Getting your snack on as you game (and avoiding greasing up your controller in the process) is a problem as old as (video game) time — so dating back at least to the 1980s, then. Microsoft has a solution to this conundrum: a greaseproof Xbox One controller. You’re just going to have a hard time getting it.
Slippery customer
The video below shows off the greaseproof Xbox One controller that Microsoft announced as part of a contest by Xbox Australia and New Zealand to celebrate the official release of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). The limited edition controllers are coated in a smooth material that repels grease. The same grease that is still on your hands from your previous, hard-earned chicken dinner. Handy.
Now, getting one of these (extremely practical — why has no-one done this before?) controllers for your setup might be problematic. Microsoft will only produce 200, which will be numbered, and right now they’re only available through a contest run by Xbox’s Australia and New Zealand Facebook page, where gamers are encouraged to share their “Best winner winner chicken dinner story.”
Slick thinking
They’re not for sale as yet, and there’s no indication that they ever will be. We also have no idea if they will ever be available in other countries. We’re hoping that is the case — Microsoft has had a thing for special gaming hardware of late: consider the reveal of their adaptive controller. This greaseproof edition of the standard controller isn’t quite as altruistic, but it’s a practical idea that should probably be standard across controllers. Assuming the special coating actually works as advertised.
Until we get to try one ourselves — if we ever do — we’ll just have to wonder at how well the grease-proofing works… while our hands and controllers remain hopelessly covered in Doritos cheese dust. Yes, it’s fine, we’ll use the Controller of Shame™ until then.
Source: CNET