Topic: Your Latest Xbox Purchase

@NEStalgia Yeah, I'll probably always prefer my Dualshock style controllers (sticks along the bottom; the Wii U Pro's symmetrical sticks on the top of the controller are madness, and worse than the Xbox/Switch Pro approach, IMO), but it's not like asymmetrical controllers are unusable or anything. What I fully expect to mess me up is the mirrored A/B/X/Y layout of the buttons, but I'll deal.

I probably would have gotten a One controller way sooner if Microsoft hadn't traumatized me with their older controllers. As someone who played an OG Xbox, I can honestly say that system's controllers (the original "Duke," which is just a tumor with buttons, and the slightly smaller revised model) are the worst I've ever used on a mainstream system (i.e. not those weird consoles from the 80s where the "controller" had a dial and ten buttons on it). The 360 controller, while a huge improvement, is still very low on the list, and stands as one of the worst aspects of what was otherwise a pretty decent console at the time. Based purely on looks and intuition based on my experience with their older pads, it seems like Microsoft has gradually been improving their controller design over time, at least, so I'm eager to see how I get on with the latest one.

Anyway, might as well grab one, considering Ninty cribbed Microsoft's design with the Switch Pro, and the DualSense looks like the DS4 and one of those huge older Xbox controllers messed around and had a deformed love child. DS4 is probably going to end up being the last great Playstation controller now that they're an American brand. Gotta have a bulky controller if you want to really feel like Spider-Man and Wolverine.

@Ralizah Yeah, the mirrored buttons can be a nightmare. Even Phil Spencer got famously messed up at the switch e3 booth playing super lucky... He told them they have their buttons mapped backwards . Mostly I find muscle memory takes over and my brain just knows the buttons based on the feel of the controller, but it depends on my frame of mind and sometimes I'm continuously confused

The Duke was a bad joke... Iconic but unusable. The biggest problem with 360 controllers was the horrid build quality. DS3 otoh was basically like a reverse Duke... Bad in every way but for opposite reasons. Terrible grips, terrible texture, terrible stick caps, terrible battery...I loved the PS3 but that controller was a nightmare. 360 was comparatively better but in hindsight was pretty creaky and kind of thick in the wrong places. Plus that wretched dpad......

Lol, I actually kind of like the ds5. It's the first Sony controller that I don't hate and kind of like, which means you'd hate it . But ergonomically the xs is still the best controller imo. I happen to love the elite V2 best, technically, but it's very similar. For me elite V2, then xs, then x1, switch pro, ds5, then everything else to varying degrees. I liked 360 only because I hated ds3 so incredibly much. I still pick ds3 up sometimes to remind me how much I still despise that thing.

But the xb controllers definitely improve over time. The x1 controller was really nice until I got the xs controller. It's so similar, but the just refined it. A rolled edge here, less material there, different texture here. The little things add up.

Fwiw, you may not gate ds5 as much as you think. It LOOKS bigger than it feels. Bigger than ds4, to be it feels better, and yes, it feels bigger than xs, but it doesn't feel as duke like as it looks in pictures, or even in person (I'm looking at it right now, lol)

@Ralizah @NEStalgia The DualSense is nowhere near the Duke. It's bigger than the DS4, yes, but that's it. It's also not bigger than the Series X controller. A slight bit wider at the top it seems, but that's about it. I know I may come off as a fanboy here defending the controller, and that's not my intention, but the size complaint doesn't make sense to me unless the current Xbox controllers are also too big for somebody since they are basically the same size. If that's the case, then ok, but it's not huge either way.

@Gamer83 Congratulations! I bought the Elite Controller Series 2 recently. With that and Series X I haven't been better as a gamer.

Finally got my hands on a SeriesX, just downloading the firmware as I'm posting this. Happy days!

@BlueOcean
Nice. If I ever seen one of those on sale I might get one. I'm ok with the stock controllers but the Elite ones MS make seem like big upgrades.

@KilloWertz haha, yeah it definitely looks much bigger than it is. A few of is were taking about them on Push a few weeks ago and we thought maybe the sticks were set a bit wider than ds4... But no, I compared them and placed the ds4 upside down on the ds5..... Exactly the same! Yet I find the ds4 sticks obnoxiously uncomfortable to use while ds5 is just fine for me. It's definitely thicker/chunkier than the xs controller though. Mostly I think it's the grips being thicker and flaring out and straight vs the more tapered xs grips that slope down a bit fitting the palm more. And more tapered trigger area.

I've always hated Sony controllers, and hated symmetrical sticks, but the ds5 finally feels comfortable enough to "disappear" mostly and not make me curse out the sticks as I use it. But it's still slightly too clunky compared to the very refined xs design. Xs may actually be too tapered at the top bit it's still very good. Elite V2 is kind of a perfect middle ground if a bit heavy. For "only" $100 more...

