Xbox ready with a new controller and faster console

Keen gamers won’t have to settle for the same old same old experience if they love the Xbox One, as Microsoft later this year will be bringing both a faster console and a more customisable game pad.

If you look at your Xbox One with frustration and wish it were faster, had more space, and yearn for a controller that you could really make your own, an “elite” package is on the way, arriving on Australian shores from November 6 provided you don’t mind forking out for something new.

That’s coming in Microsoft’s Xbox One Elite bundle, a product that will consist of two revamped devices designed for people who game, dedicating a good portion of their lives to the video entertainment the next-gen Xbox One console pushes out.

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First is the Xbox One Elite, which comprises of most of the game Xbox One people already have, but which relies on a 1TB solid-state hybrid drive.

That’s a replacement for the original Xbox One regular hard drive, with this hybrid model featuring a combination of both types of hard drive technology: conventional moving part drives and memory-based solid-state drive.

Most of the 1TB drive is like the regular moving part drive, but a small section of this drive relies on memory, allowing Microsoft to throw the most used files into solid-state memory for faster access.

That should bode well for people who prefer their games to load super fast compared to the regular fast you get out of the Xbox One, and to differentiate the console fro the existing Xbox One, it will also be found in a matte finish.

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If that’s not “elite” enough for you, the controller has also been modified, with Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Wireless controller.

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Now this isn’t your ordinary controller, with customisable parts including six thumb-sticks with different shapes and heights, interchangeable paddles to add more functions to the back of the controller, and the ability to change sensitivities and button assignments using an app.

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More than the customisation, the Xbox Elite Wireless controller is apparently better made, built for what Microsoft claims is “hours of intense gameplay” and designed with a soft touch finish that shouldn’t slip out of your hands.

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Unfortunately, this controller only comes with the console, so even if you feel like your Xbox One is good the way it is and you’re mainly after the controller, you’ll need to invest in the new console alongside it, with the Xbox One Elite console and controller arriving November 6 for $599.