Microsoft Introduces Dinky Little XBox Controller

25 years ago, XBox launched in North America. It was designed very much to American tastes at first glance, with a giant imposing design and an even larger controller. The sheer size and heft of that controller got roundly mocked back in the day, so much so that Microsoft had a smaller revised version released within a year.

We’ve come from that to this: the XBox Nano, a brand new controller launching in early November that’s half the size of the current default Series X controller. It weighs less, stretches to just over five inches in length and costs $50 compared to the generic controller’s $65, or the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller’s $149.99. Yet it has all eighteen buttons, XBox says.

The main reason for its existence, says Microsoft, is to produce a controller you can stick in your pocket and use anywhere. It takes a basic Bluetooth connection which means it is not exclusive to XBox machines…you can use it with other consoles, PC games, mobile games (where compatible), crappy Smart TV games if you’re masochistic…anything!

This may be the first good idea Microsoft has had all year, and they needed one. But the big question is…how does it handle? Is the controller comfortable, or would it be a pain to use for long stretches of time? Since I’m old enough to remember consoles with “bits” as a selling point I have certainly handled my share of rectangular-shaped input devices. It LOOKS fine, but we may have to wait for the reviews.

But if the reviewers end up liking it, where can you go wrong? A modern controller that’s easy to cart around for an affordable price. The XBox Nano goes on sale November 4 in select territories.