A Worthy Opponent…
Playstation’s answer to the wildly successful Xbox Elite Controller was announced today, and is being made by third party accessory company SCUF.
Along with being the first officially licensed third party wireless controller for the PS4 in the US and Canada, the new SCUF Vantage line of gamepads comes with all the bells and whistles of its Xbox Elite controller brethren, along with some handy new features and a readjustment of the controller’s design. As you can see in the promotional images here, the left analog stick and D-pad have switched places, which is sure to be a controversial choice for Playstation evangelists.
There’s also a literal handful of new mappable “sax” buttons on the controller beside the R1 and L1 buttons and paddles on the back of the gamepad, which Elite controller users will be familiar with. The faceplate, d-pad, and thumbsticks are all interchangeable, as are the vibration monitors, which until now, could only be removed during controller building on the SCUF website. Hair triggers have also been implemented, allowing players to have a split second advantage over their opponents. The Options and Share buttons are also slanted for some reason.
The new controller also comes with a brand new audio touch bar just under the Playstation button, allowing you to quickly mute games with a quick tap.
The Vantage controller will be available in wired only models for $169.95 US, and a wired/Bluetooth version which includes the carrying case seen above will go for $199.95 US when they launch this August.
Also, fun fact, SCUF licensed some of their patents to Microsoft during their development of the Elite controller. Knowing that, it makes a lot more sense to see almost all of the main features (and then some) from the Elite controller make their way to the PS4 counterpart.
What do you think? Will you be picking up a Vantage controller this August? Let us know in the comments! While you’re here, check out our coverage on some games you can put your fancy new controller to work with, like this new Left 4 Dead inspired shooter, or Black Ops 4’s new Zombies mode!
SOURCE: SCUF Gaming