Microsoft Claim Xbox One Controller Will Last for “7-10 Years”

Xbox One then. We all know it is heading to the market later on this year. But the burning question we all need to know, like, now – how long can we expect the controller to last? Science guys at MS HQ have, we are reliably informed by Pocket-Lint, been testing out the new controller to find out what kind of a lifespan we can expect from it.

Microsoft’s accessories and hardware manager, the splendidly named Bob Brown, confirmed in a recent interview with Pocket-lint that the testing process involves hammering the buttons “over and over, between 4-5 times a second”, with every controller being given a staggering 2 million button presses a piece, having the sticks waggled within and inch of their life, being dropped numerous times to test their durability. To put things into context, the rigorous, punishing schedule these poor controllers are subjected to is roughly the equivalent to them spending a week locked away with only Daley Thompson’s Decathlon and Athlete Kings for company. Yes, that hard.

The buttons may be able to take a good hiding, but it is important that they still actually work as well – so as this cruel testing rig is thrashing the buttons, it will also record any instances when the individual press does not register with the connected computer.

Brown has hinted that some of the newer prototypes are being tested even harder than that – with their buttons being given an astonishing 3 million presses, thus meaning that in relative terms they should last the average gamer in excess of a decade of continued use.