Xbox has uploaded a series of new videos showing off its bespoke design lab controllers and they look pretty impressive, ranging from crazy bright colours to super slick game tie-ins. However, the bad news is that if you’re based in the UK there is still no official release date as of yet to be able to order a design lab controller, so you’re just going to gaze in wonder for now and hope that Xbox get around to shipping them in the UK sometime soon.
On a slightly positive note, when Xbox first announced its design lab, it stated that the UK release of the bespoke controllers would be happening in 2017 at some point. The problem is that it hasn’t clarified that since the initial statement, but we can at least cling to the hope that it will happen in the. With the raft of new videos showcasing the bespoke controller designs, surely it’s only a matter of time before they make it over the Atlantic.
With E3 2017 just around the corner in June, it’s possible that Xbox will confirm international rollout of the design lad during its conference briefing. Christmas is still quite a long way away, but winter 2017 is probably the best bet for when the controllers are going to land in the UK, however, with Xbox project Scorpio planned for that timeframe already, all bets are off. It may all hinge on how popular they are in the wake of the new promo videos.
For now, though, you can check out the videos below to see some of the cool designs that have been put together. There are four new videos in total showcasing the design lab controllers on the Xbox YouTube channel, and all of them have been put together by a different special guest designer to highlight the level of variation available.
The first of these is Forza creative designer Dan Greenawalt’s The 24h Legend which is inspired by Steve McQueen film Le Mans. The colours are taken from the Gulf Oil livery that was featured on his Porsche in the film.
It’s followed up by Kiki Wolfkill of 343 industries who’s Bond design design is inspired by the link between the Master Chief and Cortana.
Next up is The Charmed, a very gaudy effort from Australian graphic designers Craig & Karl, who were inspired by the bright colour of games back in the early 80s and 90s.
The last video showcasing the lab design controllers is by fashion designers Basso & Brooke. It takes its colour combinations from the style of Chinese samurai armour.
Kiki Wolfkill’s The Bond is the pick of the bunch, and not just because she’s got the best name in the world. The variation between the four videos shows how much you can customise things, but with current availability locked to the US, priced at $69.99, all you can do at the moment is work on crafting your design without being able to order. Obviously, a big part of the fun is getting to game with your personalised controller, so we just need Xbox to announce the design lab UK release date to get an idea of the time-frames.
