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Xbox Series controller: Is it an improvement?

PaulLFC

PaulLFC

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,166
I think it's a great improvement. The share button is nice, as are the textured triggers. USB-C, while just moving with the times, is appreciated too. I wasn't sure what I'd make of the new d-pad before I tried it, but I love it. I liked the previous gen d-pad, and this is even better.

While I like the textured grips, I still hope they release a controller with the "diamond grips" from the lunar white Xbox One controller in the future, as those rubber grips are even better.
 
CasuallyDressed

CasuallyDressed

Member
Jan 13, 2020
1,334
Coming from the launch One pad, definitely. The sticks and d-pad feel fantastic and precise, and I love the ergonomics and textured grip. Great controller.
 
Gassy_N0va

Gassy_N0va

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,747
Pretty much seems like another great refinement on a great design. My only wish is that they had gone the extra mile and added paddles to the standard controller.
 

Deleted member 85120

Banned
Nov 10, 2020
131
Coming from a day one edition Xbox One, then a Scoprio edition One X, the difference has been night and day.

Feels smaller, but much more solid and premium, the textured grips and triggers are really nice, and the vibration seems to be improved also. I'm really happy with it.
 
Banderdash

Banderdash

Chicken Chaser
Member
Nov 16, 2017
2,468
Australia
It could be just a little bit heavier.
I'm coming from an elite series one... and preferred the weight of that one.

Anyone making shells or cases for them yet?
 
Godzilla24

Godzilla24

Member
Nov 12, 2017
3,371
the controller is pretty much perfection. Not much MS can do to improve it. I don't want them to add any gimmicky things like touchpad or anything like that. Just keep it simple.
 
R1CHO

R1CHO

Member
Oct 28, 2017
751
I don't like the grip on the back, unnecesary.

The dpad is ok.

The blue & white combo is ugly compared to my previous full blue xbox controller.

I dunn, I don't really feel much has change, it's a good controller, but I don't feel that jump of quality people are talking about on the sticks for example, it was already good.
 
Edge

Edge

A King's Landing
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,012
Celle, Germany
That nobody talks about the heavenly refined vibrations makes me sad.
It's no PS5 controller but vibrations feel so buttery smooth and soft and elegant now. Feels fantastic.
 
_Aaron_

_Aaron_

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,216
It's good. I bought one for PC because one of the triggers broke on my Xbox One controller.

It's very similar to the Xbox One controller but the tweaks are definite improvements. The Xbox One recharge kit works fine with it – you just need a USB-C cable, so that compatibility is a plus for me.
 
Emick81

Emick81

Member
Jan 17, 2018
973
For Xbox Series S/X it is great because of the reduced latency of input. I feel much more in control.

That might be something that only Xbox can benefit from.
 
Rev408

Rev408

Member
Dec 28, 2017
1,505
Does the standard play & charge fit the new controller? I have an energizer branded kit and the back doesn't fit :(
Aside from that I love it!
 
Blue Ninja

Blue Ninja

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,765
Belgium
It feels a lot better than the One controller. I have some issues with the triggers, especially the right trigger sometimes jams against the inside of the controller, but it's a minor annoyance.
 
Achtung

Achtung

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,036
I love it... feels amazing in my hands. Obviously its minor adjustments but whatever they did feels great to me.
 
dr.rocktopus

dr.rocktopus

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
7,257
At least for racing games (or things where you press the triggers down for long periods of time), it's a hair too small for me. The One controller has a little more meat up top which gave me more support for my index fingers. In other games for me it's great as I have the opportunity to "reset" my fingers after pressing the triggers. In racing games, my index fingers start to jut outwards because of how I actuate the trigger: I curl my finger towards itself via the second knuckle from the finger tip instead of moving the whole finger from the knuckle at the base of the hand.

The rest of the changes - materials, textures, the new D-pad, etc. - are perfect. The One controller was already my favorite controller and they improved it in the areas it needed it. In hand, it feels OG Xbox Controller S compact and dense.
 
Blue Ninja

Blue Ninja

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,765
Belgium
dr.rocktopus said:
At least for racing games (or things where you press the triggers down for long periods of time), it's a hair too small for me. The One controller has a little more meat up top which gave me more support for my index fingers. In other games for me it's great as I have the opportunity to "reset" my fingers after pressing the triggers. In racing games, my index fingers start to jut outwards because of how I actuate the trigger: I curl my finger towards itself via the second knuckle from the finger tip instead of moving the whole finger from the knuckle at the base of the hand.

The rest of the changes - materials, textures, the new D-pad, etc. - are perfect. The One controller was already my favorite controller and they improved it in the areas it needed it. In hand, it feels OG Xbox Controller S compact and dense.
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I think you're experiencing something similar to my issue. When I pull the trigger that way, it'll occasionally jam on the inside of the controller case, or even against my finger.
 
K' Dash

K' Dash

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
4,156
The bumpers alone are worth the new controller.

The grip, triggers, textures, improved vibration are excellent.

Also, this is the BEST dpad I have used in a controller.
 
Vinc

Vinc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,387
VinFTW said:
Way better.

It feels almost as big of a leap as 360 to x1 for me.

The small changes just make a huge difference.

It's tighter, denser, more compact, sticks feel great, the grips on the controller feel super nice, the bumpers are infinitely better and the trigger redesign+grips feel fantastic.
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This. It surprised me. It's a bigger leap than they've advertised. It feels so much more comfortable and solidly built to me.
 
III-V

III-V

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,827
I like every aspect aside from the fact that it feels even smaller, and the older model was already small. Everything else feels like an improvement, some of them quite noticeable.
 
Wil Grieve

Wil Grieve

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,077
I loved the 360 controller and hated the One controller. Happy to say the Series controller is the best of them.
 

