Xbox 360 Controller

There are two official Microsoft designs for it's controller. The standard controller and the controller 's', the 's' referring to a smaller version. (shown below, elite version of the standard controller, and the wired version of a controller S)

Young children can have problems using the standard controller, due to the large size of it's dimensions. It appears to be made for an adult's hands. The controller S aims to rectify this problem.

The official Microsoft gamepads are then split into two more camps, wired and wireless. The wired version is bundled with the Arcade version of the 360 console, and the wireless with the standard 360 and the elite version. The elite wireless controller is painted black rather than white, and does not come in a wired version. There is also a special edition 'Halo 3' wireless controller, which is black and comes with halo artwork on it's front. (shown below, three wireless at the top, two wired at the bottom)

The wired versions simply plug into front and rear usb ports, and can also be plugged and used on a PC via it's USB ports. The wireless controllers require either two AA batteries, or the official battery pack, which is rechargeable. (shown below). The battery plugs into the rear of the wireless gamepad, and the charger on the top, which then plugs directly into the Xbox when the battery pack is dead.

Recently Microsoft have also released blue, green, pink and red controllers. The red and green are of a limited release number. The D-pad on all gamepads has been upgraded in 2008, to offer improved functionality. Currently only new games such as Pro Evo Football take advantage of the new D-pad's abilities. The wireless version uses a frequency of 2.4 GHz, which gives it a range of 30-foot. Microsoft also claim it has lag-free play. Both the wired and wireless gamepads have a headset port integrated, and adjustable vibration feedback.