Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Blue

5 star:		(469)
4 star:		(86)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

I bought this black wireless controller so I could have another wireless controller. Be advised when reading reviews on this product that it appears some people are reviewing the Xbox 360 Silver Controller and Play & Charge Kit, which is a special controller that is different (and more expensive as of this writing) than the black controller I am reviewing. This controller does NOT have any chrome items on it (other than the usual Xbox Guide button), nor does it have any upgrades to the D-pad.

As far as the controller itself, I didn't notice any structural difference between this controller and my old white controller that came with my Pro 20GB Xbox 360 several years ago. I did notice, however, that this controller properly charges my Play & Charge Kit where my old one did not. Prior to buying this controller, my Play & Charge kit would always show the red light while recharging. Since the recharging appeared to work anyway, I didn't think much of it (especially after calling Microsoft and being informed that the warranty on accessories is only 90 days, though that was in 2008). Since I assumed that the battery was at fault the whole time, I was surprised to find out that this controller charged the battery and (correctly) showed a green light when charging was complete.

Though it did not appear to be a structural change to the controller, I had somewhat forgotten (or not realized?) how much wear my controller has taken over the four years (give or take) since I got my console. The new controller gives me a bit more precision in games, especially with the right stick and the pushing of the sticks (for activities like sprinting). The tactility of the sticks (with little raised lines for grip) were a nice reminder of what my controller seemed to have at one time.

This was a satisfying purchase for functionality and the nice sleek look of black. I should also note that while the description of the item is "Glossy Black," this controller isn't really what I would call glossy like you would call the bezel of an LCD monitor or clear coat on a car. It gives off very little gloss in my opinion, which is fine by me.

If you've got an XBox 360, you really need to get your hand on one or two wireless controllers. These controllers are GREAT for keeping your gaming area free of clutter. To start with, the controller is much smaller than the standard XBox controller was.

For control items, you start with the standard blue X, yellow Y, red B and green A buttons. There are two thumbsticks, one on the upper left and one in the center right. There is also a directional (d-pad) in the lower left.


Next, you have a pair of shoulder buttons at the "top" of the unit, up above the other buttons. You also have a pair of triggers below those shoulder buttons.

Finally, you have a center X button that can be used to turn the console on and off, plus a "start" and "back" tiny white buttons on either side of it.

The unit has a rechargeable battery unit inside it, the size of two AA batteries. You have to buy a recharger set SEPARATELY that lets you charge up while you play. In essence you plug the charger into the back of the controller - and the other end into the USB port in the front of the XBox 360 unit. So you play with the controller "wired" as it charges up. When it's fully charged again, you just pop off the wire and keep playing.

The range of the wireless unit is 30', which is probably much further than anybody is really going to even try playing a game at. The wireless is much easier on your hand - no cable holding you down - plus it's a great help in keeping your gaming area organized. You can easily pass the controller from person to person, and visitors can come and go without tripping over wires.

The documentation says you can get 40 hours of gameplay between charges, but if you have features such as vibration on, that sucks the time down to maybe 8-10 hours. It's up to you of course - I personally like having vibration on because it is often important for gameplay to get those warning signals.

Still, even if I have to plug the cables in every 10 hours or so to give it a juice boost, I still love wireless!! Highly recommended.

Despite other opinions - this controller is only different in color scheme from the older controllers.
In fact - my left trigger annoyingly squeaks - ironically all my older controllers (5 in total - including the red and blue ones - which I use as spares and for friends)never squeaked. Basically the color scheme is all black - no gray. And a shiny garish chrome power button. It has the exact same feel the older controllers have. I think some of the reviews claiming it has a different feel or has different performance has to be imaginative wishful thinking.
I noticed no change in performance (and due to the squeaking trigger actually worse quality than my older ones!)
I also noticed no different power consumption as compared to the earlier controllers. I use rechargeable batteries so can't comment on AA battery drain - but again - I'd be wary of opinions that somehow this controller had been redesigned to reduce power consumption when everything else is identical to the older versions. Unless you actually see controlled tests regarding power consumption I'd take these sort of opinions as opinions - not fact.
If you like the new color scheme then buy it but do not expect it to be any different from any earlier controller.

