TMNT Xbox Controller Smells Like Actual Pizza

A woman smells a pizza Xbox controller.

Photo: Microsoft

Is that delivery? No, it’s an Xbox Series X/S controller designed in a lab to smell like pizza. In the leadup to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’s August 2023 release, Microsoft is giving away a certain number of TMNT-themed, slice-infused controllers.

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“Designed to deliver the smell of the Turtles’ beloved meal to your game time, these exclusive Xbox Wireless Controllers come with a built-in scent diffuser shaped like a slice of delicious New York ‘za,” reads the official description. As long as it doesn’t end up smelling disgusting, it will probably make you very hungry whenever you sit down to play, and probably kill your battery life in the process.

There are four unique controller variations—one for each of the four Turtles—sporting their names in graffiti, profile pic, and weapons of choice alongside the green ooze paint jobs. They actually look really neat, and like a lot of Microsoft’s recent branded partnerships, it would be cool if you could actually just go out and buy them.

According to an official Xbox Wire announcement for the contest, all you need to do to win one of them is follow the Xbox Game Pass Twitter account and retweet the sweepstakes tweet. Perfect timing given the social media website continues to unravel before our eyes thanks to the brain-dead mood swings of billionaires and the sycophants in their inner circle who never tell them “No.”

Microsoft’s new TMNT crossover also extends to Minecraft, where a new DLC arriving August 3 will add playable Turtles, Krang and Leatherhead enemies, and locations from the movie including the heroes’ sewer lair. We don’t have any screenshots of what that will look like yet but it actually sounds super rad.

In the meantime you can always get into the pizza-eating, foot soldier-bashing spirit with 2023 GOTY contender Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (on Game Pass and PS Plus Extra) or the excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection which collects every retro platformer and beat-em-up in the franchise’s long-running video game adaptation history.

             

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New Nintendo Controller Patent Shows Possible Joy-Con Drift Fix

A patent for a new Nintendo controller, published by the United States Patent Office on September 7, indicates the Super Mario developer is at least considering how to permanently shake its Joy-Con drift issue. Joy-Con drift, a phenomenon in which your Switch responds to phantom Joy-Con movement, has frustrated Switch owners since the console’s 2017 debut, triggering class action lawsuits, and begetting an official apology from Nintendo, which outsourced some drift repairs to a constantly overwhelmed repair shop in Syracuse. But through all of this Joy-Con misery, Nintendo has failed to incorporate a permanent fix until, maybe, now.

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According to the controller patent, which was first filed on May 11, it proposes “a resistance section using a magnetorheological fluid whose viscosity changes with a magnetic-field intensity and which becomes resistance when the operation element is displaced.”

A screenshot from Nintendo's patent shows a square-shaped controller.

Screenshot: Nintendo / Kotaku

“I hope this means we’re getting Joy-Cons that use magnetism not to drift, as a change like that is long overdue,” games writer and accessibility advocate Laura Kate Dale told me over Twitter DM. However, some think the patent could instead hint at Nintendo introducing “force feedback analogue sticks similar to the resistive triggers on PS5” to a future console, Dale says. If that’s the case, “my main hope is that they can be switched off on a system level for disabled players,” she continues.

Read More: Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Repair Center Was Constantly Overwhelmed, Claims Former Supervisor

Nintendo’s patent is also kicking up more rumors about the much-asked-for Nintendo Switch 2, which appears to be scheduled for a 2024 release, though some developers reportedly received hands-on time with the device earlier this summer. Kotaku reached out to Nintendo for comment.

“There are a lot of rumors doing the rounds that the Switch 2 is going to basically be a Switch, but with more power under the hood, and a reliance on DLSS-style upscaling to improve framerates and resolution,” Dale, who leaked Switch news in 2016, told me. “As a disabled gamer, I’d love to see a hypothetical Switch 2 make an effort to be more accessible” by adding some features that “are now standard on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, such as system-level colorblindness filters and accessibility tags on the digital store.” Out with the Joy-Con drift, in with the more accessible gaming future.

 

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Upgraded Xbox Series X And Controller Reportedly Coming In 2024

Microsoft has big plans for the fourth year of the Xbox Series X/S, based on new leaks from the Federal Trade Commission’s failed court fight to block the company from acquiring Activision Blizzard in June. In addition to a revised Series S, the tech giant is also planning a cylyindrical, disc-less update to the more powerful Series X, complete with a new controller featuring better haptic feedback.

