Historically, PlayStation’s DualShock and now DualSense series of controllers have always used an inbuilt rechargeable battery, whereas, at least since the Xbox 360, the Xbox controller range has had the option for AA batteries. Allowing replaceable batteries gives the player options, and Microsoft the opportunity to make a few more dollars by selling their own battery packs, but the official reasoning for this difference has never been clear. Until now.
During an interview with Stealth Optional, Duracell UK’s marketing manager, Luke Anderson shared that the two companies have a special deal in place. He said:
“There’s always been this partnership with Duracell and Xbox… It’s a constant agreement that Duracell and Microsoft have in place,” adding “[The deal is] for OEM to supply the battery product for the Xbox consoles and also the controllers’ battery. So that [deal is] going to go on for a while… it’s been going on for a while and I think it needs to go for a while [more].”
This suggests that not only does the deal pertain to the batteries that come with Xbox controllers but potentially also other elements of the console or ecosystem.
MCV reached out to Microsoft for comment on the partnership. Although they wouldn’t comment on the nature of the deal, they still replied, saying:
“We intentionally offer consumers choice in their battery solutions for our standard Xbox Wireless Controllers. This includes the use of AA batteries from any brand, the Xbox Rechargeable Battery, charging solutions from our partners, or a USB-C cable, which can power the controller when plugged in to the console or PC.”
Microsoft may be open to the idea of changing their tried and tested controllers soon if a recent survey is to be believed. The survey, from Microsoft themselves, asks players if they “aware of features on PlayStation controllers” and if they want those features to be included in future iterations of Xbox controllers.
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