Asus ROG is planning to launch an Xbox controller with a customisable OLED screen, tri-mode connectivity and four additional rear buttons but it'll likely have a premium cost.
Alongside all the tech that was announced at CES, Asus ROG has revealed that its new Xbox controller will be hitting the market in Q1, so any time between January and March. The ROG Raikiri Pro is designed for Xbox and PC and features a 1.3-inch OLED screen, just in case you needed more of those. It's officially licensed by Xbox but despite offering three connection types, you can still only use it wired via USB-C connection with your console.
Before we get into the screen, let's cover what features you get with this controller. Alongside the standard Xbox controller layout, you get four additional rear buttons and two OLED control buttons. You also have the ability to switch between a full trigger and short trigger mode for those clutch moments. As I mentioned before you get tri-mode connectivity, meaning you get the ability to connect with either BlueTooth, 2.4GHz or wired USB-C.
Now, the display, although a small screen, can be set to show the charging status, microphone mute, and active profile if you want it to serve a more functional purpose. However, if you're anything like me and bought a tiny screen for the inside of your PC just so you could have a pretty background on it, then you can do that too.
There's not a price confirmation for the controller at the moment, but with the features on offer here, it will likely come in at a premium cost.
How many screens can one person need?
The answer is... as many as possible. Not but seriously, I have four screens and still feel like it's not enough. There's always something to display on another screen. Even if it's just for aesthetic purposes having another screen can make you feel like you have so much more room to work with.
Having a mini panel on your controller is likely going to be a costly commitment. Although we don't know exactly how much the new Asus ROG Raikiri Pro is going to be priced at, based on other similar controllers in the market we can kind of guess.
The Xbox Elite controller for Xbox Series X and Xbox One, which is the go-to pro controller for most, comes in at a retail price of £159.99 / $179.99 / AU$249.95 for the new Series 2 edition. Another high-end pro controller is the eSwap X from Thrustmaster, which comes in at £149.99 / $179.99 / AU$299.95.
Given that both of these options present similar features to those on the Asus ROG Raikiri Pro – such as hairline triggers, and remappable rear buttons – but no screen, of course, we're expecting a price tag above this. Likely putting it closer to the £200 / $200 mark.
So yeah... if you want a screen on your controller, you'd better be ready to fork up the cash for it. It's worth keeping in mind when making the decision that the display itself doesn't act as an entire monitor (and even if it could, I don't know what you'd do with just 1.3 inches of screen) meaning you don't get full freedom of function here.
You'll be limited to what Asus Rog offer, which as I stated above, has a few functional aspects and some level of aesthetic customisation but you can't treat it as an extra monitor in any way.
