X1 Had 75 Console,100 Kinect,200 Controller Designs

Microsoft posted a very interesting interview with Carl Ledbetter, the Xbox One (X1 for its friends) designer.

The most impressive data is that, thanks to the wonders of 3D printing, Ledbetter’s design team was able to prototype around 75 different console designs, 100 Kinect designs and 200 for the controller.

It’s interesting that the highest number of prototypes belongs to the controller, which according to Ledbetter’s own words, was already good enough that they weren’t directly asked to improve it.

there was never a direct ask for us to make it better. People were a little apprehensive, like, ‘We have a great controller. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it

Still, the team experimented a lot on it, and more than 1,000 persons participated in this process, which according to Microsoft yielded over 40 improvements:

We had more than 1,000 pairs of hands testing controllers throughout the course of design evaluations to make sure the triggers felt right, the overall form felt right and that people could use the new controller in a way that was as good as or better than the old. We crafted every last detail

Ledbetter also felt the pressure of having to design for two very different crowds, the casual and the core.

There was this conundrum in that we had to meet and satisfy desires of core gamers and Xbox fans, and at same time we wanted Xbox to reach out and mean something to new people. From a design perspective, how do we make that happen? That was a big challenge.

What do you think of X1′s final design? Did Ledbetter and his team succeed, or are you in some way disappointed? Let us know below.