@zod....what else do you think these wireless/cordless devices are powered by?
There are alkaline, lithium, NiMH, NiCAD, Coin Cell, Sealed Acid, etc....they are all batteries.
The battery argument is pointless. look at from another POV. user replaceable vs non-user replaceable. One of these is more convenient especially if the battery is no longer holding a charge.
I like that they spent so much on improving the controller, because it shows that they actually care about it, and not only about Kinect. I don't like how they say "Over 40" improvements, and they're things like "a light bar under a button".
Nintendo and Sony could say the same thing, and it would be true. Nintendo's even moreso as their main controller is totally different to the Wii's
@darth: That's exactly the type of comments I mean I hate.
You know damn well that the batteries in question would be the AA kind as opposed to the rechargeable kind in other controllers.
Furthermore- and this should be readily apparent by now, given how many times people have said it- there's virtually no difficulty replacing the battery in a DS3, AND it's cheap to do, to boot. Not to mention that the battery WITHIN the DS3 lasts for years; really, what reason is there to still be using AA batteries at this point?
@hicken...lol yeah i knew what zod was eluding to but it still needed to be clarified that batteries are batteries no matter the type.
As for your: "there's virtually no difficulty replacing the battery in a DS3, AND it's cheap to do"
you need to get the battery online as im sure they arent available at the local convenience store. then you need to open up the controller which there are vids that show how to do it.
vs just buying a pack of energizers and popping them into the battery compartment. I've opened my share of controllers and I guess your way is better. i stand corrected.
Why would I want inferior internal batteries, when my freaking eneloop outlast anything out there, easier to replace, holds a charge longers, last longer and can be replaced in two seconds flat and still be wireless.
That is instead of using a 6ft cable tethered to your console when you are out of battery on competing controllers like it is 1999!
@Hicken:
Why bother with the hassle of hunting down a third party battery, opening up your controller and risking exploding battery in your hand, when you can just use standard rechargeable AA.
In fact, AA can be used for a lot of other equipment like my TV remote!
been using my PS3 sixaxis (no rumble feature) since 2007 and the battery is still up and running. and I played MANY hours with it, this controller had some hard times and its still working very well.
My 360 controller tends to disconnect with the AA battery pack (the rechargeable from MS works flawlessly though), just randomly. bought a wired one to save the trouble.
Impressive that MS put so much effort in the controller shape and features. I'm happy to see that I can plug a standard micro ubs into the X1 controller and just play it wired. It's very convenient since I have a whole bunch of those cables already and you can get some pretty long cables for cheap online too.
The corporate apologising and awful immature excuses continue. I'm gonna help you out as always cause you simply cannot afford any logic. You're clearly so adamant to cling on to old technology, whilst maintaining a passion for Microsoft's future drive - it's awfully comical for you to push away something that is standard in almost every modern, high-tech consumer electronic device.
"Why would I want inferior internal batteries, when my freaking eneloop outlast anything out there easier to replace, holds a charge longers, last longer and can be replaced in two seconds flat and still be wireless."
You still have to take them out, hook them up, charge them, and then put them back into your controller. If you have a backup pair that you switch between, you still have to take them out of the controller, swap them, put the others on charge and replace the recently charged ones.
"That is instead of using a 6ft cable tethered to your console when you are out of battery on competing controllers like it is 1999!"
A PS3's controller's charge lasts somewhere up to 15 hours. The DualShock 4 will be the same if not more, and will charge whilst in standby mode, so all you need to do it take the controller that is in your hand, take the cord that is connected to your PS3/PS4, let it charge overnight, and oh man it's like you didn't actually have to do anything. How bizarre.
"Why bother with the hassle of hunting down a third party battery, opening up your controller and risking exploding battery in your hand, when you can just use standard rechargeable AA. "
Why bother with the hassle of finding the batteries if you somehow lost them, or if your charger broke or some crap like that. That's about as far fetched as your rebuttal sounds. And the "exploding battery" - yeah of course you'll pretend like that's ever going to happen in such a simple and quick operation.
"Hunting down" a third party? The hunting ends at typing in "dualshock replacement battery on amazon" -> click on first result -> add to basket -> order for £7 (inexpensive after a good 8-10 years of play). http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/r...
"In fact, AA can be used for a lot of other equipment like my TV remote!"
A TV remote is rarely used constantly like you'd use a game controller or other internal battery based device. Damn.
"Microsoft has spent more than $100 million on designing the Xbox One controller. It sounds like an extraordinary sum, but that includes the design of hundreds of pad prototypes, thousands of hours of user research studies, and creating new tooling and construction facilities. The project dragged on for two-and-a-half years."
yea, here's hoping a game for the current 360 other than that tank game. if that's ok w u.
also, according to the fanboys, the 360 controller is the best thing in the world so i dont see why microsoft needs to spend 2 1/2 years + 100m on a controller design.
but its not for me to decide so im simply sayin i'd rather have them make games instead.
and i dont think microsoft is the one who made some of those games u mentioned. i kind of want microsoft themselves to make some games as well if that is ok.
