Today, Microsoft has unveiled a new range of controllers and accessories all under a 'Designed for Xbox' banner, coinciding with the news that it'll be launching its Project xCloud streaming service on Android devices next month. You can learn all about the news over on our sister site, Pure Xbox, but it's the controllers in particular that caught our eye.
As you've probably already noticed from the image above, two of the controllers used in this promotional shot will look pretty familiar to Nintendo fans. Several Nintendo Life readers have pointed out that the middle option bears a striking resemblance to the Switch, and the controller on the left also looks remarkably like a SNES controller.
Let's kick things off with the SNES-like design. The controller is actually an 8BitDo SN30 Pro, a controller previously released to intentionally look like a SNES pad, but with new, shiny Xbox branding plastered on it. You might remember that we spotted this one a little while back, noting that the SN30's quality can only mean good things for xCloud users.
You can see the new Xbox design below alongside the original.
The Switch-like controller is called the Razer Kishi. Just like Nintendo's machine, the device allows for a screen to be placed inside two controllers, with face buttons and sticks lining up in exactly the same way. An official description states:
The Razer Kishi Universal Mobile Gaming Controller for Android is bringing its ergonomic design to the Designed for Xbox program. The integrated Xbox Button, Clickable Analog Thumbsticks and low-latency USB-C connection provide console-quality control for most Android smartphones.
There was a time when many pondered the possibility of Sony or Microsoft following in Nintendo's footsteps with a hybrid, Switch-like console. Perhaps this is the closest either have come so far?
If the next design ends up looking like the good old, three-pronged N64 controller, that's when we'll know something fishy's going on.
[source purexbox.com]
Comments 86
The AUDACITY!
Oh yes! That's a shameless copy of the Xbox One controller right there. 🧐
Usually Sony is the one plagiarizing hardware.
But will it have HD rumble, so it can feel like I'm really jiggling boobies?.......(Legitimately still the best use of the Switch's HD rumble feature. I dare anyone to find a better use for that feature)
@patbacknitro18 What!?!?!?
The one on left looks more like a classic controller for the wii
@edgedino
That's what I was thinking!
The middle one doesn't look like a Switch, but rather a Gamevice, which I'd be surprised if it isn't just that but also branded for Xbox.
These controllers are for the new Xbox, right?
I'm a Nintendo fan and these look nothing familiar to me. To me these look more like ripoffs of the WikiPad, 8Bitdo, and Nvidia Shield controllers/handheld.
@auck @edgedino and me!
I have a Razer Kishi and currently use it with my S20 for Stadia and emulation, it's fantastic. A little pricey but if you have the cash to burn I couldn't recommend it enough.
Hey, it's designed for Xbox, not designed by Microsoft.
It is a little surprising to see them promote third-party controllers though.
@Not-Geno No joke, there's a Senran Kagura game on the Switch that uses the Switch's HD rumble to feel boobs. Leading up to the game there were recordings of the development team in science gear jiggling pudding and feeling water balloons, trying to work the exact science to allow you to feel the jiggle of boobs from the HD rumble. It was quite an extraordinary achievement.
Let’s face it good design gets copied across all products and industries.
Look at Apple alone. Most windows laptops look like macs, phones like iPhones, earphones like earpods etc...
@patbacknitro18 I'm... Wow, I'm morbidly impressed by that amount of dedication to getting that so accurate.
@patbacknitro18 What game is that???? Asking for a friend... And also myself.
These actually look pretty cool
@SoIDecidedTo I believe its Senran Kagura Reflexions
@patbacknitro18 .....cool.....
As usual, Nintendo innovates. A few years down the line here comes, “LOOK, US TOO!”
Phone controller accessories have existed for years
I mean, if Razer Kishi is "designed for XBox", the stick and button placement checks out - XBox controllers have had that assymetry for ages. And then, with a standard D-pad on the left and bottom-low estimated odds of the two parts working separately for one screen multiplayer... the discussion about joycon similarities kinda comes to a screeching halt there. It basically looks like plenty of slider-based adjustable holder mobile controllers before it.
this is mostly to prepare for the cloud gaming future
thanks to starlink internet many even steam are making thr own cloud service
NA will have it this year and most the world will have it by 2021
@patbacknitro18 at least you're honest.
Left one looks more like a Wii Classic Controller than a SNES one to me.
