Phil Spencer talks about that $150 Xbox Elite controller

When Microsoft announced the Elite version of its Xbox One controller, more than a few heads turned thanks to its customisable bits and bobs and, oh, a certain $150 (£130) price tag. In the latest issue of Edge, head of Microsoft's Xbox Division Phil Spencer sat down to discuss the controversial new addition to its hardware lineup and why the big M is targeting pro gamers.

First things first: was the new design a community-driven concept or something more internal? "Definitely from the community. There’s a lot of innovation that happens in the controller space – people want more customisation when they’re at the higher end, and they want to be able to make it their controller," says Spencer. "Whereas for me I take the default setup that I’ve learned. But you think about your eSport pro gaming, which is a very, very strong growth category: those people – a growing segment of our population – really care about making the controller feel exactly the way they want it to feel."


So what's to become of the standard Xbox One pad? Has Microsoft considered that some gamers will see their pad as inferior to the new model? "I think that controller, especially with some of the recent modifications we made with the audio jack and the shoulder buttons, is the best controller, obviously, that we’ve made up until the point the Elite controller comes out," adds Spencer. "We look at the Elite controller as being for somebody who feels they’re an elite competitive gamer, and that’s great for them, but we’ll continue to be very supportive of our Xbox One controller. It’s what a vast majority of our gamers will be playing [for the] life of the console."