Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 Core – White

The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is the best gamepad for the Xbox One/Xbox Series consoles, and one of the best for PCs. It has an excellent feel, plus hardware and software customization tricks that the standard Xbox Wireless Controller does not. It’s also quite expensive at $179.99. With that in mind, Microsoft now offers the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 Core (we’ll refer to it as the Elite Core going forward). At $129.99, the Elite Core is $50 less than the standard Elite, and it’s the same controller at its heart. The savings come from Microsoft ditching the Elite’s carrying case, cradle, rear paddles, and alternate analog sticks and direction pads. The paddle removal feels odd, since the connections remain on the gamepad’s back and the controller feels a bit naked without them.

Now in White

The Elite Core’s body looks and feels similar to the top-notch Elite controller, except that the matte, untextured plastic half of its body is white, not black (you can tweak the look with Xbox Design Lab customization coming in the future). The textured, rubberized grips are black like the Elite, and the controls have the same configuration. The front consists of off-angle analog sticks; a circular, metal direction pad with octagonal panels denoting directions; A/B/X/Y face buttons; Guide, Menu, and View buttons in the middle; and a Profile button with three LEDs to indicate the profile in use. The Profile button replaces the standard Xbox controller’s Capture button, so you must press Guide and go to the Capture menu if you want to grab screenshots or video footage.