Don't Faint, but the Xbox One Finally Has Its Own Media Remote

Incredible. Stupendous. Mind-altering. Life-changing. All terms you wouldn’t use to describe Microsoft’s revelation this morning of a stylish official remote control for the Xbox One. But “A step up from the Xbox 360 remote’s button zoo”? Looks like it.

Larry Hryb did the honors, announcing the Xbox One Media Remote this morning on his blog. Two s-words that describe it: sleek, and — compared to the longish Xbox 360 wand, anyway — stubby. It’s out in March, and it looks like it’ll go for a few dollars more than the Xbox 360’s ($20) at $25.

Here’s the info-blurb:

Releasing across Xbox One markets worldwide in early March, the Xbox One Media Remote lets you control video playback for Blu-ray movies and streaming video on Xbox One. Additionally, there are dedicated Back and OneGuide buttons. The OneGuide button provides one-touch, quick access to your favorite TV shows and movies through the Xbox program guide. This remote is designed to help you listen, watch and switch among experiences instantly – allowing you to rule your entertainment. The Media Remote can also control TV/Receiver power and volume through Kinect, which uses IR blasting to send signals to your TV and/or receiver.

It’s a little strange that the Xbox One — a console Microsoft’s pitched from the start as a be-all, end-all media control hub — didn’t ship in November with this new remote. It’s even stranger, given the more than three month interim between the console’s launch and the remote’s debut next month, that the Xbox 360’s media remote doesn’t work with the new console.

Perhaps it’s all part of Microsoft’s “you’re still the controller” angle, but I’d wager most would agree Kinect’s dependability metrics, in particular when you want to zip around the interface without asking for stuff to happen twice, is imperfect enough that Microsoft’s going to sell a whole bunch of these things.

The Xbox One Media Remote [MajorNelson.com]

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Write to Matt Peckham at matt.peckham@time.com.