New XBOX 360 controller on the way, will feature “transforming” D pad

By Holly Green by Aug 31st, '10 at 11:57am CST

Microsoft has just announced, via Major Nelson’s blog, that they’re introducing a new style of XBOX 360 controller, available only in the upcoming Play and Charge Kit. The controller will be a stylish matte silver, and in addition to concave analog sticks and matching gray A,B,X,Y buttons, it will have a Dpad that can transform back to a sleek disc with a simple twist of the wrist (see video above for a demonstration). The new controller can be yours when the Play and Charge Kit launches on November 9th for $64.99.

And an exciting tidbit for PAX attendees such as myself: Major Nelson will be giving away a few for free during his LIVE podcast on Sunday. Hopefully Tanooki associate Pete Betcher will be up for throwing a few elbows with me to get our hands on one! Check out some pictures of the new controller below.

Major Nelson’s Blog

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Categories: Xbox 360
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About the Author: Holly Green

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  • Adam Cancer

    Does anybody else feel like Microsoft is making useless cosmetic changes to get more money from us? Hay I got an idea, how about you make the middle “X” button smaller so I stop hitting it while playing a multiplayer match & make the analog sticks more durable so they don't wear out after 3 months. Those are changes I can get behind. I read somewhere that this raised D-Pad was suppose to help you play fighting games better? To be honest I didn't have a problem with playing fighting games with the current D-Pad. Maybe I don't play enough fighting games for it to matter :)

    • http://www.gamergrrlz.net/ Holly

      While typically Microsoft doesn't do the aesthetic change up to make a quick buck as much as, say, Nintendo, I kind of agree with you. I can see how fighting game fans will like the change up with the D-pad but it seems almost like a novelty given how many of us have either adapted or moved on to analog.

      Hopefully they *will* be more durable. The XBOX 360 controller I had to use at E3 when I played Sonic 4 was atrociously slow. It was shocking. I know the damn thing had endured multiple hours of abuse, but still.

  • Eldon83

    why didn't they split the d-pad into seperate buttons that could be pushed independently from each other instead of a cross? I was wondering about this on all controllers. when i play beat'em ups and press for example the “right-direction” fast repeatedly it might trigger the “down-direction” when i hit it on the corner of the cross-arm….