What you need to know
- Hyperkin is working on a new wired Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One controller called the DuchesS.
- This controller is a licensed version of the "S" model controller that was released for the original Xbox.
- Preorders open for the DuchesS on July 15, with the controller launching on Aug. 21, 2024.
- Hyperkin has previously released officially licensed recreations of Xbox controllers like the Duke for the original Xbox and the Xenon for the Xbox 360.
Another classic Xbox controller is getting revitalized for modern use.
Hyperkin announced the DuchesS on Monday, the latest in its line of officially licensed Xbox controller recreations. Styled after the original Xbox Controller S — which was introduced when the console launched in Japan due to complaints around the size of the Duke controller — the DuchesS features everything you'd expect from a modern Xbox Series X|S controller, including impulse triggers, bumpers alongside the black and white buttons, a 3.5mm headset jack, and more.
“With the launch of DuchesS, you’ll be able to use a version of every generation of Xbox controller ever created on a modern console with the trio of Hyperkin official replicas,” said Hyperkin’s lead developer and licensing director, Slade Dude Suzuki. “That itself is a pretty cool feat!”
The DuchesS will be available for $50, and is slated to launch on Aug. 21, 2024. Preorders for the controller will go live on July 15, 2024 across Hyperkin.com and Amazon.
Hyperkin previously ported other Xbox controllers
The DuchesS is the third officially licensed Xbox controller from Hyperkin to help recreate the past. The company first brought back the iconic Duke controller from the original Xbox, before also introducing the Xenon controller, a recreation of the Xbox 360 controller. Both the Duke and the Xenon are currently available in a variety of models and colors.
Analysis: A cool controller for collectors
Being able to keep a piece of Xbox history current like this is really neat. I have large enough hands to where I could and can comfortably use the Duke, but I know that wasn't the case for a lot of people, and there's a reason the Controller S was the basis from which Microsoft continued to iterate and evolve the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S controllers. With the Duke and Xenon both finding an audience among Xbox players on current hardware, I'm sure the DuchesS will be similarly embraced when it launches later in the year.
$50 is also a fairly reasonable price given that the novelty of the item is a large part of why someone would want to buy it, though as with the prior controllers, it is disappointing that these will only be usable wired with the included USB-C cable. This is a Microsoft decision, as it relates to Xbox wireless protocols and exactly how they're used in controllers, but still.
