Microsoft spent "hundreds of millions" designing Xbox One controller

Microsoft spent "hundreds of millions" designing the Xbox One controller, Xbox Accessories general manager Zulfi Alam told CVG in a new interview.

"The investments in redesigning a controller go into the hundreds of millions of dollars in tooling and R&D costs," Alam said. "Bearing in mind we started with something that people considered best-in-class, the pressure to do it right again was tremendous."

"Honestly, some of us felt like we were putting our career on the line," he added. "We were afraid we were going to burn through $100 million and come back with an under-developed controller."

The Xbox One controller, which will sell for $60 outside of console bundles, features a number of updates over its predecessor. These include new thumbstick shape and grip texture, a redesigned D-Pad, and triggers with haptic feedback.

In addition, the Xbox One controller automatically knows who is playing when the controller is passed to a friend, thanks to the pad pairing with Kinect. Lastly, the battery pack is inside the controller's body, allowing players more room to hold the pad.

For more on the Xbox One controller, check out the video below and GameSpot's hands-on reactions. The Xbox One launches in November for $500.