Let's talk pricing since it is no doubt what most people here would want to know more about. The standard Xbox One wireless controller in black had an MSRP of $60 and is the base upon which the Xbox Elite Series 2 was built. The newer Xbox controllers also have an MSRP of $60 for the black version, but can currently be had for $50. There are seemingly a million other color and design options straight from the Microsoft store for prices ranging from $60–$70, including from the cool Xbox Design Lab. Then there are third-party controllers from the likes of SCUF Gaming that go even further with artistic designs coupled with technical upgrades, some of which were licensed by Microsoft itself. That is how we got to the Xbox Elite in 2015, before the Elite Series 2 in 2019. The paddles on the back are the obvious employed IP licenses, but in a day where a controller is as much an extension of identity for gamers dabbling in them, having zero first-party color-design options is a weird choice.

Perhaps it is because at $180, it is already $30 more than the original Xbox Elite controller and anywhere from three to nearly four times that of the standard controllers. But then we go back to SCUF and realize that the SCUF Prestige starts at $170, but goes up well past the $200 mark once you have it configured to your preferences. Oh, and the case is an optional extra there too. The Microsoft offering suddenly seems reasonable in that regard, especially once you include the extras thrown in along with the case, such as the charging dock, extra-long fast-charging-capable cable, replacement D-pad, and thumbsticks. This time last year, I would have had no problem recommending the Xbox Elite Series 2 for all those reasons, but then there's the first-party Xbox Accessories app.

I on one hand love and on the other hate the Xbox Accessories app. I love the easy customization options, especially with function mapping for every single thing you can click on the controller. There are also some very nice tweaks to trigger deadzones, thumbstick sensitivity, reaction profiles, vibration motor intensity, and even the brightness of the Xbox button LED. Getting to these options is what gets my goat, especially for someone who would just want to use this controller for non-Xbox games on Windows. The Windows store needs a complete re-design for consistency, and timely updates/patches, but I suspect my biggest issues with the pervasive permissions and tracking won't change. Needing an Xbox account as DRM for customization is no worse than a keyboard company forcing you to create an account to use its software, so why is it alright for Microsoft to do so for a paid product only to then provide a sub-par experience at that?

The pricing is contentious in 2021, and I do feel there needs to be a permanent price drop more so than ever in a time where there is no dearth of controller options and the directly competing DualSense has Steam support already, as well as general OS compatibility. PC games can now even access the adaptive triggers on the DualSense, and in an era where the excellent, even more niche Xbox Adaptive Controller costs nearly half as much, asking $180 is a touch higher than I can accommodate for a general recommendation. The Xbox Elite Series 2 controller is excellent, now bring on the Elite Series 3 that justifies such a price tag in 2021.