Why are Xbox controllers so expensive
Back in 2001, November 15th saw the release of the first Xbox gaming console by Microsoft in the US. Since then, Microsoft has come a long way in the world of gaming and it was confirmed when they finally released their “next gen” console, the Xbox 360 in 2005. From then on, the Microsoft Xbox 360 has really made a solid mark of its own in the gaming industry through its unique game titles and a very popular “Xbox Live” online gaming community.
Although the Xbox 360 console, with its repertoire of enjoyable games manages to live up to the expectations of its owners and fans in its ongoing competition with the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, its controller failed its fans on two aspects mainly. The first of the two aspects remains the price of the Xbox controller itself. The price of the wireless controller was held to be too steep by a group of fans and reviewers right from the time it was released. The part that made it seem worse was that the rechargeable battery accessories were not included in the high price tag. The second and further discouraging aspect of the Xbox 360 controller was the fact that in spite of the steep price tag, it had a lousy d-pad and did not support motion sensitivity, unlike the dual shock 3 (Playstation 3) or the Wii remote.
Only recently, a new Xbox 360 wireless controller was released that has a better and firmer d-pad and is schemed totally in shades of gray and black buttons instead of the yellow, red, green and blue buttons present in all previous Xbox controllers. This one is priced at $64.99 at this moment, which is again, just like its previous versions, way too steep. This time around, you will get the charging accessories bundled in, but still no motion-sensor though. But with the “Kinect” just around the corner, I guess it would not matter so much anymore.
The reason for such steep pricing of Xbox 360 controllers is considered to be the build quality and the building material used in making each controller, but it is not something that everyone believes. Some are of the opinion that it is a marketing strategy to attract customers with the provocation of a superior quality controller. The reality is not discernible, but the Xbox 360 is undoubtedly a very solid controller in both look and feel, as well as being one of the finest instruments for gaming available today.