Xbox One Controller Cost Hundreds of Millions

Xbox Accessories general manager, Zulfi Alam, told CVG that Microsoft has spent “hundreds of millions” designing the Xbox One’s controller. Alam said: “The investments in redesigning a controller go into the hundreds of millions of dollars in tooling and R&D costs”. He also said there was “pressure” on them as the original design, based on the Xbox 360’s controller was “something that people considered best-in-class”.

Microsoft are hoping the investments will turn a profit later in the year when the Xbox One launches. The controller, which will cost $60 separately from the console bundles has many new additions to the iconic Xbox 360 controller. The thumbsticks will have a new shape and grip texture, there will be a redesigned D-pad (finally!), and triggers, which have haptic feedback.

Apart from this, the Xbox One controller automatically knows who is playing, even when passed to a friend. This is due to the pad pairing with Xbox One’s Kinect. The battery pack is also inside the controller, rather than outside, like with the Xbox 360. This is to give players more room to hold the controller.