@Markiemania95 @retro_player_77 @auck @edgedino lol it's because it's made by 8bitdo
https://www.8bitdo.com/sn30-pro-for-xbox-cloud-gaming-on-android/
@HotGoomba no that’s a demigoomba
They look like the ones Nintendo copied from the earlu smartphone days.
@Eel You're welcome
The thing about Xbox controllers is how they are also PC controllers.
Look at the ABXY button color schemes on Xbox controller.
Pretty SNES much?
@Markiemania95 Agreed. The one on the left is VERY similar to the Wii's wired pro-controller from back in the day.
I've always liked the Xbox controller. I'm glad Nintendo was "inspired" by its design when creating the Switch Pro Controller. Excellent design.
@HotGoomba What's that got to do with it looking more like a first-party Wii Classic Controller than a SNES controller, as the article above states...?
@outsider83 lol... you’re kidding right? Every controller available on the Switch is an iteration of a controller that existed before it on a different platform.
One of these controllers is an 8bitDo which is a mashup of a SNES and a PS controller, made by a third party (the most ‘Nintendo’ out of the controllers and yet decidedly un-Nintendo). The middle one looks more like a GameVice rather than joy-cons (which also existed before the Switch did) and the last one looks more like an Xbox controller than anything else.
@patbacknitro18
HD-Rumble is probably my favorite feature of the Switch. It really does give a additional level of immersion if integrated properly.
@Markiemania95 Because 8bitdo makes SNES style controllers with thumbsticks, so that is why it looks like a Wii Classic Controller. Because the Wii Classic Controller is just a SNES with thumbsticks as well.
@HotGoomba I'm aware that the Wii Classic Controller is based predominantly on SNES controllers, but the main point I was illustrating in regard to the original article is that of all official controllers to compare the one in the image to, you would think the former would come to mind before the latter. Wasn't really to do with who manufactured this new one.
@HotGoomba Neither of you are wrong.
@GrizzledVeteran
Since Nintendo showed a prototype of the Gamecube controller in 2000, I don't think they were necessarily inspired by the XBox controller.
@GrizzledVeteran Agreed, I just wanted to clarify that it was a separate point to the one I was trying to make.
I know that this will make nintendo fans mad, but this is pretty exciting for the gaming community.
Nintendo has always innovated with their controllers, so much so that their features become industry standards (d-pad, analogue control sticks, rumble, wireless wavebird, etc.).
However Microsoft really nailed the dimensions (form, function, button placement) with their original Xbox controller (not the first huge one called "The Duke".) So much so that it hasn't really changed during the 360, Xbox One, and now Series X generations.
To me, the Switch Pro Controller's form and function resembles this standard (more so than the Gamecube with its yellow "camera stick").
Nice to see the PS5's Dualsense has adopted this too (although they're not going with offset analogue sticks.)
The only one that I think really looks like plagiarism is the SNES style controller. The controller that hook up to the ends of the phone are pretty much what you'd expect if you split an Xbox controller in half. And remember, Nintendo was NOT the first to do it, they were just the first to successfully market the idea. And besides, the Switch ripped off the Xbox stick and button layout, so we can't hold too much of a grudge if Xbox steal a few things back.
@Not-Geno Part of the eShop's more refined selections.
"The Switch-like controller is called the Razer Kishi"
No it is not. It is made in Partnership with GameVice. The design is based on their iphone detachable controller from 2015 (it is in my closet)
There was no Switch in 2015 🤦♂️
I mean, Nintendo copied the Xbox One controller to make the Switch Pro controller so...
@Agramonte Razer and Gamevice are 2 seperate controller developers that teamed up to make the Kishi. It just released a couple of months ago. I understand the concept has been around long before the Switch but I believe they even cited the Switch as influencing its design.
Just read that it costs $100, ouch.
@OorWullie I bought it right after Christmas 2015 for my new iPhone
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/gamevice-ios-controller,review-3276.html
Looks like they copy the Xbox trapezoid layout for the buttons (The Switch makes a rectangle - thumbs are directly under the buttons). They also got rid of the iPhone home button cut out.
To me It looks more like what they been making for the past 5 years than a Switch controller.
@auck @edgedino Wii Classic Controller
Yeah, that's what I told them 2 hours before they wrote the article. I'm assuming I'm 1 of the NL readers the article mentions, though I could be wrong. They should have taken my advice. 😉
https://twitter.com/bobmrik/status/1290659919960715265?s=19
Honestly, I see it more as a praise towards Nintendo's controller designs as opposed to an insult.
