Xbox Elite Controller: One Year Later

At this point it's been one year since I first received my Xbox Elite Controller and I thought it would be great to follow up on the shape of it now. I got my Elite Controller for review from Xbox last year so just a bit before release if I'm not mistaken and reviewed it at a 9/10 (Read Here). Back then I had cheered the controller for its high quality feeling, incredible paddles and magnetic customization. All those features still hold true at this point as I have no noticeable wear or tear on it and looks as though tts just been boughten. I also play basically every single day with it so that's damn impressive.

The only issues I've had in regards to the magnetic customization is losing my analog sticks resulting in my longest search taking me twenty minutes to find it. I suppose it's more comical than anything, but still something where I sigh heavily. The paddles are a godsend really elevating my game and after a year of playing I'm down to two set configurations. I have one where the paddles are just tied to the triggers and bumpers for standard shooter whereas the second is a Gears only config that swaps the top right paddle for a spot on the D-Pad so i can quickly switch to a Gnasher.

I've found that this configuration works best for the type of games I play with the triggers actually getting used very little now. It also feels much more responsive and is easier on the hand since there's less resistance when doing so. One thing I would have liked to have built into the Elite which feels a bit essential now would be the Bluetooth which was part the design lab/new line of regular controllers. This would have been nice to have for easy connections to other devices since Windows 10 is growing and I'm sure the Elite 2 or version two will definitely have that feature. It also would be cool to hook it up with my IPhone for Minecraft Pocket Edition whenever that does become available. Other than that I can't imagine much else being added to this as it feels very comfortable bringing ultimate performance and I use it for everything now.

I could maybe see them adding a record/screenshot button to a future version though even then I'm not sure where you would put them. I could also see maybe having a quick access app on your phone or PC to swiftly switch configurations right away, but that's just a thought. This Elite controller has really elevated my gaming over the past year being the best sort of luxury and I couldn't imagine gaming without it. It's going to be tough ever going to anything else again unless it's a step up from this as I'm just too used the performance I get out of it. Luckily, this thing is going to last quite awhile since it's shown no signs of being worn down compared to old iterations.


While some saw this to be an expensive luxury item at first it's definitely turned into something I'd say is essential to a better gaming experience. All of my core gaming friends all have one with some actually having multiple with the special editions. It's been a great year of having the Xbox Elite Controller and it's something I can't imagine gaming without.

Read our Xbox Elite Controller Review
Read Why Xbox VR will have catching up to do