At CES 2023, Asus unveiled a new Pro controller for PC and Xbox. His particuliarity ? It is equipped with an OLED screen.
While Sony is finally preparing to launch a controller designed for people with disabilities, other manufacturers continue to flourish by offering accessories with more trivial features. As spotted by The Verge In an article published on January 5, Asus showed off a new controller at CES 2023: the ROG Raikiri Pro.
The ROG Raikiri Pro, which already hasa complete presentation sheet, presents itself as the Rolls-Royce of the Asus catalog. Under the Xbox license (it also takes the design of the official Microsoft controller), the pad is distinguished by the addition of an OLED screen on the front panel. We wonder what it is for, if not to inflate the price of a controller that already offers features designed for a demanding (and wealthy) audience.
A screen on your controller?! A funny idea
In addition to the classic buttons, there is a small 1.3 inch OLED panel, with a definition of 128 × 40 pixels. It can display essential information (the profile in use, the state of the battery), or small personalized wallpapers. Above all, we say to ourselves that this will be a way of draining the battery ever faster, for a fairly negligible overall contribution. The ROG Raikiri Pro is not the first controller equipped with a screen: the reproduction of the Duke – the first pad designed by Microsoft – has one. Nevertheless, it has a nostalgic purpose: it displays the ignition screen of the Xbox console, by pure homage.
Despite this highly questionable element, the ROG Raikiri Pro seems rather well equipped. Professionals will appreciate the programmable buttons on the back (two on the left, as many on the right), the directional pad with a circular design and the opportunity to modify the stroke of the triggers. They will also be able to go through extensive software customization, via an application called Armory Crate. In short, it does exactly what the Xbox Elite controller already offers – plus the screen. We would like to know the price, which could be around 200 € if we rely on the other models already available on the market.
Another small inconvenience: while the ROG Raikiri Pro presents itself as an Xbox certified accessory, it can only work wired on Microsoft consoles. However, it prides itself on being the first pad claiming tri-mode connectivity (wired, radio-frequency and Bluetooth).
