Let's be honest with ourselves, the official Xbox and PlayStation gamepads are the only ones worth worrying about—and you can get both for a great price this week
Xbox Core Wireless Controller | Black, Electric Volt, Pink, Pulse Red, and other colors | $59.99$39.99 at Best Buy (save $20)
Microsoft makes a mean controller that's tough to beat for the money. You can score a few color Xbox pads for less cash right now, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better controller for the same money. Maybe the DualSense, but depends which stick layout you prefer. The multi-colored versions are on offer at $45 right now, but you can get the plain black version for just $40.
Sony DualSense Controller | Wireless | Built-in battery | USB-C charging | $69.99$49.00 at Amazon (save $20.99)
The PlayStation 5 DualSense has a «you have to touch it to believe it» quality, thanks to its haptic motors and «Adaptive» triggers. The downside is that games need to be programmed to take advantage of them, and only a few do. However, Steam already offers full support for the controller, so it's relatively easy to plug in and use like any other gamepad.
Gone are the days when a good mouse and keyboard was all you needed for PC gaming; in 2023, a good gamepad is as vital a tool in your arsenal as your monitor or your sound system. The question is, which one should you get?
There are tons of different options out there these days, but it's pretty easy to narrow things down. In my experience there are no third party controllers out there that can compare to just the official Xbox and PS5 pads—everything else is either lower in quality, compares unfavourably in price, or is just covered in extra gimmicks you don't need.
The good news is, there are great deals this week on both of the official pads. For me, the Xbox One controller (currently $40 at BestBuy) is the slightly better pick—it's cheaper, feels better in
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