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Which game controllers are worth buying?
If you're picking up a game console like the Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 Pro this holiday season, congratulations: You already have a great controller for your new system. Traditionally, third-party gamepads have always been a bit subpar, the kind of thing you buy cheap and pawn off on an unsuspecting younger sibling at playtime. But what if you want to game on your mobile device (or an Apple TV)? Or what if you're looking for an edge in your favorite console title? We've taken a look at the available controllers out there to find the best one for your needs, no matter which system you prefer.
Now the Xbox One Elite gamepad is even more customizable
Sure, the Xbox One Elite gamepad is tailored to however you want to use it. But if you'd rather have a controller that wasn't the standard black and grey, you'd have to opt for the hideous Gears of War 4 edition's stylings. Thankfully, that's no longer the case. Over a year later, Microsoft and Scuf (hardware partner and purveyors of pro-level gamepads) are offering the controllers in a bevy of colors and patterns.
PlayStation 4 has a pair of controllers made for pro gamers
The Xbox One has the Elite gamepad to satisfy the platform's pro gamers or people who just want a really nice gamepad. But Sony fans are stuck with a controller that's barely changed since the Playstation 4 launched in 2013. Rather than crafting one itself, Sony has announced it's working with the folks at Razer and Nacon to develop a pair of tournament-ready sticks.
New in our buyer's guide: The iPhone 6s, Surface Book and much more
Sorry we haven't updated the buyers's guide in a couple months -- we've been too busy pumping out reviews of all the new devices. Now that things have finally started to slow down (fingers crossed), let's take a step back and look at all the awesome stuff we've had a chance to test this fall. For starters, there's a bunch of excellent smartphones that we absolutely need to add to our guide. Namely: the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the Nexus 6P and 5X, and the Moto X Pure. On the tablet side, we're inducting both the iPad mini 4 and the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft makes another appearance in the laptop section, where we've added the Surface Book, along with Dell's Chromebook 13. Rounding out the list, we threw in a few miscellaneous items, including the new Xbox One Elite Wireless controller, the redesigned Sonos Play:5 wireless speaker and Google's $35 Chromecast Audio.
Xbox One update brings back Xbox 360's universal controller settings
You don't need to drop $150 on the Xbox One Elite controller to get access to one of its most prominent features: remapping the gamepad's buttons. Tucked away inside the Xbox One's new Windows 10-flavored menus is the app for changing what buttons do what on your standard Xbox One controller as well. Perhaps most notably, you can permanently invert the Y-axis (controlled with the right analog stick by default) to make aiming and moving the camera in third-person and first-person games, respectively, more to your liking. That feature is something that the Xbox 360 had at launch with its "game defaults" options that appeared during initial setup for the system. In terms of how the app works from the Elite to the vanilla controller, it's pretty similar aside from not being able to adjust thumbstick and trigger sensitivity. You'll find the new addition under Settings > Ease of Access > Button Mapping.
Xbox One bundle packs 1TB hybrid drive and Elite pad for $499
Microsoft is launching a premium "Elite" controller for the Xbox One next month, so of course it's also readying a new console bundle that includes the pad and a 1TB "Solid State Hybrid Drive" system. From November you'll be able to get the set for $499 -- pre-orders start today in the US and it'll be exclusive to GameStop and Microsoft Stores for the first month. For comparison, the regular 1TB Xbox One bundle costs $399 -- so with the $150 Elite controller thrown in, you're getting at least $50 in savings. If you need a reminder, Microsoft's new gamepad has an extra four bumpers on the back, "hair trigger locks" and the ability to customize the thumbsticks and D-pad with extra swappable parts.
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.
