Noted a disproportionate number of complaints about the Elite controller. Is it a case of perception (expensive controller so any faults are amplified), or the customer base that buys them (hardcore gamers who thus put more hours into the controller and work them harder), or both? I have the basic Xbox One controller as well as the newer one, and I’ve no complaints. As a PC gamer they aren’t my main controllers so they don’t get to see that much use, probably about 100 hours a year at most.
I can only speak anecdotally, but I have used my elite controller 1 way less than other controllers in my life. The metal piece in the base of the joystick cracked after less than a year of owning the controller. Now the left stick is extremely loose. The right bumper hardly works, and the plastic is failing and is all sticky now. Those last two seemed to fail after years of not using the controller somehow.
Only issue i had with mine is that it doesn’t tend to like charging from the contacts on the back, not a huge deal when i can just use usb C anyways. But yeah, it’s super luck of the draw. I love the controller to death though so i can’t blame people for continually coming back for more. The playstation alternative isn’t exactly as good on PC feature wise and has less paddles too.
I own 2 elites and have never had a problem with them. Anecdotally, a lot of the time that I see complaints about controllers, people seem to say they have the same issue over and over again and I just assume they’re hard on hardware and can’t accept responsibility.
I own a bunch of the normal Xbox One controllers and haven’t had any issues with them with the exception of wear and tear on the shoulders (too much Rocket League).
I got the Elite Series 2 and immediately noticed two defects out of the box (face buttons registering phantom presses or they simply don’t register presses at all). Sent to Microsoft to be repaired, got it back and it seemed better but they somehow broke the tension lock on the right joystick, so I sent it in for repair again. Got it back and it seemed alright, but then noticed the original problems with the face buttons within about a day, while not to the same degree, still unreliable.
What the hell, third time’s a charm, right? No dice. Got it back seemingly in the exact same condition. As far as I can tell, there’s something seriously wrong with the Series 2. My friend has no such issues with his, but I read about similar horror stories of people experiencing the same problem I’m having. I just stopped sending the controller in for repair when it seemed like it was a pointless endeavor.
