It is common knowledge that there is a lot of money in accessories. It is also common knowledge that most third-party accessories are shoddily-made crap.
Given all that, whatever happened to Microsoft's plans for a premium wireless controller? Backlit buttons, rubber grips, a better D-pad - sounds like a winner to me. It wouldn't be a first for Microsoft either - they already produce the massively under-utilized Big Button controllers for Scene It. Sony also has a premium accessory in their recently announced DualShock 3 controller. And, of course, Nintendo keeps churning out mostly useless - yet not free - pieces of plastic for their Wii controllers too.
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Microsoft has a pretty nice model in place to get people to spend a lot of money on all their power accessories. From multiple play & charge kits , to the standalone quick charge unit , and a plethora of different colored batteries, I have it all...
We just got back from our local midnight Vista launch event. Despite the event being "for" Philadelphia, it was actually held at a Circuit City just across the state line here in Delaware. Apparently it's a really busy store. They had some dubious music...