So for the first time in a few years I pulled out my first, original Xbox that I saved up hardcore to buy so long ago. I found the original controller that came with it, which I know to be the one because for some reason the insulation was cut in the cord even right out of the box. It has been mended with electrical tape from back then. Played some Xbox (notably a couple hours of Pariah, before rage-quitting and remembering why I stopped playing it in the first place) and had a good time. A bit later after my session I knocked the controller off the table onto the hardwood floor... and this happened. What!? I know that's a pretty fragile corner to take the blow of a full Duke onto a hard surface anyway. But still... Is this system old enough for the plastic to become brittle, already? Or has it been this brittle since new? I'm curious if anyone else has any similar stories, regardless of age or platform, of plastic cracking/breaking in the worst way or at the worst possible time. I know all of my SNES (USA) consoles have cracked top-halves around the edges, but I've grown to accept it. Bummer! Especially in the heat of nostalgia, having the original setup connected just like the old days.
UHm I think you just need to put the controller with a little more love on a surface, and then this wont happen.
FWIW I've encountered this a few times too, so this isn't a completely isolated incident. Looks like they just picked a shitty plastic to use. I've yet to see an S controller shatter like this, so they appear to have rectified that at some point down the line.
I'm considering (since I haven't swept the floor over there, yet) trying to find any pieces of the plastic and glue them back in... I guess it adds one more story to the controller, regardless. I'll get to remember finally getting an Xbox and I'll get to remember the time my controller fell and shattered a corner... As I stated, it got knocked off a counter. Accident. And, technically, only fell about 2.5 feet at most. It's funny, to me, to knock a controller down when M$ made that clever breakaway connection on the console side...
Mechanically speaking, it's not surprising to have that area shatter like that. First, it's at the corner where an impact will generate a lot of stress (pressure). Stress = F/A or force dived by area. The smaller the area, the greater the pressure. Second, it's toward the edge of the housing which could flex more than other region. Third, there is a screw near that proximity. That clamping force generate internal pressure which combine with the free flexing edge stated previously creates a recipe for trouble.
Certainly. It's a bad spot to hit, though I definitely got angry while playing, with that controller, back in the day and likely tossed it at some point. Falling a couple feet onto wood seems pretty tame (in comparison) unless it hit the ground in a very specific angle.. Looking into the hole, it appears the plastic really isn't THAT thick to begin with. Maybe that's the problem. I've definitely abused an S controller a LOT more than this accident and it shows no scars. I dunno. Bums me out.
