Razer has announced a new high-end PS5 gamepad to compete with luxury offerings like Sony’s upcoming DualSense Edge or Microsoft’s Xbox Elite controllers on PC. Razer’s Wolverine V2 Pro (opens in new tab) has an eye-watering $250 price tag, and includes the requisite rear paddle buttons and swappable thumb pads while also boasting “mecha-tactile” button switches and “hyperspeed wireless” through a special dongle—presumably to cut back on input latency?
I have no doubt this thing will impress when it comes to build quality and general feel—at this price, it better be the most premium-feeling controller I’ve ever laid hands on. However, I’m not seeing a killer feature here to justify that price tag. The Xbox-style layout could be an advantage to PS5 players who prefer it, I suppose, but the customizability, high-end button action and potentially improved wireless aren’t the sort of slam dunks to justify a $50 premium over the DualSense Edge (opens in new tab) or $100-$150 over the Xbox Elite V2.
For this price, I’d really want to see Hall effect analog sticks—that’s the newfangled, high-end, purportedly drift-proof solution already making its way to some controllers and aftermarket analog stick modules. On the PC side, I can’t believe Microsoft’s Xbox Elite controller, the trendsetter for high-end gamepads, now looks like a reserved, fiscally responsible choice.
The Xbox Elite can also now be bought with custom colors, and that’s the first thing that’s genuinely tempted me to blow that much scratch on a pad. That Wolverine’s locked in a PS5-standard colorway of 2009 Apple Store milk white, electric blue, and I can’t think of a third modifier black.
While we’ve given the Xbox Elite Series 2 our nod as the overall best controller for PC gaming (opens in new tab), I’m still more than satisfied with my Xbox Core wireless controller. Honestly it feels delightfully retro and quaint to slot two double-As into that bad boy, and it lasted most of an Elden Ring playthrough on a single charge. Really though, controller design peaked with either the GameCube keyboard controller (opens in new tab) or the Hori Tactical Assault Commander (opens in new tab) half-gamepad, half-mouse. Our collective failure to adopt either is an indictment of our society.
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