"i kind of want microsoft themselves to make some games as well if that is ok."
Why, what would that change. Would the game be better if MS made it themselves? Sony doesn't actually make the game they get their studios to do it for them.
MS does the same thing, they get a studio to make their games.
And yes, the 360 controller is the best controller. Any improvement will only make the best, better.
Meanwhile, Sony asked developers, did R&D of their own with gamers and internal developers and most likely spent less on a controller that has been largely praised so far as something really special, and even said to be better than the Xbox One controller in select cases.
I'm more interested in these 40+ improvements they've made. Like with most things recently, I want to see substance behind the claims. I mean if it's true and not a gross exaggeration why wouldn't MS just show us or tell us?
Sony is an 80 billion dollar a year corporation with 21.5 billion dolllars in cash reserves and some of the best engineers in the world. MS spent 1 billion dollars on a controller that still in 2013 runs on AA batteries. Sony may not have as big cash reserves as MS but they still managed to build a better studio network and a console with superior hardware.
X360 controller was great and I'm sure the X1 controller will be great with the improvements... but $100m simply to improve the X360 controller to get the X1 controller, I find that hard to believe and call that BS.
If I had Microsoft shares i would be worried simply because if this is true, then someone is clearly stealing a lot of money from Microsoft and claiming it's for X1 controller development costs.
I know right? The constant claims of "Xbox controller will always be better" and yet it looks the same and probably feels the same, with the DualShock 4 getting some resounding feedback about its feel and its inputs, and its differences and improvement in all aspects. It was already a solid controller for its purpose (not shooters), but just look at the DS4 feedback out there and people just really like it.
If this is true, then show us MS. Show us something other than trigger and button haptics. The 40+ improvements is something bold and they need to prove it if they've gonna come out and say it and say they spent a tenth of a billion on it.
Let me just do a little math. Ah...rule of thumb... 100 people x 500,000 x 2 years = $100M. Yep, sounds about right.
So, MS paid 100 people $500K each a year to come up with that thing...hmm..or say, 50 people, and spend the other $50M on materials? How do you need 100 people to make a freaking controller?
Are they freaking insane?
Well, it's more plausible this number came for somewhere where no sun shines...
At least MS improved the controller in allot of ways. Like better feedback and precision with all games.
Improved D pad so playing something like Killer Instinct or fighters is much easier.
I could careless if its using AA batteries, that's trivial to me.
EDIT: @Lwhit Some people in here are MS fans but I'm a fan of gaming and if MS did something to enhance games, then that's only good for the gamer in general.
@Abort The only thing you and Sony fans have to criticize is "the AAA batteries" you got nothing else to complain about.
Earlier in the summer the complaints were real.
May: Bad reveal and PR
June: DRM fiasco
May and June shared the same problems, understandable
Anything beyond that is whining and the usual complaining.
August: "AA batteries" is the complain of this month.
July: "Kinect in every box was the complain of last month
I love how all these Microsoft fans are marveling over the fact that their d pad might work this time. Lol Sony's d pad has been working since the beginning
And that required 100 million dollars? Just for improvements to a game controller?
Lol I don't know whether to be disturbed at how much MS spends on generally trivial things or laugh at the fact that even after wasting 100 million, they STILL require AA batteries.
Sorry but the x1 controller will officially smoke the ds4. Now with the d-pad that imitates the original nintendo design a rumble that is in the triggers and a completely different rumble layout design within the controller itself is impressive. 20% faster than bluetooth in terms of game lag because it uses wifidirect instead of bluetooth (wfidirect is 250mbps while bluetooth is 3mbps)- the controller knows when your not holding it so it goes into sleep mode to conserve battery and then when you hold it it automatically turns on.
Everyone knows this gen that the xbox 360 controller is the best controller and the only thing sony had that was better was its d-pad- and now with the dpad fixed it is the best conrtoller out there period. Sony holds advantages in hardware but microsoft will take the controller hands down.
Yeah i know it sucks it doesn't have built in batteries so ppl will buy rechargables and spend 20$ on energizer. While you have to deal with play 3 foot from the tv (usb cord is short) to charge your contoller while playing all we have to do is switch out a pair of batteries and put the ones that died to charge. This is an inherrent advantage for the x1 in this case.
Well said. They just have to bitch about something.
Batteries of all things, is my favorite, I think. Mostly because it's a matter of opinion, much like which controller is better.
Some people, like myself, would much rather have replaceable battery packs than an internal battery that I can't change.