Thank You, PS Plus, For Making My Backlog Even Bigger

The information, which is always subject to change prior to products actually shipping, was buried in unrelated files uploaded by the Northern District Court of California and is part of a massive trove of unredacted documents. A strategy roadmap for the Xbox brand through 2030 points to the planned release of the Series S refresh (codename Ellewood) and Series X refresh (codename Brooklin) in late 2024 alongside an all-new Xbox controller (codename Sebile).

A screenshot shows specs for the new Xbox Seris X.

Screenshot: Microsoft / Kotaku

Based on the leaked documents, the new versions of the consoles will retain their existing $300 and $500 price points respectively, but offer a number of upgraded features. The new Xbox Series X will by a cylindrical shape and have no disc drive either, suggesting Microsoft could be heading to an all-digital future. While it will retain the same 16GB ram and 12 teraflop specs as the existing launch console, it will have 2TB of internal storage instead of 1TB, faster Wi-Fi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.2 radio, 15 percent less power consumption, and a USB-C port on the front.

The new controller, meanwhile, will be two-toned and come with a rechargable and replaceable battery. More importantly, Microsoft’s internal strategy documents claim it will offer precision haptic feedback, quieter buttons and thumbsticks, and an accelerometer. The controller will also apparently turn on simply by picking it up rather than pushing a button. It will seemingly be priced at $70.

A screenshot shows specs for the new Xbox controller.

Screenshot: Microsoft / Kotaku

According to the roadmap, the controller will arrive in May, followed by the Series S refresh in September and the Series X refresh in November. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer had previously told Bloomberg and others in interviews throughout the summer that the company was not working on any substantial power upgrade to its current consoles prior to the next hardware generation, which leaks suggest is currently planned for 2028.

Sony, on the other hand, is reportedly currently working on a PlayStation 5 Pro. It’s still not clear what the specs of that machine might be. The PS5 currently appears to be outselling the Xbox Series X/S two to one. A majority of current Xbox owners have so far opted for the less powerful Series S, however. New data released as part of the FTC trial puts it at roughly 75 percent compared to 25 percent for the Series X.

         

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$245 PS5 Controller Promises To Get Rid Of Stick Drift

French gaming accessory distributor Nacon opened preorders for its Revolution 5 Pro controller for PS5, PS4, and PC. The officially licensed, polished-looking product is listed at $199, about half the cost of a digital-edition PlayStation 5. But if you can’t stand stick drift, maybe that’s a small price to pay.

Thank You, PS Plus, For Making My Backlog Even Bigger

For a while, it’s seemed like no modern controller could escape stick drift, or phantom joystick movement that affects in-game actions. Nintendo offers Switch owners free repairs for its freewheeling Joy-Cons, and Sony similarly covered drifting DualSense controllers under its warranty. But there are few permanent fixes for any controller.

Nacon, then, attempts to cut the problem out at the root. Like a growing number of other manufacturers (and Sega back in the ‘90s, with its Saturn and Dreamcast controllers), it uses contactless magnet technology, powered by a phenomenon called the Hall effect, to track the movement of its analog joysticks and triggers. This is in contrast to the degradable potentiometers and springs living in a typical Joy-Con or DualSense controller.

Read More: One Of The Most Beloved Nintendo Controllers Is Back To Fix Switch Joy-Con Drift

“This asymmetric controller offers revolutionary features to improve precision and gaming performances,” Nacon writes on its website. “Exceeding all expectations with its technology optimized for the PS5. Enjoy an enriched configuration interface, improved and ergonomic modular design, all wrapped in premium materials for unparalleled comfort.”

Aside from utilizing the magnetic Hall effect for its sticks, the Revolution 5 Pro controller also uses magnets to supply its trigger stops. The company touts its odd-looking d-pad for apparently being made in collaboration with its sponsored fighting game player, which it suggests imparts “exceptional control and precision.” As for the battery, $199 gets about 10 hours of playtime, which is comparable to a DualSense controller (that gives up around the 12-hour mark).

As with many of these high-end “pro” or “elite” controllers the Revolution 5 Pro has various modular pieces you can swap in as you’d like. It offers “four profiles saved per platform, three sets of weights, three stick sizes, three sets of stick heads, one external microphone jack and no less than 60 customisation options,” according to Nacon. So, go crazy.

The expensive controller, available in white or black, will start shipping in October.

 Updated: 9/29/23, 12:10 p.m. ET: This article previously included pricing information based on the European list price of the controller, €229. Nacon has since announced that the U.S. price will be $199.99.

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