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Microsoft Unveils New Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

Posted by Soulskill on from the more-aerodynamic dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "Microsoft unveiled a new wireless Xbox 360 controller, which features a revamped D-pad that transforms from a plus to a disc. The new D-pad was developed to address complaints from users. Other new features include: A, B, X, and Y buttons that are gray instead of the standard red, green, yellow, and blue; and a matte silver color. The controller includes 2.4-GHz wireless technology with a 30-foot range."

10 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. As a Tester by Beardydog · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That D-Pad is shit. I can understand not being quite up-to-snuff for playing a game, but you can't even navigate menus with that thing. Forget about entering text. I can't believe it took this long to address "complaints" about the utter worthlessness of those buttons.

    1. Re:As a Tester by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Nintendo's patent expired in the late 1990's, hence the Dreamcast's d-pad. This was simply Microsoft trying to be creative and failing miserably.

  2. They did what? by Yvan256 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...new features include: A, B, X, and Y buttons that are gray instead of the standard red, green, yellow, and blue.

    What's the reason behind that? Did colorblind players hate the colored buttons? Aren't a lot of games referring to the button colors instead of the button letters?

    As for that transformer D-pad... The plus is still there in so-called disc mode, they should have made the remaining parts taller and concave to actually make a disc shape once the plus part is lowered. As usual, Microsoft has a good idea but screws up the implementation.

    And the silver color... all I can say is that the circle is complete. The new cool color for electronics is silver, like in the '70s! Next year, fake wood grain!

  3. Gray buttons by Kenoli · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Truly remarkable.
    How did they do it?

    1. Re:Gray buttons by MokuMokuRyoushi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      All ideas for a new design were remarked to be "colorless". A brilliant concept artist, in a moment of brilliance, shouted "That's it! No colors!"
      Aaaaand, I see little difference. Honestly, the lack of colors worsens it. So many games just spit out the color of the button for sequences, and now the color is gone. What a retarded thing to do...

      --
      Humans are terrible replicators of Godly things.
  4. Re:Still sucks. by joeflies · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So let's see - Microsoft is a monopoly that destroys companies on a number of fronts, has ongoing uneasy relationship of take and no give with the open source community, hurts consumers through various acts of evil, and then gets into the game business with its monopoly money sustaining the kind of huge loses that normal companies could not withstand.

    Sony riled up the /. community primarily because of its copy protection efforts - the Lik Sang cease & desist, had the infamous copy protection scandal, and removed the other OS option.

    And for that, Sony is "almost so evil" in comparison? I think that the scale of evil has been distorted somewhat.

  5. Hey Microsoft, here's why your D-Pad sucks by Greg_D · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It isn't because of the disc, it's because of the way that the d-pad acts when you play fighting games (which is about the only reason you'd actually need a revamped D-Pad in the first place). Why is it that every podunk Japanese fighting pad manufacturer out there can put out a pad which works fine with a game like Street Fighter, but you can't seem to get a handle on it? Look at ASCII's pads, figure out what they do, and replicate it. Problem solved.

    1. Re:Hey Microsoft, here's why your D-Pad sucks by lyinhart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Players that really care about controls in fighting games set down the gamepad and plunk down the money for a decent arcade stick. No gamepad on the planet can take the place of a good joystick controller.

      Games in most other genres seem to use the analog stick more than the digital pad, so the new d-pad doesn't seem all that useful....

      --
      Freedom is drinking a beer in the park when you're supposed to be at work.
  6. Color vs gray buttons in games by m1c4a1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I have Xbox and I use it on older CRT television. Some games give you a hint a they tell you to press a button. Because of the crapy resolution I can't recognize the letter, but I see the color. With this controller it will be harder. And how often do you use the D-pad?

  7. Modern D-Pads... by flimflammer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I never understood why the quality of d-pads has steadily taken a turn for the worse instead of better. I mean I understand analog sticks are the chosen medium of choice these days but I have to say Sony is the only company that still makes d-pads worth a damn anymore.

    The "fake analog" d-pad design with more than 4 directions is and always has been poorly thought out and never performs well. They need to go back to the idea that the d-pad should feel like different buttons, even if they're not.