Solid Snake
King's Dry Cleaner
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2001
- Posts
- 392
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Xbox Controller XXL Dead
11-OCT-02
Eagle-eyed readers may have noted our story about the Xbox/Sega bundle package Microsoft is launching next week. This, as it turns out, is part of a larger shift in Microsoft's strategy—starting with the bundle, the company will gradually phase out the original Xbox controller, packing their systems instead with Controller S from now on. The new strategy, confirmed by Microsoft representatives earlier today, apparently came as a direct result of consumer criticism.
The Xbox's controller has been the target of controversy among game freaks ever since the system came out last November. A random Google search turns up everything from measured criticism ("unwieldy, uncomfortable, and difficult to use") to slightly less measured derision ("Apparently, to own an Xbox, you must have the hands of a large ape"). The Controller S was originally designed exclusively for the Xbox's Japanese release, but was released in America several weeks after the Japan launch. The smaller, more comfortable pad now actually outsells the original controller hands down in NPD's accessory ranking list.
Production of the so-called "Controller XXL" has already ceased, and the only way you can get your hands on a new one now is in a non-bundled Xbox system. (Don't forget the DVD kit refund offer, either.) Microsoft said that they will decide whether to dump the original controller forever sometime after Christmas.
So which package to buy? A tough choice, admittedly, but your hands will thank you immensely if you opt for the Controller S bundle. Trust us; we know.
Xbox Controller XXL Dead
11-OCT-02
Eagle-eyed readers may have noted our story about the Xbox/Sega bundle package Microsoft is launching next week. This, as it turns out, is part of a larger shift in Microsoft's strategy—starting with the bundle, the company will gradually phase out the original Xbox controller, packing their systems instead with Controller S from now on. The new strategy, confirmed by Microsoft representatives earlier today, apparently came as a direct result of consumer criticism.
The Xbox's controller has been the target of controversy among game freaks ever since the system came out last November. A random Google search turns up everything from measured criticism ("unwieldy, uncomfortable, and difficult to use") to slightly less measured derision ("Apparently, to own an Xbox, you must have the hands of a large ape"). The Controller S was originally designed exclusively for the Xbox's Japanese release, but was released in America several weeks after the Japan launch. The smaller, more comfortable pad now actually outsells the original controller hands down in NPD's accessory ranking list.
Production of the so-called "Controller XXL" has already ceased, and the only way you can get your hands on a new one now is in a non-bundled Xbox system. (Don't forget the DVD kit refund offer, either.) Microsoft said that they will decide whether to dump the original controller forever sometime after Christmas.
So which package to buy? A tough choice, admittedly, but your hands will thank you immensely if you opt for the Controller S bundle. Trust us; we know.
