Turtle Beach made a $350 ‘Flight Simulator’ controller
It's also releasing an affordable Xbox controller.
As a company, Turtle Beach is best known for making affordable but capable gaming headsets. At E3 2021, it announced that's it's expanding into the controller market with two new peripherals. The first of those is its Xbox Recon controller. Turtle Beach has fitted the accessory with ergonomic grips it promises will keep your hands dry and cool during marathon gaming sessions. On the back of the controller, you'll find two quick action buttons. One of them activates a feature called Pro-Aim that tweaks the sensitivity of the thumbsticks for long-range accuracy.
However, the main draw of the Recon controller is its built-in audio controls. It comes with chat and game volume buttons, allowing you to tweak your multiplayer audio mix without digging into any settings. Turtle Beach says you can plug in any gaming headset with a 3.5mm analog connection to the Recon and take advantage of its proprietary audio technologies. One of those is its "Superhuman Hearing" feature, which exaggerates specific frequencies so that it's easier to hear things like footsteps in a first-person shooter. You also get access to a mic monitoring tool and a variety of audio presets.
It's an interesting value add. Effectively, you can turn any headset or pair of headphones into one with Turtle Beach features. At $59.95, the Recon controller costs the same as a first-party controller from Microsoft, so you're not paying a premium for those features.
With Flight Simulator coming to Xbox Series X/S on July 27th, the company is also releasing an accessory called the VelocityOne Flight. Pitched as a complete flight control system, Turtle Beach says it worked with pilots and aerospace engineers to design the peripheral to make the most immersive and authentic flight controller possible. For $349.95, you get an accessory that comes with a 180-degree yoke, integrated rudder controls, 10 programmable buttons and a full-color display built into the unit. The VelocityOne Flight's price tag makes it even more expensive than the Logitech G X52 Professional, which is widely considered one of the best controllers you can buy for games like Flight Simulator.
Both the Recon and Velocity One Flight controllers will be available to purchase some time this summer.
