Summary
Is this the most pressing topic in the world? No. Is this even the most pressing topic in the world ofvideo games? Absolutely not. So, when I say this, please be aware that I know it’s not important. I’ve pretty much hit my limit on sadness for the week, so I’m going to focus on something that does not matter. But for the love of god, video game companies, I really need you to stop making fun, special edition controllers hard to buy.
I’ll be honest: I’m getting on my high horse after I spent hours trying to lock downan Astro Bot controller. This isn’t a fact I should be proud to admit. Buying a video game controller with a fun cartoon face should not be the main focus or mission of any self-respecting adult’s day. But I have no self-respect and I certainly don’t have enough controllers sitting in random boxes in every corner of my apartment. I need more! And, weirdly, it was very hard to lock one down despite the fact that this is - ostensibly - a very charming product promoting one ofSony’s biggest games of the year. It should be easy to buy a controller like this, not a matter of having eight browser windows open or hoping someone restocks.
Limited Edition Controllers Are Annoying, But Nothing New
Of course, I recognize that special edition controllers made in limited quantities are not new. Remember when they made a chainsaw-shaped controller forResident Evil 4? It was absolutely useless! It was also, notably, hard to buy. But back then, that made a little more sense. The fanbase was smaller and I feel like there were fewer people willing to spend a lot of money on something that functioned basically the same - if not worse - than a product they already owned. At the time, I’m certain thatCapcomthought, “This is a fun bit. We’ll sell it for top dollar to weirdos who will later re-sell it for way more money to even bigger weirdos.” And I’m not even getting into the Wu-Tang Clan controller for the PlayStation 1. The police would come later and ask questions about how your hands got murdered.
The thing is, those controllers were more or less a gag. Like I said, they’re useless. They might have been special editions, but they were purely intended to be promotional items that looked cool in video game magazines. There was no big launch hour for the Resident Evil 4 chainsaw; you didn’t have to wait in a virtual queue for five hours to get one. To be fair, these controllers were still ultra rare - but they were collector’s items meant to be seen rather than touched. The only reason you’d play a game with a Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controller is to say you played a game with a Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controller.
But now, special edition controllers are mostly functional and, theoretically with the internet, easier to buy. Even the Deadpool and Wolverine controllers are functional despite their design by Sir Mix-A-Lot. So… why can’t we buy them from an official source? I mean there are peoplealreadyputting Astro Bot controllers on eBay for double the cost. That sucks when a new console comes out, let alone just a controller with a fancy official paint job. Let people pay money for these nice things! We really couldn’t keep making theStarfieldcontroller for a little while? That was one of the coolest looking things about Starfield!
Microsoft had a special edition Tune Squad controller for Space Jam. Now, I don’t know whether you like the Space Jam series and I don’t care. However, being able to buy a Tune Squad controller without paying an extra $60 on eBay would’ve been nice! It’s a cool logo on a cool controller - a controller that I can’t imagine wasthatexpensive to make. Oh, there’s also a Goon Squad controller, but, you know, it sells for a lot less online and its logo looks like… Uh… Well… It looks like it belongs to a different group calling itself the “Goon Squad.” Which explains the whole “sells for a lot less” part.
In the early days of the internet, it made a lot more sense to make fun things in hyper limited quantities. But we’ve all been here a while now. The world has changed. Nerd culture has won and now covers every inch of this dying planet. Every single IP has a pile of merchandise and clothes and, you know, cookware. People want to buy these things. Fun, designer controllers shouldn’t be a carrot on a stick to get people to notice a new game coming out; they should be a product that fanscan actually buywithout going to Amazon Marketplace and skipping groceries for a week.
Again, this does not matter on any human scale. There are bigger fish to fry. You can check out the story above and below this one for more information. But, come on, folks, let us have the fun things you’re showing us! I respect that it’s cheaper to create a few custom controllers for promotion than it is to produce thousands. And in the case of things like Astro Bot, I respect it’s cheaper to have a lower quantity prepared than endlessly manufacture without knowing the demand. I just don’t care. I want to buy the fun controllers. Let me give you my money. Please. It’s all I’ve got left.
