What if you have $500 of console buying money burning a hole in your pocket, but dont want to hand it over to billion dollar corporations?
We checked in with some prominent members of the All Games community to see how they'd spend the money, but with 3 rules:
-They can choose as many consoles as they want, as long as the total retail cost is $500 or less
-They can only choose new products. No rummaging through thrift stores or ebay listings.
-The systems can’t be from Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft
The Outerhaven writes: Hyperkin’s The Competitor blends the DualSense’s comfort with Xbox and PC functionality. Find out if this wired controller is worth the $49.99 price.
Hyperkin is showing off its latest Xbox and PC controller called The Competitor at CES 2025, which is a PS5-style gamepad with back buttons and Hall Effect sticks and triggers.
ehm so...
this looks Exacly like a Dualsense.
wonder if theres gonna be a lawsuit ha
No lawsuit. Also this is really cool. The controller is the number one reason why I don't Xbox.
@gold_drake I can't believe how many people agree with your statement. The layout of the DualSense is not copyrighted, the design of this controller is not 100% similar to the DualSense's. You don't get lawsuits for designing your product similarly to another's unless they have the exact same layout including button placement and shapes, symbol design, logos, etc. which this doesn't. You will find several 3rd party controllers that look very similar to DualSense's design and they haven't been sued.
@ninja:” Plenty a PlayStation controllers look like xbox ones so I see no issues“
Name 2 besides the sense since there’s plenty 🤦🏿😩
@CrimsonWing69 - The Nacon and Razer Wolverine controllers for PlayStation look more like Xbox controllers, they even have the offset control sticks as opposed to the Dualsense style. Scuf offered one before called the Vantage.
Razor wolverine v2 v3 Vitrix bfg pro any nacon pro controller. Not hard to find I've owned each off these currently using razor wolverine on my Ps5 Pro. So yes I've seen these controllers. The Vitrix controller even has modular analog modules that can be change to ps are xbox styles. People here can be dense at times.
If the shape of the controller would be 100% same then sure they would have some case. Buttons are Xbox labeled, xbox button, no touchpad and I dont think sony has patented the look of the D-pad or the position of the sticks.
I think the d-pad is patented. It used to be anyway. They shouldn't be able to patent geometry though, i.e. the shape of the controller, but I don't know.
Hyperkin wouldn't have made it if they thought they were going to be sued.
They worked with Xbox to remake the Duke and the 360 controller.
I think they understand what they can and can't.
@gold_drake - a patent for the shape of a controller? Maybe if they have an industrial design patent.
I'm willing to guess their patents include the functionality and unique features of the controller, not the shape considering we've seen countless PS4/PS5 controllers that could be said to resemble an Xbox controller with no issues.
Symmetrical analog sticks on an Xbox controller? Nah...
I rather wait for Sebile.
Symmetrical analog sticks are like kryptonite for the green fans since apparently they don't have symmetrical thumbs like the rest of all normal humans on this planet.
"It looks like a Sony controller."
Indeed. It does.
@Aloymetal
Still most gamers prefers the Xbox controller since it´s the best selling controller. Ask the PC fans.
Also interesting that this "new" Xbox controller with haptics for Xbox just popup at the same time the rumor about the Xbox Prime coming in 2026 hit the internet.
Very interesting indeed.
@Gamingsince1981
I think it´s a far better name than Playstation 5 Pro or "Professional" if you will.
Xbox will be entering next generation sooner to do their own thing, just like Nintendo. HYPED!
@Aloy
The sticks are asymmetrical for ergonomical reasons. Your thumbs naturally rest in those positions so that's where they placed the two most used parts of the controller - the face buttons and the left analog for movement. It's fine to prefer one or the other, but each controller has a reason behind its design.
PS created their controller at a time where analogs were new and movement was usually done with the D-pad. So prioritizing the left analog didn't make much sense back then. PS aren't going to change that now, their fanbase has grown up with that setup and it's synonymous with the PS brand. While it may not be as ergonomic from a technical point of view it isn't by any means uncomfortable, so it ultimately doesn't matter.
@Obsecure
"Still most gamers prefers the Xbox controller since it´s the best selling controller." I don't know where you got your stats from but based on NPD, the dualsense has been the best selling controller for quite some time now. and..."ask the PC fans"? really? ask those who prefer kb+m on which controller is best?
@Obscure_Observer
"Still most gamers prefers the Xbox controller since it´s the best selling controller. Ask the PC fans."
Windows doesn't exactly play nice with DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers (there is no native support for DualShock 3 or earlier PS controllers on Windows) with almost 0 games supporting DS outside of PS 1st party PC ports. Plenty of gamers including myself will not go out of their way to download 3rd party apps just to provide compatibility, where none exists officially, just to use a controller. Where available, I use DualSense on PC.
There really is no excuse for the shocking lack of support for PlayStation gamepads because they do function as generic joypads with each button showing and working in Windows' built-in gamepad testing/configuration tool. We have better native PS controller support on Android than Windows and Xbox controllers are $10 cheaper.
Gee, I can't even imagine why PC gamers - with well over 90% of all PC gamers being on Windows - would just choose the cheaper more widely supported option that is the Microsoft Xbox gamepad where a K/M just isn't optimal (i.e: racing games) over Microsoft's direct competitor's more expensive, poorly supported controllers?
There's absolutely no reason whatsoever for Microsoft to go out of their way to limit their direct competitors controllers functionality on their own PC OS and Microsoft are definitely not doing that wherever possible, right?