This controller is very cool. A definite upgrade from the older black generation. The middle button to access everything is chrome which is cool, basically just your regular xbox controller, but more stylish, hey if you had a choice.. why not choose the one that looks better for the same price.

I've gamed with almost every gamepad imaginable and never before have I used a controller that is so comfortable and easy to use. The Xbox 360 wireless controller is near flawless. Everything from its button layout to its build quality to its comfort level; it's all just perfect.

Never before have my hands wrapped around a controller so naturally. Typically with a controller, you have to make your hands form to the controller in order to access all of the buttons, typically resulting in fingers getting jammed into each other uncomfortably or strecthed out across the controller awkwardly. With the 360 controller, my hands just mold into every angle of the design and my fingers effortlessly wrap around the controller's button layout.

The button layout is as follows: Two analog sticks, D-Pad, four face buttons, two triggers, two shoulder buttons, start & back buttons, and the Xbox Guide Button. I'd give the layout and button design a 10/10. Everything is accessible without having to move your hands from the controller and everything has a solid, durable design. The triggers are smooth and glide with the motion of your fingers and are truly perfect. The shoulder buttons work just fine and are easily accessible (these are where the black and white buttons the from Xbox controller S went). The face buttons have great spring to them and don't feel mushy like the Playstation controller. The analog sticks are an 11/10. Compared to the PS controller in which you jam your fingers into each other and trying to correct out the play in the analog sticks, the 360's sticks are awesome; firm, precise, smooth gliding, and simply perfect. The D-Pad is unchanged from the Xbox controller, which wasn't good to begin with. It works and get the job done, but it could be better. The start and back buttons have moved to the middle of the controller and are better off in the center. And last but not least, the Xbox guide button (which needs a paragraph of its own).

The Xbox guide button is a feature that is running 24/7 and is implemented straight into the 360 architecture and games. Even in the middle of a game, you can hit the Xbox guide button and access everything from your gamerscore, friend's lists, messages, music, achievements, game invites, etc. It can even take you back to the dashboard without even having to restart the console or remove the disc. When you're done with the dashboard, you just fire the game back up with even leaving the couch. When you want to turn off individual controllers or even turn off the console, simply hit the guide button. Want to turn on the console? Just hit the guide button. It's easily the best feature of the controller.

Wireless technology = 10/10 Seamless integration with the console and an incredible stable connection with the console, even through walls, doors, etc; it'll even stay connected through different stories of a house. In over a year's time with the 360 wireless controller, I have NEVER lost my connection with the console. That's right, never. No interference with my wireless network, 2.4 ghz cordless phones, nothing. It is incredible how seamless it is. To connect a controller to a console, turn it on, press the link button on the controller and then the connect button on the console and almost magically, your controller is hooked right up and playing. And once your controller is connected to your console, you never have to link them together again; the next time you turn on your 360, the controller is automatically synched with the 360. If you want to add controllers to your 360, you simply synch them together with the same method that I just mentioned. Want to use your controller on a different 360? Simply synch them together and you're playing. The wireless technology with the 360 and its seamless integration is top-notch. Simply the fact that I will never have to deal with cords again makes the wireless controller more than worth the extra money. But with wireless, you have the issue with charging and batteries...

I average about 25 hours per charge with my controller, although intense vibration feedback in games can drop that number down to about 20 hours. I get plenty of charge to last me through a week or two and when I run out of juice, I simply switch out my battery pack with the fresh pack sitting on my quick charge kit. The biggest problem with the wireless controller is the fact that you are literally forced into buying the rechargeable battery pack with the Play & Charge kit or the Quick Charge kit. It's not that big of a deal, but if you think you can get away with AA batteries, this controller will eat them for lunch, especially with rumble. Speaking of rumble, the motors in the 360 controller pack quite a punch and you'll end up paying more in batteries than the mere rechargeable pack costs. Everything from the roar of a machine gun to the light vibration of deflecting a pass to the jolt of a hard impact, everything on-screen is brought to life in your hands with this controller. And no, this isn't the same rumble like the PS2 or Xbox controller. The 360's rumble is more seamlessly integrated into games and serves a much more useful purpose in immersing you within the experience and can create all kinds of varied feedback effects like never before. I'd take this over six degrees of tilt any day.

