Xbox One Elite Controller: Microsoft Wishes It Made 10 Times As Many

The Xbox One Elite Controller has been in high demand since it was released in October. Getting one during the holiday shopping season was difficult, as The Inquisitr covered, despite the $150 price. Demand for them has been so high, Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela would have made 10 times as many if the company hadn’t completely underestimated the consumer desire for the Elite.

Capossela made the admission in the latest episode of Windows Weekly (via Geekwire). Interestingly, it was the reaction to the controller’s debut at E3 that resulted in a low number being produced.

“Here’s the product we totally underestimated,” he said during the Windows Weekly videocast. “If I could have built 10 times the number I built, I would have. We got that feedback at E3 that it was awesome, but maybe the price was a little too high, and so that influenced how many we produced.”

“On the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, myself and Kevin Turner our COO, and the guy who runs our stores, David Porter, we go around and visit 30 or 40 different stores,” Capossela explained. “Best Buy and GameStop and AT&T and Verizon and Microsoft Stores, just to see how things look, and the one thing we heard from everybody was, ‘You needed to make way more of these controllers.'”

Microsoft stood to make an even greater amount of money during the holidays if it had been able to produce more of the Xbox One Elite Controllers. It is currently sold out at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, and the Microsoft Store.

Now, here’s the worst part for those still hunting for the controller. The availability note on Amazon’s listing states that it is unlikely that any orders will be delivered until Spring 2016. That doesn’t start until March 20, over 80 days away.

There is one expensive route for getting the Xbox One Elite Controller via retail, and that is the Xbox One Elite console bundle for $450 to $500. This is the version of the console that comes with the 1TB hybrid solid-state and traditional hard drive, which gives the console a performance boost of up to 20 percent when booting up and loading games. It’s a solid pick up for those getting their first Xbox One. Everyone else will probably just want to wait for the Elite Controller to come back in stock.

Ebay is, of course, an option as well. The controller is marked up $35 to $100 over its $150 price, though.

Still, it is fascinating to hear Microsoft admit it underestimated demand for the Elite Controller. Xbox One owners have largely sworn by the premium accessory in various community forums since even before it was released. Meanwhile, reviews such as the one at Shacknews declared it the best controller Microsoft has ever made.

For those unfamiliar with the fuss over the Xbox One Elite Controller, the premium device comes with a bevy of swappable thumbsticks, along with paddles that can be mounted on the underside in place of the “A”, “B”, “X”, and “Y” face buttons. It also features Hair Trigger Locks on the left and right trigger to reduce the distance it takes to get a shot off, plus the ability to switch out D-pads. There is also a customization app that allows users to set different button mapping profiles to use with games.

SCUF, the third-party pro game controller maker, recently announced that it will be the exclusive third-party accessory provider for the Xbox One Elite Controller. Products have not yet been announced, but new thumbsticks, paddles, and other customization options are expected to be released over the coming year.

Did you successfully nab an Xbox One Elite Controller? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Xbox]