I'd be really surprised if MS is investing in the console space at this point. If anything is coming out next year I'd guess it's a streaming stick or something.
With XSX sales being worse than XB1, there's no way they'd release an incrementally better console next year for a super small set of customers. Phil alluded to that in an interview and said they're focusing more on the PC space, whatever that means. A new console with a new controller feature set is pretty unlikely imo.
I will be really surprised if they don't. Their ecosystem is still estimated to include close to 30 million people. No matter what fanboys say, this is a lot of people buying their games, purchasing DLC from their store, buying their overpriced accessories, etc. Not to mention that, for their streaming service to function, they need console hardware, as moving to PC servers would add an incredible overhead to their operations and eliminate any compatibility with Xbox One and Xbox Series games.
What I don't think they'll repeat next generation is the idea of having two different classes of devices—at least not with both being home consoles. Whether they choose to focus on the more powerful but less popular device, or the less powerful but better-selling one, only time will tell. Personally, I feel it’s going to be the former, with the latter being replaced by Xbox Cloud.
@crazyCoconuts
"I'd be really surprised if MS is investing in the console space at this point. If anything is coming out next year I'd guess it's a streaming stick or something."
Brace yourself for a rude awakening, pal.
Because that "streaming stick" of yours will be powered by some powerful AMD´s next gen RDNA 5 (or UDNA) GPU paired with a brand new Hybrid Compute System Architecture ARM64 vs x64 (Zen 6) O.o
Xbox Prime will be a very powerful full-fledged next gen system and NOT some mid-gen refresh system like the PS5 Pro or some ordinary streaming device like you´re predicting.
You heard from me first, so, mark my words!
Obscure, you are saying ms gave up on the series x and s by 2022? Because 2026 wouldn't leave much time for r&d otherwise..
@Vits, "for their streaming service to function, they need console hardware" - not sure i get what you mean there. The strategy from their perspective is that you pay hardly anything for the hardware (a streaming stick and controller) and then pay more monthly as a sub, which is right in line with what they've been pushing with kinda everything from Office 365 to Azure. They currently have Xboxes racked up in their data centers, but they're pushing for cross platform saves so that they can move to non-proprietary tech to host the games in the future, or just have Nvidia do it for them with GeForce NOW. So if you don't really need more power, just stick with the consoles you have. If you need more, rent the most powerful servers ever and stream it wherever you want.
No, they don't want to leave their user-base behind, but they're going to push them to a different future vs. what they think is continuing to make the same mistakes as the past - going head to head with PS is getting them diminishing returns.
@crazyCoconuts
They’re not pushing for cross-platform saves to transition to non-proprietary tech. In fact, this approach is the opposite of what Microsoft is doing with their cloud solutions. The reason comes down to a little thing called overhead: commercial PC hardware is absurdly expensive and offers extremely diminishing returns when used for streaming. That’s why both Stadia did and Amazon’s Luna still operate on relatively weak hardware, and why Nvidia’s service is so costly, limits gaming hours, and includes ads.
And again with the fanboy mentality. Microsoft isn’t concerned about Sony earning more revenue, as long as they’re expanding their ecosystem and bringing people. And for that, consoles are still a extremely important tool, one that gave them 30M this generation alone.
@mkis007
"Obscure, you are saying ms gave up on the series x and s by 2022? Because 2026 wouldn't leave much time for r&d otherwise.."
I´m not really sure if I´d understood what are you´re talking about, honestly.
So I´ll just go ahead assuming that you might be wondering *when* R&D for Xbox´s next generation console started. If that´s the case, it probably started prior to the Series consoles even hit the shelves.
They will throw something out there, but it will be even more of a cheaper and inferior product than this gen.
@obscured: “
Still most gamers prefers the Xbox controller since it´s the best selling controller. Ask the PC fans.”
.
Sure buddy whatever let you sleep at night, can you please remind us old timers how many times has the Xbox won a generation since it inception with “ the best selling controller “ .
If assuming you’re right it says a lot about quality of the product that you have to buy multiple time because of failure out of warranty.
PC = ⌨️🖱️………
🤦🏿🤣
Lol i genuinely tried using the Dualsense for shooters due to the gyroscope as I thought it would be more accurate and immersive.
But the sticks were just horrendous and the triggers are terrible. It's not just that it's symmetrical either the sticks are too close together. It's just a terribly built controller ergonomically overall. The buttons are all mushy as well. I gave up and sold it after a month of trying to get used to it.
People overhyped the Dualsense. Probably because it's the best Sony ever made. But it still doesn't compare to what I'm used to from Xbox. It just needs a gyroscope now.
I’ll stick to my Elite 2 controller. They may have questionable build quality but they feel premium and fits my hands perfectly.
From systems that could keep your beer cool, to oddities trying to get in on the popularity of VHS and laserdisc, you’ve got some very, very weird video game consoles out there.
I had the LaserActive... it was a nice collectors piece but not very practical. Especially when it came to needing recapping. I think i paid all of about $50 for the floor model from an incredible Universe back in the day. I ended up selling it many years later for $300 at the time due to it needing a new laser and the aforementioned recapping.
An honorable mention not on the list would be the VM Labs Nuon. It basically looked like any regular DVD player but it had ports on it for controllers to play specific games. one of which is still exclusive to it with Tempest 3000. It also offered nuon enhanced DVD movies with extra content not accessible by regular players.
I'd probably build a pc
@Lawson A 500 set up would satisfy me, i'm primarily a console gamer so a pc that could play most games at medium would be good enough.