GaussianMultivariate

Banned
Jul 26, 2018
2,464
I have a wired headset I use on mi PC. I tried plugging it in the controller audio jack but it doesn't fit well (it doesn't click and the male plug is slightly larger than the controller slot just a tiny bit really but it's enough for it not to click). Tried two different wired headphones with no luck.

Short question: can you just plug any headphones in the controller or do I really have to spend money on a licensed one?
 
ravnelis

ravnelis

Prophet of Regret
Member
Jan 1, 2018
651
It's fantastic. I love that it's smaller.

At first it was difficult to say what was changed when compared the One controller, bit when I tried using my One S pad yesterday, it felt much worse than I remember it.
 
Philippo

Philippo

Developer
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
7,918
Last MS controller I held was the 360 one and already felt pretty good, if it's been an incremental improvement I am sure it is a blast.
 
Loud Wrong

Loud Wrong

Member
Feb 24, 2020
14,069
Wil Grieve said:
I loved the 360 controller and hated the One controller. Happy to say the Series controller is the best of them.
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I loved the 360 S controller and hated the One controller as well. Series X/S controller is my new favorite. Only improvement I'd like is for it to be bigger. Is the Pro controller wider than the normal controllers? I also can't wait for them to open the service back up that lets us make our own controller again.
 
JunkerXseed1013

JunkerXseed1013

Banned
Jul 10, 2018
583
Hearing that an Xbox controller has a good dpad is throwing me for a loop lol. So glad to hear they've improved it, never felt comfortable playing 2d games with either the 360 or One dpad
 
Salty Hippo

Salty Hippo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
362
I'm jumping from 360 straight to the Series and I'm not sure yet it's much of an improvement. I feel a slight stickiness (I can't word it any other way) in the triggers when they are at their default positions that is kinda bothering me. After I actuate they're smooth as butter, it's just at the very start of the press when they are at their default position. It's REALLY slight, feels like it lasts for no more than a single milimiter of the travel. Doesn't affect gameplay at all, it's just something I always notice. When I press my 360 triggers, they feel completely uniform, it's exactly the same 100% of the way down.

Is this normal or did I get a faulty controller?

PS: The feel seems to be more noticeable the closer my fingers are to the "tip" or the "taller" part of the triggers. Pressing in the region closer to the bumbers seems to alleviate it, but who uses triggers like that?
 
eek

eek

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,277
D-pad is improved. Nice texture and the area where you rest your fingers for the trigger/bumpers is more comfortable to me. I was thinking about getting an elite 2 but now I'm just going to wait to see if there is a revision with this trigger/bumper shape because I like it more.
 
CO_Andy

CO_Andy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,511
As someone who plays fighting games semi-regularly, i have to say the Xbox Series dpad is quite phenomenal. Hits all the directions properly and it's easily able to shift directions on the fly.

I have one complaint about this controller: the textured grip on the handles is a bit painful on my skin. Perhaps i'll get used to it in time, but i hope they dial it back a bit.
 
Senator Toadstool

Senator Toadstool

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,651
I got one for my one x and love it. small things just make it feel better and going back to the old one just feels wrong
 
DestroyerOfWorlds

DestroyerOfWorlds

Member
Jun 22, 2018
2,154
It's mostly an improvement.
Triggers, trigger rumble, D-pad, sturdiness, USB port, share button, all see big improvements.

The only issue I have had, and it might just be my controller as I've it tried the one that came with my XSX so far, but the ABXY face buttons aren't perfectly responsive. There's a point where the button feels pressed, but in order to get it to register you have to push it a tiny bit further.

Sometimes it misses my button presses as a result. I've actually only noticed it on A and Y, but it could be all of them.

I'd say it registers those two like 98% of the time, but it's annoying it's not 100%.

Hopefully it's just mine and not a full design flaw.
 
RedEther

RedEther

Member
Jan 7, 2018
2,495
GOAT Xbox controller for me

The trigger buttons feel really responsive tbh which is awesome for shooters but the d-pad is my favorite thing about the controller as well the improved bumpers (X1's are trash)
 
Lemrik

Lemrik

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 28, 2017
991
Germany
I really like the dpad and grip texture.
But man the different positions of the face buttons (A,B,X,Y) is killing me (compared to Nintendo) xD
 
Lego

Lego

Member
Nov 14, 2017
2,100
It's an improvement in almost every way. I think I preferred the rubber grip of later Xbox One controllers to the plastic grip though.
 
RealEvil

RealEvil

Member
Nov 6, 2017
92
The texture and button response good but feels insubstantial (and cheap?) compared to the Elite or PS5 controller.

in short: Noticeably better than a normal One controller but not "special".
 
Loud Wrong

Loud Wrong

Member
Feb 24, 2020
14,069
DestroyerOfWorlds said:
It's mostly an improvement.
Triggers, trigger rumble, D-pad, sturdiness, USB port, share button, all see big improvements.

The only issue I have had, and it might just be my controller as I've it tried the one that came with my XSX so far, but the ABXY face buttons aren't perfectly responsive. There's a point where the button feels pressed, but in order to get it to register you have to push it a tiny bit further.

Sometimes it misses my button presses as a result. I've actually only noticed it on A and Y, but it could be all of them.

I'd say it registers those two like 98% of the time, but it's annoying it's not 100%.

Hopefully it's just mine and not a full design flaw.
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I'd like to know if that's the case with all their controllers or if it's a just a bad batch of controllers, because my A button does the same thing. I miss some spins in Tetris Effect because of it. Problem is it's not easily reproducible. Sometimes it does it, sometimes not.
 
DJwest

DJwest

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,152
What's with the clicky d-pad? That's my only gripe with the controller, really. Playing fighting games will be a pain
 
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