M. Nelson clarifies Xbox 360 wireless peripheral contents

by Dan Choi { Aug 25th 2005 at 6:21PM }

The M. Nelson in the headline above does not refer to Nelson Mandela, the famed anti-apartheid leader. No, that name stands for Major Nelson, Xbox Live Director of Programming, who's come to be known as an all-around nice guy to Xbox fanatics. So why mention the major? Well, a few questions regarding the 360's wireless/rechargeable peripherals came up a few days ago, and it seemed like a good idea to ask the major himself for the [un]official lowdown. Here's the gist of what he had to say:

In the $399.99 Xbox 360 package (and not the $299.99 Core one), you'll get a wireless controller AND 2 batteries (AA) to run the controller with.
The $19.99 Play and Charge Kit will come with the cable AND a rechargeable battery pack.
The $11.99 Rechargeable Battery Pack won't come with anything else, so you'll need the cable from the Play and Charge Kit to recharge it.

Update: This information is subject to change. [Thanks, Major Nelson!]

I imagine that the same 2 AA�s will be included with the standalone wireless controller, and that an additional battery pack would typically be used to swap in for a Play-and-Charge-Kit one that needs recharging. I understand that some of this information was already leaked in the Xbox 360 marketing brochures that hit the web last week, but I feel that it�s always good to get confirmation from a knowledgeable source.

For more pictures and descriptions of the accessories themselves, feel free to check out the Xbox 360 Accessories page over at Xbox.com here. If you�d like the visit the major�s unofficial blog, just click on the Read link below, but be aware that I received this answer via e-mail and not through his web site.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

zMastaa @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

was anyone actually confused about this part of the 360??

well as long as i get my free batteries :)

Peg_Leg @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

well i wasnt too confused.
I was just thinkin...
"whats the point of buying recharable batteries when you could get the play n charge kit for every controller you own"

and now that i think about it....
Since there are only 2 usb ports in the front, i will probably get around to buying 2 play n charge kits, and 2 rechargable batteries.
sure, i could buy 4 play n charge kits, but what the point of that right? there arent enough ports to support that many...
you might be able to get away with 3, by plugging on in the back of the system, but that is just retarded...besides, my wireless network adapter will be there. :)
so i could hook up my xbl silver account...
why does anyone want gold? to play multiplayer?
until i have the money to do that, i play at XBC ...do a google on XBC. free online play with xbox.

Xbox 360 rocks!

Morphoman @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Seems like a rip-off. Those batteries that they are giving they do not mention if they are rechargable.

Yeah it would be fun to open your 360 box (with an X) on christmas, hook it up play a few hours and get dead batteries.

Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Most likely, the bundled batteries with the wireless controller won't be rechargeable, thus giving you the "option" to upgrade to the ones that are a better value. I guess I should have seen this trend coming. =)

ill trooper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

I'm not entirely convinced I need a wireless controller, I think I'll end up buying the Play & Charge kit or even a wired controller for simplicity's sake.

I hate the nagging feeling in the back of mind that my mobile phone, iPod, digital camera, etc. is about to conk-out because the batteries run down.

aj @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

the play and charge kit is dumb. its just like having a wired controller, and the batteries last 5 hours shorter! go reg. bats. im on my PSP ritd now :)

startled @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

So, the $400 package gives you the ability to play your brand new XBox 360 for 10-20 hours? Well, I guess it's better than the $300 package that doesn't even let you save your game, but this is pretty shitty-- at $400, I'd have the expectation that I'd have at least the bare minimum for my system. I guess if you already have some rechargeable batteries at home you're not using, and a charger, this is okay.... Ugh. I can't believe they're not including a rechargeable battery with charger with this thing. Gimme a break.

