Microsoft has been preforming a series of stress tests on the Xbox One controller, and has estimated that the new gamepad will last at least 10 years.
Speaking to Pocket-lint, Microsoft accessories and hardware manager Bob Brown explained that his team has been using a custom-built rig that presses each button on the finalised Xbox One controller “between 4-5 times a second.” In total, Brown has tested over 20 controllers using the rig and has found that the buttons are physically withstanding — and correctly registering — over 3 million presses.
The button tests results, combined with a series of thumbstick stress tests and drop tests, have led Microsoft to conclude that the Xbox One controller will last “way beyond the 10-year projected lifespan of the new console.”
While this is certainly good news, because most of us are not hip to the idea of having to purchase replacement controllers, the timeline does raise an interesting (and depressing) issue in regards to the Xbox One console — the controllers will likely outlive the system they were designed for.
Many technical aspects about the Xbox One are completely up in the air — thanks to Microsoft’s refusal to directly answer any question — but one thing has been made clear from the start, the next generation console requires a periodic internet connection to Xbox Live in order to function. At some point in the future Microsoft will shut down those Xbox Live servers, and when that happens the Xbox One (and its entire library of software) will become the first system in the history of the video game industry that will suddenly cease to exist by design.
Microsoft has built the Xbox One console in such a way that it becomes completely worthless and unable to function the moment they eventually shut down their servers. It’s true that nothing in this world lasts forever, but it is a bit troubling to see a video game company this eager to fully embrace that truth and then sell it to their customers.
On the bright side, all those original Xbox One controllers will still be in great shape!