Evidently there will be a new controller available to the US market come the end of April or early May. It is NOT the Japanese version. It is it's own Xbox controller "S" and will co-exist with the original Xbox controller. If nothing else, you at least have to give it to MS for listening to consumers and trying to accomodate and please a larger group of people with their controllers....

http://www.gamespy.com/hardware/marc...oxcontrollers/

That's the Japanese controller with a different name. I guess I give props to MS for releasing it here, but shame on them for doing so after I already bought the Japanese one. Oh well... same difference.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=169400

direct excerpt from the interview (link posted above):

GameSpy: Is it 100% identical to the Japanese controller?

David Hufford: No, there are differences. For one, the cable length is a bit longer than the Japanese controller; we're going to the 9.8 foot standard cable that we came out with for the original Xbox Controller. I mentioned the buttons -- the springs in the triggers, those are a bit different. It's more like the Xbox Controller here in the States, with a little subtle difference -- you'll definitely feel a little more play there. We replaced the green jewel with a black jewel, so you'll have a black jewel on this one.

The longer controller cable is certainly welcomed.
I was planning on purhcasing the Japanese controller, but now I'll wait a bit for this one.

serves me right for just skimming the article. Well... if I end up liking my Japanese controller, maybe I'll just buy one of these as well. I already have 4 controllers (with the Japanese one on the way), so I guess I'll have 6 total if I get this one. Maybe I should sell a couple of em. How long is the Japanese cable? 5 feet?

What the frick does he mean, "The Green Jewel"?

Did some of the comtrollers come with a Green Jewel? Just wondering since mine is black.

It's that round plastic thing.

The Japanese controllers are expensive locally. One mom and pop was charging $50. Glad there will be a US alternative.

The S controller will cost the same as the current official one... I picked up the Japanese one for that same price. You're probably best off waiting though... I'll let you know what I think of the Japanese one when I get it.

Great. Keep us updated.
I'd like to know how the controller handles feel compared to the US version, how easy/difficult it is to reach all the buttons, the feel of the force-feedback motors (I wonder if they're the same size as the US motors???), etc.

Excellant news!!!

so I saw one of these in stores yesterday but they didn't have one open to "feel". Has anyone bought one of these yet? If so, throw up a review for us

I have one and love it. I'm a big Tony Hawk guy and find the A,B,X,Y layout of the S controller much more comfortable (it isn't on a slant like the original).
Those that use the white and black buttons might not be happy.

I don't except for Spidey and Halo and I haven't tried those games yet.

I also love the original controller so I'm glad I have both.

I know at EB, they will give sell it to you for $19.99 if you trade in your old, original controller. Not a bad deal if you hate the larger one.

Gamespy.com has an excellent review on the "S" today, check it out.

Doug

I got a japanese controller for around 20-25 from a friend in Japan. I like it alot better than the standard Xbox controller.

I have both the "S" controller and the Japanese controller. As previously mentioned, the "S" controller has a longer cord and a different Xbox logo. The GameSpy interview claims that the triggers in the "S" controller feel tighter than those of the Japanese controller. I tried both side by side and couldn't feel any difference. The original controller's triggers still feel the tightest.

There is one other subtle difference between the Japanese controller and the "S" controller. The "S" controller's A, B, X, Y buttons are dome-shaped like those of the original controller. The Japanese controller's A, B, X, Y buttons are flat and are engraven with A, B, X, or Y. Each of the A, B, X, Y buttons on the Japanese controller feel different, so its easier to know which one is being pressed.

Given a choice between the "S" controller and the Japanese controller, I would choose the Japanese even though some people may not care about the minor differences between the two. I still like the original controller and I tend to spend about half my time playing with it and the other half of the time playing with the Japanese controller. Here is IGN's review of the Japanese controller.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/355/355799p1.html

I personally like the curent controller. Or should say that I am used to it. I never used the Japanese version though. I may get this one for my children to use. Although no childrens games that my kids would play have come out I hear of a nickelodean title in the Fall. This may be a good controller for them.

The differences are minor between the two but the longer cord is what makes the S controller more attractive to me. I had the JP PS1 controller and the cord is short. I had a US PS1 controller with a longer cord. I used the US PS1 controller over the JP PS1 controller. The US PS1 controller was slightly larger than the JP one but not big as only for "ape hands" like the original Xbox controller.

Here are the differences between the Japanse controller and Controller-S, according to the June issue of Official Xbox Magazine:

1.) length of cable - the controller-S cable is 3 meters, half a meter longer than the Japanese controller's cord
2.) appearance - the controller-S more closely resembles the original US pad
3.) D-pad - improved for longer play on the new controller
4.) shorter start/select buttons - this makes accidental button presses less likely on the new pad
5.) tighter triggers - you'll feel better tactile feedback with the Controller-S
6.) jewel color - green in Japan, black in the US

I have both the Japanese controller and Controller-S. Now I'm not sure about (3), as I haven't noticed any difference in the D-pad, but everything else checks out. Roan also mentioned the differences in the A,B,X,Y buttons, and I agree with him. The Japanese controller's 4 primary buttons have a better feel to them.

Anyone tried it with DOA3 yet? The white/black button setup looks like it could make some moves a lot more complicated -- or at least confusing for a while.

Tuan Jim

My 3 yr. old loves playing spidey with the new s controller.

Now if I could just get her to stop playing GTA3 on my PS2

Any deals out yet for the Controller S?

I wish! I have only seen it for the standard $40. In fact, I have never seen the regular controllers on sale either. I finally broke down and bought one (S) yesterday. It feels OK but I will have to wait until next week to try it out on a game to give a real opinion.

Circuit City has a 10% off Xbox accessories once in awhile (they did last week). That is how I purchased the DVD kit.

But they still haven't stocked the new S controller yet but something tells me about 100 of them are sitting in the back room. These guys have no clue on inventory management.

The week they had Tony Hawk 3 for sale I had to chase 3 guys down to check the back for it, and guess what? they had it in the back. No stock out in the aisles on the day they advertised it.

Pure genius.

Doug

Buy.com has it for $32.00.

EB is selling it for 19.99 if you trade in your original controller. Not much of a deal, but if you were getting rid of the others anyway...