TreyTable @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

I'm gettin' the $399 X360, but also a wired controller. I don't care how many people I don't know gush about how great the wireless is, I still would rather have a wired pad. Plus I only have a 27 inch TV, so I'm in no need of that 30 foot range when I'm 3 feet from the screen. ;)

DS owner @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Boo Hoo whiners! The controllers last for 40 hours on 2 AA batteries. That's quite a while IMO. At least they're included, which is more than I can say for every X-mas present I got as a kid. If next-gen gaming is too expensive for you then keep playing current gen games.

Or just anonymously post your complaints on the internet so that you feel better about not being able to afford 20 AA batteries (enough for ten weeks straight)

I'm convinced that the only way to make some people happy is to pay them to use these new consoles. "A wireless device needs batteries. What the fuck. That's total BS. I'm waiting for the PS3, so I can buy Sony's proprietary AA-duoPro's for $8 a piece. M$ is teh suxxors. God I'm so L33t."

If you guys don't want the wireless controllers, send 'em to me. I'll send you a wired one and make $10.

Metalghosts @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

DS owner....I couldn't have said it better myself.

I have a Logitech wireless pad for my Xbox that runs on 2 AAs. It gives 40 hours WITH RUMBLE turned on. Something into the 100+ range with it off.

The Play and Charge kit is not exactly like having a wired controller. Sure, it's wired until the controller is recharged. Go figure, a power cable has to be connected to charge a battery. Damn, those bastards at MS are obviously in bed with the power company. Instead, Bill Gates should personally deliver 2 AAs to my door every 40 hours of gameplay time. And not this generic shit, but Energizers. I mean hell, for $400 dollars I deserve everything!

As far as the Core package not allowing you to save your game, yea, that's shitty when compared to PS2, er, I mean PS1, oh wait, hang-on, I'm sure that the Dreamcast came with, oh damn! Huh, now that I think of it NO system since the emergence of the optical disc format has included a game save option as standard (save for the obvious, of course).

Beyond that though, DS has really hit the nail on the head. Don't get me wrong, well informed comments create great discourse, which leads to additional well thought out arguments. That's cool. I personally love my Dreamcast, so I love to hear all sides of this shit. But to just listen to posts that are in fact complete conjecture that don't even have a thread of intelligent thought placed into it? Well, it definitely makes me question all those reports that state the average age of today's gamer is 29. Sounds more like it's 5.

OTAM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Why can't you just buy your own rechargeable batteries from radioshack and be done? I mean,AA batteries are AA batteries no matter how you look at it.

SetupWeasel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

I love the little advertisement picture that goes with the post.

"Lag free play" is a feature? I'm sorry, but that is a bare minimum requirement for a first party controller.

Dave @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Hey, if you don't like it, start your own multi-billion dollar company.

OTAM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

What i'm wondering is why you have to pay for a charger? Can you charge the batteries ANY other way aside from the $20 charger? I mean,what happens when I buy my 360 and the batteries run dry? I dont get to play anymore? Does it have a cord that you can use to plug into the front?

Ledorky @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Wrong. The Sega Saturn had an internal clock that allowed you to save. Not too much room (512K I believe) but at least you didn't have to immediately spring for a save cartridge.

Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

The charger isn't $20, it's like $8 and comes bundled with a battery.

It's not all that uncommon to have to buy a charger for rechargable batteries. It's pretty standard, actually.

Why would they give everyone a charger if not everyone had rechargables? It'd be throwing money away.

Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Um... actually, Chris, the point of my post was to figure out what came with what, and as far as I (or Major Nelson) knows, the charger is $20 (though it comes with a battery); the battery will retail by itself for $12, so I'm not sure where you're getting that $8 figure from.

Metalghosts @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Ledorky - my bad, out every game console with optical format that I have ever played or am aware of, everyone has required a game save device OR password (for those of us who remember TurboGraphix CD). Even N64 on some games required a memory card (Rayman 2 for example) even though they could have put the memory into the Cart like most other cartridges. The point is that to complain about the system not having an included (on the Core system at least) way to save games is without merit. Add to that the fact that last generation no console included a way to save games as standard, and my point is only furthered.