According to a new video posted by Microsoft, the Xbox One wireless controller will have less input lag than 360 controllers and will also be able to function as a wired controller.
Microsoft isn’t taking the next generation of gaming lightly; they’ve been re-working pretty much every major element of how their consoles work with the Xbox One including a new input protocol for the Xbox One’s wireless controller which will reduce input lag on the controller by 20% over the Xbox 360’s wireless controller.
Xbox general manager Zulfi Alam shows off the new wireless controller in the video above and explains how Microsoft worked hard to improve the controller’s performance:
"There were two goals: first increase the bandwidth of this wireless protocol, significantly more, 20x more than what we have right now. And the other one was to reduce the latency, so the moment you press the fire button, the time it takes to go to your console and back, essentially we reduce that."
Alam is careful to clarify that the difference is so minute (literally milliseconds of a difference) that the average gamer probable won’t even notice. But for gamers hoping to have the absolute edge, especially in competitive multiplayer, it is no doubt welcome news.
The video also reveals that when plugged in with a USB cable, the wireless controller will function as a fully fledged wired controller: "The moment you plug in the wire, the radio in the controller shuts down, and at that point the controller transforms into being a truly wired controller."
This will be a welcome boon for gamers who want to both use a wired Xbox controller for PC gaming (most PC’s can’t recognize a wireless Xbox 360 controller even if its plugged in with a USB cable) and have the convenience of playing their Xbox One without having to plug their controller in.
