI cable, audio cable, 120GB HDD, and all that jazz). The HDD transfer cable -- used to copy your 20GB HDD data over to the 120GB HDD -- was packed outside of the box for some reason. We surmise, as does Joystiq, that this does not represent final packaging. Other than that, there isn't anything particularly remarkable about the Elite. It's black, it plays games, and ... um ... it's black.Check out Joystiq's Elite gallery for more pictures of the unboxing.
360 Elite trade-in offer further clarified
The Gamestop Xbox 360 trade-in increase we talked about earlier in the week needs further clarification due to the evidence we just received. Kevin, a Gamestop assistant manager, sent us scans of the actual coupon flyers for the Elite trade-in promotion. All the Xbox 360 trade-in increases that what we reported on earlier ($250 Premium, $200 Core, $50 Xbox) are correct, but the promotional dates and how the program works is a little different than what we were told. In a memo to Gamestop managers, it clearly states that the Xbox 360 Elite trade-in coupon flyers must be held until April 29th (Elite launch day), when they'll be given out to all Elite purchasers. Then, before May 27th, you can bring in your special coupon from the flyer, old Xbox 360, and the receipt from your Elite purchase to get the increased trade-in values. This will allow you to buy an Elite, take it home, transfer all your data from your old 360, and then go back to Gamestop to trade it in for the increased value.Sorry for the confusion everyone, but it sounds like the managers we talked to either don't read their memos or just don't care what corporate says. We can't argue with flyer scans from Kevin. Xbox 360 Elite flyer proof posted after the break.
Confirmed: 360 trade-in value increased [update 2]
Over the past few days there has been a few rumors hitting the web about potential Xbox 360 trade-in prices increasing over at EB Games and Gamestop for the launch of the Elite. Well, we got in touch with a few Gamestop managers and it's true. The promotion started today and dramatically increases the trade-in value for original Xboxes, Xbox 360 Cores, and Xbox 360 Premiums. If you trade in a Premium 360 they'll give you $250 in-store credit, $200 in-store credit for a 360 Core, and $50 for an original Xbox. These trade-in price have increased pretty dramatically, because last week Gamestop was only paying $190 for an Xbox 360 Premium, now upped by $60. Both Gamestop managers also said that the new trade-in credit does not have to go towards an Xbox 360 Elite, but what other reason would you have for selling your 360? There you have it all wrapped up and confirmed. More trade-in cash for your old Xbox 360 to buy yourself a black Elite if you so choose.Update 1: We're thinking there may be a little confusion in Gamestop's head. We just got word from Kevin (who works at Gamestop) that the trade-in program uses coupons that are not valid until April 29th. Kevin says that the only way to increase the trade-in value is to use these coupons and the only way to get these coupons is to buy an Elite. So, according to him, you need to buy an Elite to get the increased trade in value. But, we double checked with our local Gamestop managers and they still are saying we could come in today and they'll pay us $250 for a Premium 360. Maybe all the stores just aren't on the same page ... silly Gamestop.Update 2: Even more details have emerged.
Japan to get the 360 Elite
The QuickJump Network's 360 site reported that according to a press release from Microsoft Japan, The Land of the Rising Sun will be getting its hands on the Elite, as there were rumblings that it wouldn't make the trip to the Far East. Of course, there were no specifics as to when the third SKU would be showing up on Japanese store shelves. We can only guess if the Xbox 360 Elite will catch the attention of the Japanese consumer when it actually does come out and hopefully the price point will be proportionate to the Elite here in North America.
Pre-order the Xbox 360 Elite? Not at GameStop
According to Evil Avatar, GameStop and EB Games will not be taking pre-orders for the upcoming Xbox 360 Elite. The decision not to take pre-orders apparently stems from an uncertain number of consoles being allocated to each store. EvAv notes that there is no confirmation about whether or not customers will be able to pre-order the fabulously expensive 120GB hard drive.So, if you want to snag an Xbox 360 Elite, you'd best be prepared to wait in line for one. Well, that or you could pre-order it somewhere else. Has anyone out there pre-ordered an Elite?
Dean asks: What makes HDMI so great?
Journalist for the Mercury News and all around Xbox guru, Dean Takahashi, recently raised an important question. The question: who really needs HDMI? Of course, Takahashi is referring to the Xbox 360 Elite and its inclusion of an HDMI interface. Who better to answer the question than Kasey Holman, senior director of Corporate Marketing, HDMI Licensing, LLC. She couldn't be biased at all, right? Obvious sarcasm aside, Holman made the following arguments for the greatness of HDMI. HDMI provides the best video quality as there are no loss conversions involved, unlike component. The all digital signal will create sharper pictures without the ghosting or softness found through component. Smaller, high contrast details like text display this most prominently. HDMI provides superior digital audio (it supports up to 8 channels at 192kHz, uncompressed). HDMI is the future standard of High Definition content. Within a few years, content producers may activate a usage restraint token that won't allow High Definition playback over unprotected interfaces (i.e. component). Through an HDMI connection, the Xbox 360 will automatically detect the best settings for each television to which it is connected. In other words, users will no longer have to manually adjust resolutions and aspect ratios. These adjustments will be mad automatically according to the TV's specifications. HDMI sends both audio and video through the same cable, eliminating the need for separate cables. Of course, users of optical audio will beg to differ, but it does simplify things like System Link play. There you have it, 5 reasons HDMI owns component. Anyone out there picking up the Elite solely for HDMI?
360 Elite launch date MIA in Europe
With the announcement of the Xbox 360 Elite came a flurry of news posts around the intertron, many of them featured right here. While the box has been confirmed for an April 29th release here in the States, our friends across the Atlantic have yet to receive any official date from Microsoft. So far, Eurogamer has conjured up two sources pointing to the nebulous date of late summer. The first source is Albert Penello, Microsoft's director of global platform marketing, who spoke on Major Nelson's 360 Elite blogcast. The second source, a spokesperson from retailer HMV, also suggested late summer, adding that they would likely receive the new SKU "sooner rather than later." When questioned about the launch date, Microsoft responded that it was still awaiting confirmation of the European launch date.
Every PS3 gamer gets an "Elite" system
As fanboys of the competition, we feel it's necessary to write a little about the new XBox Elite thing. Is this flamebait? Most likely, but it's our attempt to look at the "value" behind the system and why the PS3 is still the most badass for the price. Joystiq commented on the new features coming to the XBL Marketplace and we have to tip our hat to Microsoft -- those are some great features and we're not sure why Sony hasn't implemented similar ones, since Sony is a gigantic music and film distributor.When Joystiq cracked the price and details of the system, we looked it over and said "really? That's pretty unimpressive." We're not alone. Sure, the 120GB hard drive is nice, but PS3 owners can easily swap their 60GB for whatever size they want. About the unimpressiveness, though, even the editors over at EGM/1UP are pretty upset. "No built-in HD-DVD? No built-in Wi-Fi? This new Xbox 360 SKU hardly seems 'Elite' to me. I'm all for a higher-end model, but the lack of those key features makes this one feel half-baked. And actually, this announcement serves as just another reminder that the PlayStation 3 -- at least in terms of hardware -- still offers more." Word.To top it all off, Dave Karraker, bigwig of Sony America, gave PS3 owners the ultimate compliment and the semi-ultimate smackdown on Microsoft's "new" product: "We view every single PlayStation consumer as an elite consumer. Meaning no one is going to get shortchanged at the end of the day, whether they bought one on day one or just yesterday." We are elite, folks! What do you guys think of the new 360? Is it worth the trouble, worthless, or an inferior attempt to offer what the PS3 always has -- and always will -- offer?
