Xbox Controller S
© 2002 Microsoft Corp.
After the release of Xbox, complaints about its humongous controller (it really is big) flooded Microsoft. Fortunately, Microsoft took the criticism to heart and released the Xbox Controller S. It's about the size of a Nintendo 64 controller, and the start/back buttons are placed to the left side rather than the center. The black and white buttons are below the main button suite instead of on top, and the huge "X" has been replaced with an "X" about the size of a quarter. One last difference is that the joysticks went under a face lift and now offer better grip for the thumbs. But how does the controller hold up? Once our testers made the transition, they preferred the Controller S over the original. Game play moves faster, especially for fighting games with fast button pressing,. The smaller triggers make it harder to operate the analog features in racing games, but that's compensated by the better grip of the joystick. The biggest drawback? The extra 40$-- it's too bad new Xbox units don't include the Controller S as a standard component.
$39.95, Xbox
Teaches: NA