Turd Ferguson

I saw that Wal Mart’s Black Friday supply was going live on their site at 9:00 P.M. E.S.T. I logged in, cued up the page and started refreshing around 8:45. The site was slammed at 9:00 P.M. and by 9:01, it was showing “Temporarily Out Of Stock”. I kept refreshing on a hunch and managed to snag one around 9:14. It’s now showing “Out of Stock”. I’m honestly shocked. I figured I’d have about a 5% chance based on past experience.

Deftones

I noticed a weird situation with my system. If I put it in the quick resume state, my controller and headset won't sync with it at all. Have to do a hard reboot to get it working again. I basically set it to turn off completely now to avoid that issue. It boots much more quickly than the One X so it isn't a big deal, but still annoying not to be able to use that feature.

Michael T Hudson

I have had issues with Call of Duty shutting down the system. I read a know issue. Think I will hold off till it is patched. I did confirm I only downloaded the correct version.

bluetoast

I don't have the console yet, but I want to check on a couple things. Do you guys feel the need to "upgrade" your controllers with the battery pack, and if so do you have an appropriate charging station? Or do you prefer to utilize the AA batteries (or on top of that, rechargeable batteries)?

This controller is the version that is included with the system, correct? (I'm aware that Xbox One controllers work, but want to confirm this is the current gen model):

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/xb...web_collection

Adam Tyner

I did get the new play-and-charge kit, but if you already have an XB1 kit, the battery pack itself appears to be identical. AFAIK, you'd just need to get a USB-C cable to charge since the new controllers don't use Micro-USB anymore. (There was some early speculation that the batteries were slightly different in size, but I just tried swapping 'em with an older kit and everything seems to work fine.)

I didn't get a charging station, but my couch has a USB hub built into the center console, so I just use that.

Yup. It has the dedicated sharing button and the new D-Pad. Microsoft is going for an "Xbox" controller instead of Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, etc., so it's more like it's the latest version rather than a last-gen/current-gen split.

nickdawgy

Still blows my mind Microsoft hasn’t made the controller rechargeable.

Coral

Many people prefer it that way.

Music

Yep, many people prefer a choice and easy replacements of rechargeable packs when needed.

bluetoast

Thanks Adam, that’s good to know. Looking forward to finally diving in soon.

Rob V

Regarding controllers... if you haven't tried out an Elite (especially the 2nd gen Elite), you really should. Best controller for the system, hands down. It's rechargeable and all the triggers have depth setting features. I love it.

tonyc3742

I'm fine with the way they've done it. An issue with built in rechargeables is that unless they're user replaceable, eventually they lose life and affect the usability of the controller as a whole.
I have gotten an aftermarket recharging station for both my 360 and my One and really like using them, but I understand some don't. It's usually just me playing so when one runs out, I just swap out with my 'backup' controller and put my 'main' one on the charger overnight.

Call of Duty - does it cause reboot/shutdown, or bricking?

nickdawgy

Huh. Never thought about it that way.

New Lurker

I hate rechargeable controllers. I've had so many problems with PS3 & PS4 controllers. It's really annoying to decide to play and all the controllers are dead. If you don't play regularly they lose charge. If you just leave them plugged in for a few weeks that also messes them up and they stop being able to charge fully. So when I do decide I'm in the mood for Playstation I have to make sure to add an extra hour to charge some controllers first. Annoying.

I very much prefer just using regular AA batteries. If they're dead takes .3 seconds to replace. No hassle, no added time, no worrying about trying to rig it to charge and play at the same time, which never seems to work for me.. It's one of the big reasons I will always prefer playing Xbox over Playstation.

bluetoast

I’m looking forward to my charging station for PS5. It shuts down charging if it’s full, so “overcharging” isn’t a concern.

For the series X, I plan on sticking with batteries, maybe rechargeable AAs though.

mugwump

I've been using the same set of Eneloop rechargeable batteries that I got when the 360 came out and they're still going strong. Much prefer that method to rechargeable controllers as you can just swap and go when they die.

bluetoast

I've heard great things about Eneloop batteries - will probably be investing in those (especially since I just ordered 2 Xbox controllers tonight, one for a system I don't even own yet, and one for PC use).

For PS5 I'll probably get an extra controller down the line, and just swap between the two if the battery goes low - I always want 2 controllers per system in case a friend is over anyway, but getting more use out of the controllers is a bonus.

spainlinx0

I also use Eneloops and I would hate it if MS followed Sony's lead on this. I always have spare ones ready to go, and I never have to worry about being tethered because my controller unexpectedly died, as the DS4s tend to do, in my experience.

I have been using the same pack of rechargeables for many years as well.

The Questyen

I generally play games 15-20 hours a week and have never had any issues with my Playstation controllers. If I see it getting low I plug it in and charge it. Not very complicated.

fujishig

I think it's more of a hassle if you play less frequently and/or your controllers start getting old and don't hold a charge.

tonyc3742

I used to have various sets of rechargeables, including Eneloop, but I didn't use them enough. They were never charged when i needed them. I use the recharging stations, and I stock up on AA and AAA for other purposes once a year or so. My workflow didn't really work with the rechargeables. But I like that we have options.
I did have to get a new station because my older one's batteries weren't holding a charge. But that was probably between 4-5 years of use.

bluetoast

Finally got a pre order in from Microsoft, so I’m fully next gen. I’m looking forward to Forza looking even better. And hopefully more enhanced games via Game Pass.

bralph

I haven't had any luck yet. When I look at the Microsoft/XBox site, it just points to other retailers (Best Buy, Walmart, etc). I've come close with Walmart and Best Buy orders in the past couple of weeks, but have yet to be able to checkout fast enough. It's so frustrating.

bluetoast

Do you follow Wario64 on Twitter? He is on top of alerts. I had alerts on at all times on my phone and that’s how I jumped on. Still was a lucky break where I breezed through checkout.

bralph

I do now. Fingers crossed!

Deftones

Yeah Wario64 is a good resource. There is also a PS5 specific one that is helpful too.