The Xbox Design Lab has been an absolute enigma here in Australia. Like a lot of other things, it’s something that we missed out on until now. As of today, it has not only launched in Australia, but it’s brought a host of new options with it.
Whilst you can start designing your only controller HERE, I thought I’d talk a little bit about my experience, given that I had the chance to design two of my controllers a few weeks ago now ahead of launch.
Now the best thing about the Xbox Design Lab is that you can literally customise every bit of the controller, even the bits you didn’t think possible. This starts with choosing a colour or a pattern and now includes the lovely pastel colours including: Soft Pink, Soft Orange, Soft Green, and Soft Purple as well as Camo cases and the lovely new Pride case.
I opted to create one Pride controller with some Press Start red colours and then a totally pastel controller using all the new pastel colours, which I get won’t be for everyone, but I wanted something new and fresh that was unlike any other Xbox controller released.
The best thing about Xbox Design Lab is honestly just how easy is to use and instantly see your design reflected. You’re able to customise the top case, bottom case, grips, D-Pad, triggers, buttons, bumpers and even put some engraving in.
One of the only things I can fault the program for in terms of choices is that if you want to opt to get a textured rubberised grip, you’re paying $7.95 more which is fine as it’s an extra, but it’s only available in black, so as you can see on my design, it is a little bit jarring and I hope eventually the add the option to add coloured grips.
Something I did love was the ability to add metallic D-Pads and triggers which really add an extra something to the controller. These set you back $5.95 each but are so worth it and obviously if you’re wanting engraving, that’ll set you back $12.95 too.
If you’re taking up every luxury option, I believe the controller is going to set you back about $150 which isn’t the worst considering a controller will set you back about $120 these days. Obviously, it’s a lot cheaper if you take away the nice grips, engraving and metallic D-Pad/triggers. Once you’ve decided on your design, you’ll get a pretty little montage of how your controller will look.
When it comes to shipping, thankfully it’s free, so you won’t be paying any extra and I believe you’re looking at 3-4 weeks to get your controller produced and shipped out to you.
All-in-all, I’m glad to see Xbox Design Lab hit Australia. It won’t be for everyone, but I know there’s some serious controller collectors out there, and to be honest, I worry for your wallets if you want to have every single variation.
AUSTRALIAN PRICING FOR XBOX DESIGN LAB
- Controller: A$99.95 / NZ$119.95
- Limited Edition faceplates: +A$12.95 / +NZ$13.95
- Grips: +A$7.95 / +NZ$8.95
- Metallic D-Pad/Triggers: +A$5.95 / +NZ$6.95
- Engraving: +A$12.95 / +NZ$13.95
You can visit the Xbox Design Lab HERE to start creating your controller.