@nab1 Spot on, the Kishi is made by Gamevice
@NinjaWaddleDee I dont see how this was make nintendo fans mad, then again I dont see how any gaming news makes anybody thats supposed to be a gamer mad when its not some crappy news like a certain webslinger being missing in action.
Hopefully that detachable razer thing has far better analog sticks than the ones that are in my joy cons, those sticks are awful. I haven't had drift issues jn a controller in years, but my original pair of joy cons had it before I even finished breath of the wild, 2nd pair now also has drifting, I’m scared to use my 3rd pair now.
It's all so clunky looking
they all look really bad! xD maybe I am weird but I prefer to keep using my phone as a phone, and my handheld as a handheld
They haven’t copied the Switch controller until they really nail the drift...
first Playstation with the Wii
now Xbox with the rest
No, it looks like the WiiClassic controller.
Super Nintendo never had joysticks like that.
That phone "joy-con" seems to be shaped just the way I wished the actually joy-cons were shaped. I find it quite odd that Nintendo did not even consider comfort when designing the joy cons.
"The Time Is Right For Microsoft And Nintendo To Get Comfier With One Another"
Great idea. 😑
I still love the feel of the Super Nintendo controller
@Aurumonado Why would this be plagarism exactly? Mobile game controllers with these kinds of form factors have existed long before Nintendo even conceptualized the Switch
The Razer controller actually looks super comfy ngl. I might jump on this cloud gaming thing and test it out some time. I tried Stadia when they were handing out free pro subscriptions and it actually worked decently, so I imagine Microsoft's technical know-how will make their experience a lot better
Very similar, but clearly not the same. They look... okay, but still inferior to an actual Xbox pad.
Also, xCloud for Switch when, Phil? It really is a match made in heaven...
@patbacknitro18 what game bruh
@retro_player_77 the first one is a rip-off of the Wii Virtual Console Controller ... the second are the joycons .... the third one I really don’t know
That first one is literally a Wii Classic Controller. It even has a +Control Pad, which is patented by Nintendo.
8Bitdo makes great controllers.
Finally, the Switch Pro leak 🤪
I want the 8BitDo one. Been using SN30 Pro for GTA SA and the only annoying thing is that ABXY is swapped around.
Combining aspects of two controllers I don't like. Keep hitting those home runs, Microsoft. You'll go the way of Sega soon enough...
@datamonkey don't you mean that most Macs look like laptops and iphones look like phones and earpods look like headphones. Apple watch also looks like a watch btw. The iPod also looked suspiciously like an mp3 player too.
Do I smell lack of Innovations. This is a sure signs of xbox thinking inside of the Box.
@retro_player_77 I'm going to go out on a limb and say you didn't read the article. Also, the controller that you say looks like an 8BitDo controller is literally an 8BitDo SN30. Not similar to it, it is that controller, just with Microsoft branding slapped on. But you say it doesn't look familiar as a Nintendo fan... which is silly, because the 8BitDo SN30 is literally designed to be a Super Nintendo controller with more buttons. Also, incidentally, it's nearly the exact layout of a Wii Classic Controller.
The other controller is similar to a WikiPad, though more exactly like a Razer Kishi or other similar phone controllers that have been around for years.
Split pad pro ripoff would be a lawsuit if it wasn't Microsoft
Its 2020, sharing a similar design is not anything new now.
Huh? I'm an owner of the Razor Kishi ...there is no "The integrated Xbox Button" ! ...If anything Razor promoted this in time to Android Mobile gaming and Google's Cloud service... Stadia !
@edgedino yea, THAT was my first thought, too
I can see people hacking it to play switch games on it...lol
@patbacknitro18 I see you're a man of culture as well
Do you think xcloud will hurt the switch?
@nab1 I thought it looked like a gamevice too, and I will definitely be trying this at some point. Does Xcloud support streaming over LAN yet? (Using the Xbox already in your home, like PS4 remote play)?
I don't think it was any question that Sony/Microsoft would do this as they've been doing it for over a decade starting with the Wii.
Lol maybe its payback since the nintendo pro controller is a total ripoff of the xbox one controller
@patbacknitro18 awesome! I'll look it up!
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