Overall, this controller is near flawless and hands down the best I have ever used. Comfort, wireless precision, durability; this controller packs it all into one sleek little controller.

Truly a fascinating controller! This controller's performance is outstanding. There is no delay at all and is much more comfortable than even the first XBOX controller. Do not buy third-part wireless controllers. This is it if you are looking for quality and precision. It is so powerful that even if I, just for testing, try it from the most outrageous angle, it works.

I really feel Microsoft has done a great job with this pad. After the original XBox controller that felt like it was made backwards this one feels great. The buttons are placed right and it fits well in your hands. Generally I would say it's a toss up between the PS3 and 360 control. They both do the job right. The trigger buttons feel placed well and even the analog sticks are in a good place. This paddle also gets excellent range without loosing it's signal. My only qualm is personal. My experience after playing long hours is that right hand gets a little tight from gripping the control pad. I am sure most people feel just fine gripping this pad. Make sure you get a rechargable batterey pack so you don't spend a fortune on batteries. This pad is obviously a must have for anyone with a 360.

I have used this controler many times at my neighbors house, and it is basical the same thing as the S-controler, but with the start button moved to the center, and the white and black butttons mooved to the "shoulder" of the controler. This is a very comfortable controler and has great wireless range and the controllers precision is Phenomenal from the pressure sensitive triggers to the joysticks there flawles in my mind.

this controller is WELL worht the money!! you sould also buy the play and charge kit so when the batterie runs low you can play uninterupted.

great controller responsive no bothersome wires always connects to the xbox with no problems at all.

First, I would like to say that this controller is LEAGUES above the original XBox controller as far as comfort goes. I used to swear by the PS2 Dualshock controller (yeah, I know you XBox fanboys just cringed cuz I said PS2, but I don't care, I just love games). Anyways, I didn't think any controller could best the PS2 Dualshock. I was wrong. This wireless controller is actually extremely comfortable, even more-so then the Dualshock. Also, unlike the new PS3 SixAxis controller, it actually feels nice and solid, not cheap and plasticy. I absolutely love it.

Wireless is definitely the way to go. I have two extremely hyper Australian Shepherds and I can't tell you how many cords they've chewed, or how many times they've ran through my living room and tripped over cords from other controllers i've owned in the past - causing either the controller or the console to come crashing down. It's like the difference between having a typical universal remote for your TV and having a universal remote for your TV with a cord (yeah, they don't exist with cords but imagine if they did... just not quite right) - or it's like the difference between a infared cordless mouse and a ball-and-chain mouse. My couch is just far enough from my TV so that when I am using a controller with a cord I have to lean over so my cord isn't stretching across the living room. This controller frees me from that, I can just sit back and relax now. It's SO much better. I like how the analog sticks are placed on this controller. When I use the Dualshock now it seems like the analog sticks are much too low. This controller feels perfectly natural.

There is one tiny complaint though. I almost knocked it down to four stars but I just couldn't. I would give this controller a 4.5/5 if I could. My complaint is that the analog sticks slip a tiny bit sometimes - which doesn't happen on the Dualshock because the analog sticks on the Dualshock are coated in rubber, as opposed to the plastic analog sticks for this controller. This is only slightly annoying for me in games like Gears Of War where perfect aiming is essential. It's a bit easier for me to aim with the Dualshock controller. Perhaps this is just an issue because I'm so used to the Dualshock. Other people don't seem to have this problem so it's probably just me.

This controller RULES! Get it! oh and get the rechargeable battery kit too, you'll thank me later.