Xbox Series X Controller: Microsoft Details Why The Series S/X Controller Is Unchanged


We are now just under a month away until the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

With the new consoles, we have all by now seen the controllers for both consoles.

One one side, the PS5 one is a vastly different design compared to the PS4. While the Series X/S looks similar to the standard Xbox controller we all know and love.

Now, a new blog post has offered some more insight regarding the design of the controller!

Design 

From the outside looking in, the new controller for the Series X/S looks pretty much the same as previous iterations. 

The notable change is without a doubt the new D-pad design, rather than the four individual buttons we have become accustomed too.

Joline Tang who runs the Microsoft Medium page posted a lengthy blog post detailing some of the critical decisions needed to be made for the controller. 

The new D-pad is directly influenced by their Elite Controller line and she noted: 

"Leveraging what they learned from the Elite Controller, the team ultimately designed a hybrid directional pad (D-pad) that incorporated both the standard cross and the faceted dish. Perfecting this approach required hundreds of iterations on just the angles of the D-pad."

click to enlarge

Weight, Size and More

One aspect that has remained unchanged from previous controllers is the weight, the new Series X/S controller is identical in weight to its predecessors.

 In terms of size, Joline noted that they were "following the 80/20 rule, they started examining the 20 percent that could be trimmed down and began rounding bumpers, shaving down parts of the triggers, and re-sculpting the grips."

This combined with the new texturized trigger buttons are all small additions that are going to go along way when playing. 

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