@Lwhit6
That's a matter of personal preference, too. I happen to think the Sony D-Pad is the worst in gaming. 360's was terrible, too, but not as bad as that "4 separate buttons" crap that Sony does.
yep the d-pad on the ds surely does work.. but for me, the sticks are nearly useless, and most shooters last gen didn't even use the triggers... rendering the pos void for me.
i bought a cross battle adaptor and a wired 360 pad for my ps3.
Enough already. You can change the battery quickly and easily, well unless you don't have any fingers.
Amazon -> search keywords "dualshock replacement battery" -> add to basket -> order -> replace it -> lasts for ANOTHER 8-10 years with zero hassle.
"360's was terrible, too, but not as bad as that "4 separate buttons" crap that Sony does."
Wow. i've heard it all.
-
@ strifeblade
" a completely different rumble layout design within the controller itself "
DualShock 4 also has this. Hands-on feedback has shown this already, and it's extensive. The trigger rumble, is a cool addition I guess, but not really sure how that would be applied - will have to wait and see on that one.
"the controller knows when your not holding it so it goes into sleep mode to conserve battery and then when you hold it it automatically turns on."
Doesn't that whole touch sensing on/off functionality consume battery in of itself? As it stands, both Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers turn off manually when not in use. It's impressive if it does that when picking it up, but surely that would eat up charge to use motion detection?
"Everyone knows this gen that the xbox 360 controller is the best controller and the only thing sony had that was better was its d-pad- and now with the dpad fixed it is the best conrtoller out there period. "
Cannot really say everyone knows that because not everyone feels that way. I prefer a symmetrical design in my controller, and the angled analog sticks have never felt truly right to me, even after hours of play. Hands are symmetrical, and why the DPAD is down where your thumb is naturally placed instead of the analog stick, which is used far more than the DPAD in most games, doesn't make sense.
I respect your oppinion on the preference of the dualshock however for shooters- the triggers and control sticks felt better to me on 360. I found myself slipping when using the ds3 since the sticks are convex shape with no grip. Good to see they improved it however on the ds4.
Now to adresse the controller for the x1. I understand that the controller goes into a very low power consumption state that barely shaves any battery life (it is virtually off) but when you grab the controller it is automatically on (note that its on and connected not connecting).
In this gen with ps3 and 360 controllers- you leave the room and it turns off after sometime but when you ennter- you have to turn the controller back on and reconnect to the system. The x1 eliminates the connecting proccess or pressing the power button on the controller to connect.
I am not sure if it uses kinect to put the controller into a low power consumption state faster since it would know that you are not in the room so it would signal the controller into sleep state faster than current gen- this is the only thing i am not sure about.
have you ever in your life heard of a DS3 "running out of charge cycles"? I have friends who have launch window PS3s, still using the original controllers without rumble, and they get excellent life off a single charge to this day.
way I see it, the only reason Microsoft still insists on AA-batteries is because their engineers aren't as skilled as Sony's and so they can't reproduce the durability (consistent life off a single charge) that the batteries inside the DS3 displayed. nothing to be ashamed of, but that I guess is the reality when battling against a company which specialises in premium electronics.
Sony ships batteries with all their electronics that require use of a remote, so if there were any benifits to using AA-batteries in the controller they would've explored that avenue.
Here we go again. I've actually had to reply with this point 3 times in this thread already.
You CAN replace the battery on DualShock controllers. It's quick easy, painless and inexpensive considering the alternative of buying a new one after... 8-10 years of gaming on it.
I prefer the rechargeable battery kit instead of PS3's internal charge. I've had a PS3 for 4.5 years. Now, I have to recharge my controller twice a day, which isn't terrible. I have to charge my 360 controller every couple of days, and I play it more.
That is a lot of money for developing a controller. But after hearing all the different models and tons of research to get it perfected, It seems all well for us gamers. 1 billions in internal game development, 300,000 dedicated servers, 100 millions in controller design, and bringing back Killer Instinct to please its fans, I am quite satisfy at what I am going to buy this holiday.
And you know its a lie because you say so right? Oh wait you're helping build that infrastucture with MS engineers instead of leaving dumb comments on n4g without a hintbif evidence. Yea i think its that one
This is the best controller. Complaining about AA batteries is ridiculous. Plenty of people still use batteries and adding a battery in the controller would take away from the controllers functionality.
This is not the best controller. Everyone and their mother that has tried the ps4 and the xbox controller out say that the ps4's controller is better. It feels better, it looks better it has move capability built in (can you imagine using motion controls to navigate through menus? how fast that would be?) it has a freaking track pad and of course it doesnt have AA batteries. Seriously what is this the 90's?
Until I have both and see how they feel and actually work (in game and menus) neither is best IMO. I could care less what others' opinions are as "best" controls all come down to personal taste.