@Shigurui
Awesome. I've been loving the Series X so far, crazy enough some of what's impressing me the most is what a great backwards compatible machine it is.

So I missed out on the "xscreen" backer thing($180+), and now they're asking $300+. So I bought a "second screen". 15", 1080p, 60hz, for $175. It's perfect for the series s. So now I can watch my shows and game. Or game and game. I was watching rush hour and playing GoTsushi. God, I have problems.

@Gamer83 Yeah the BC is brilliant, I had a Series S since launch but it's great to have access to my disc collection, I can finally play Driver San Francisco again!

@LtSarge Exactly, although it is still a bit weird that you have to download so much of so many games even though the disc can hold plenty. Oh well I guess. With your experiences with xCloud, it's basically a sneak preview of the Series X for you until you decide to ever get one (at least with the load times). Graphically, maybe consider it the Xbox One XX or something like that.

Yeah, it does. 13 years before the first game as it's only 1 year after Emergence Day. There's also a connection to the new trilogy as well even though Kate isn't born for quite a while obviously.

@NEStalgia Yeah, I've always liked the Xbox controllers better than the DS even though I've been primarily a PlayStation gamer ever since I bought the MGS4 PS3 bundle back in the day. The DualSense is the first one that I think can "compete" with the Xbox ones given the fairly significant form changes and added weight due to the extra tech inside of it. Anybody complaining about the size has to have issues with an Xbox controller being too big then too.

The Series X controller fits great in the hand. I actually like the fact that they made it a tad smaller up top, and obviously all of the added grip is nice. It makes the triggers and bumpers feel much less cheap like they kind of felt on previous ones when they were just plastic.

@Shigurui
First back compat game I tried was Sonic Generations. Difference between playing that on an Xbox One from 2014 and a Series X is insane. Some games almost seem brand new due to the enhancements, especially fps boost. Pretty cool MS made the effort to do that.

@Gamer83 Yeah they've done a stellar job with BC/FPS Boost. When I tried AC Unity on my XSS it blew me away with how crisp it felt at 60fps. Ninja Gaiden 2 was another that really impressed, it actually looks and plays far better via BC than the recent remaster.

@Shigurui
You're the second person who's told me great things about NG 2 on Series X/S. I have a disc copy, I'll have to give that one a go soon here as well. Loved it on 360 way back in the day.

@Gamer83 @Shigurui Congrats guys. Yeah BC games are very impressive on the Series X. I just finished playing Jade Empire on it a few months ago and it looked awesome. Very impressive. I know alot of people complain there's no new games on the Series X/S right now but for me that's just fine. There's plenty of stuff I have in my backlog or want to play again on the Series X.

@Gamer83 NG2 via BC is fantastic. On 360 it wasn't even 720p, it had some horrendous screen tearing and the framerate often tanked, hard! All of that's fixed. It looks amazing in 4K with HDR.

@Tasuki I honestly think Xbox hasn't really had a lack of new games, PS5 was front loaded with Souls, Returnal and Ratchet but hasn't had much since, maybe Deathloop. Xbox has nailed it with GP stuff and come on strong later with Flight Sim, FH5 and Halo. About even in both camps imho.

Like you said though, BC breathes life into older stuff to revisit. I'm loving Driver San Francisco all over again and I have Binary Domain to go at next. Good times wherever you choose to play!

@Tasuki @Shigurui The thing is that because Microsoft is investing heavily in Game Pass and acquiring studios, it's led to more frequent releases of Xbox exclusives compared to before. They've said before that their goal is to release at least one first-party game every quarter. This plan of theirs means that there won't be any periods of drought because they need first-party titles to bolster their Game Pass service. On the other hand, Sony doesn't have a need to release first-party games as frequently as Microsoft because they don't have a subscription service with promise of day one releases. And because Sony is focusing more on creating blockbuster experiences, it will take many years for new games to come out, which means there will eventually be drought.

I think all of this is definitely going to become more noticeable as the years roll by. I mean, just these past few weeks I've played through Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5 and The Gunk, three great Xbox exclusives. There hasn't been anything like that on PS5 this holiday season. So while late 2020 was a good start for PS5 owners, late 2021 wasn't as good, i.e. there's been a drought. If you ask me, more people are going to flock to Xbox and Game Pass during the coming years because the platform is getting constant new releases. People don't want to play 3-4 exclusives each year and that's it. They want content throughout the entire year. That's where Microsoft is going to excel at compared to Sony.

@Tasuki
Thanks. Back compat is a big reason I wanted to get the Series X. Although I've also been playing new stuff too. They're cross gen but most of my time on Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 has been on Series X. And I also just bought Shadow of the Tomb Raider in the 'Countdown' sale MS has going on, played it on PS4 a few years ago but most of my Tomb Raider collection is on Xbox so I wanted to add to it.

My most recent purchase

A Series X

It's currently sat right next to my PS5 and they both look glorious