By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
05.09.2023 - 13:21 / theverge.com / Antonio G.Di-Benedetto
By Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and The Verge’s Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides. Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry.
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Accessory maker PowerA seems to know that RGB gamer lights are all the rage, but its new Xbox controller and LED strips have very strong “We have gamer lights at home!” vibes.
PowerA’s new RGB-infused peripheral is the Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox Series X / S with Lumectra. It’s a $44.99 wired gamepad available in black or white with some nice sounding features, like hair triggers, two customizable rear buttons, four-zone RGB lighting with three preprogrammed modes, and a detachable USB-C cable (a nice upgrade over PowerA’s cheaper models still plagued by Micro USB ports).
That all sounds well and good, but the new wired Advantage also has some wireless tech — no, it doesn’t have any official Xbox wireless connectivity like PowerA put into its MOGA XP-Ultra mobile controller — but instead, it has a friggin’ IR blaster. “Why?” you ask? Well, isn’t it obvious that it’s for controlling a new range of non-smart LED strips called Lumectra?
PowerA’s Lumectra LED strips launching alongside the controller come in two flavors: one is a four-foot RGB LED strip you can get bundled with the Advantage for $54.99, and the other is a standalone 18-foot RGB LED strip PowerA is selling for $19.99. Both strips can be controlled by the Advantage’s IR blaster, while the 18-foot model also comes with its own generic-looking IR remote control.
I’ve tested many PowerA game controllers, and I’ve found most of them to be capital-F Fine. The company typically offers more than competent products, excellent customer service (bordering on being a little Extra), and even some premium features trickled down to cheaper models for a better value. But these Lumectra light strips, frankly, look like cheap-o generic LED strips from no-name brands found on Amazon or AliExpress.
I’ve already started testing the existing non-RGB version of the Advantage Controller for a future update to our Xbox controller buying guide, sans IR blaster. It’s a very competent wired controller for Xbox and PC, offering a low price for a gamepad with additional rear buttons and three-stage trigger lockouts for firing off faster shots in FPS games. But I never once thought while using it, “You know what I really need to be doing right now? Controlling some dumb lights.”
There may be folks out there who find $55 for a controller and some simple strip lights worthwhile for a basic gamer-y setup (and we all know they’ll go on get discounts soon enough), but my esteemed colleague
By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
A ton of future Xbox hardware plans have leaked through another court document redaction mess up, giving real insights into MIcrosoft’s console gaming future through an internal document titles ‘Roadmap to 2030’.
The next evolution of the Xbox controller will have improved haptic feedback, an accelerometer, speakers and a rechargable and replaceable battery.
A new Xbox controller, codenamed Sebile, has been spotted as part of the massive overnight leak of Microsoft documents.
Microsoft is planning to release a next-gen Xbox controller alongside its mid-generation console refresh at some point next year. The news comes from the massive leak that originated from an FTC vs. Microsoft public document.
The Genshin Impact version 4.1 update is breaking new ground with one of its upcoming additions to the roster. The recent Genshin Impact 4.1 livestream revealed that one of the new five-star characters, Wriothesley, will be a Cryo catalyst user, making him the first of his kind. Coincidentally, he’ll also be the first five-star Cryo male character in the anime game as well.
By Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and The Verge’s Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides. Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry.
By Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and The Verge’s Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides. Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry.
The Blackening, Tim Story’s horror-comedy about a group of Black friends on a weekend getaway at an ill-fated cabin in the woods, feels like a test case for a bunch of different experiments. Released digitally only weeks after it landed in theaters, it became the latest recent film where the rental release and box-office take were in direct competition. It’s also an unusual balancing act between snark and substance; while the comedy is broad and often highly self-aware, the script just as often slips in sincere points about race relations, Black culture, and particularly Black friendship.
PS5 sales in the UK have jumped 60% year-to-date while sales of both Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch are down compared to last year.
By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.
Apple Arcade is adding four new games this month including a James Bond title called Cypher 007.