That said I like what I am hearing about both.
Touch pads btw are so 90s as well--glad to see consoles are finally catching up to PCs yet again.
No they still haven't fixed those analog sticks that sit low by the bottom of your thumb. They're sure to cause hand fatigue especially to people with big hands. Plus I'm not sure they fixed the small dead zones in the sticks. But they do have a bright blue light on the controllers to reflect off your tv screen into your eyes.
The PS4 controller is a huge improvement over the PS3 controller, but it isn't better than the XBOX One controller. I haven't seen anyone agree with your statement, "the ps4's controller is better," anywhere; not even on ign and most of those guys are Sony acolytes.
And....like a big deadzone is a plus. LOL. Damn, that thing drifts in all direction if you don't filter that out properly...some engineering skills right there.
The real question is, are there any real PS4 news coming so PS fanboys can hi-five each others over there instead of constantly trolling Xbox news like it will have an effect on their buying decision.
Already did. 12 AA eneloop batteries and a charger that I have from 2 years ago. Thanks for reminding me, gotta make sure to get them charged a day before XB1 launch. If I happened to forget to charge them by launch day, I'll just use my 10 feet micro USB cable and play as a wired controller without battery until my eneloops are fully charged. I like the flexibility. :)
A MS dev said the Kinect was as expensive as the console which alot of people thought meant in terms of manufacturing but it was later cleared up. What he meant was that the Kinect was close in R&D costs to the console itself.
So if you find out how much R&Dgoes into making the XB! its pretty much the same for the Kinect.
It somehow doesn't look as sleek and stylish as the original reveal shots. I suppose that's the difference between super expensive prototypes and standard production fodder.
I hope Sony fixed that small dead zone on their analog sticks. For those who don't know what that is look it up. Games like COD and Battlefield should have wider dead zones. That's why most 360 users are essentially better on COD. I'm an average master on the 360 because there's more competition. I can go to the COD on Playstation and dominate over Sony users. Look that too up to if you don't believe me. The 360 just had a better controller period. I can't imagine too much more they could have done to improve. Even the later models had an improved dpad...the silver ones with the rotating dpad. I can't wait to shoot a sniper gun and feel that rumble feedback in the trigger....all that power in my hands.
Maybe you can but the "average" 360 users is able to dominate over PS users. This is a one sided conversation that has been discussed previously on the net and YouTube. But I'm sure there are some PS users that are good regardless but I was talking about average.
Yea im surprised not many talk about the rumble on triggers imo that has to feel good and emersive when shooting.. I havnt used the xb1 pad yet but I cant wait just for that alone. It would be crazy if it feels different with stronger and weaker guns.
Are you nuts? Just use the dpad if you want digital controls. Seriously. I prefer the full range of an _ANALOG_ stick. Guess CoD is all you play then, huh?
Trust MS to **ck everything up by releasing an inferior console on paper, and make hardly any changes to a controller that was great to begin with in the current gen, yet still blow some companies' profit margins.
I like how sony fans say I hate kinect its just a gimmick I dont want are need ! And then a fuckin touch screen and a light bar on the ds4 and its the greatest thing ever !! Xbox one pad will be the boss !?
why did it take 2 months for these x1 praise articles to pop up? a month ago it was hate-filled story after story, and suddenly a complete 180? interesting.
"Microsoft has spent more than $100 million on designing the Xbox One controller".....LOL ! a controller with AA, batteries something is wrong with Microsoft's finances or the R/D team.
Sony fans in another positive xbox one article. And they always seem more active on forums towards evening time like vamps or better yet termites.can i ask? who do you guys report to?it seems you are all sent out in swarms to infest and destroy.there must be a queen cos you guys sure follow orders.you guys follow the progress of the xbox one even more than ms fans do and you make the most ignorant comments.some are just plain silly.and what amazes me is that you look forward to doing this everyday.instead of stalking every positive xbox one article why dont you guys just admit that you realise your errors and are now so in love with the console and want one.no one will make fun of you cause admitting is the first step.dont argue this we know its the truth..no body trolls this hard and long on an issue without some sort of emotional attachment...just having my fun though..smh..lol
100M? MS is just full of cash
Nice work MS.
Are the batteries included?
Spends $100 million. Still uses AA batteries.
That is a lot of money for developing a controller. But after hearing all the different models and tons of research to get it perfected, It seems all well for us gamers. 1 billions in internal game development, 300,000 dedicated servers, 100 millions in controller design, and bringing back Killer Instinct to please its fans, I am quite satisfy at what I am going to buy this holiday.
This is the best controller. Complaining about AA batteries is ridiculous. Plenty of people still use batteries and adding a battery in the controller would take away from the controllers functionality.