Xbox One reviews are out, and a few people have some complaints about the new console’s controller.
A lot of people are struggling with the new joypad’s bumper buttons, which are the two shoulder buttons that sit in front of the triggers. The issue? People claim it requires too much effort to push them in, and they’re right … but only if they’re doing it wrong.
The Xbox One controller’s shoulder buttons are actually well designed (you can read about the creation of the Xbox One controller in our four-part series about the device), you just need to know how to use them. It looks like most people are reaching with their whole finger to push in on the meat of the button with the tip of their fingers. That is difficult. The button has a lot of resistance when you press it on the top, but that’s not where you are supposed to press it.
Watch the video at the top of this post to see what I’m talking about.
You should never reach over to press the bumper with your whole finger. In fact, on Xbox One, you should barely move your finger at all. Instead, you should rest your index fingers on the triggers at all times, and then squeeze in your middle knuckle to hit the bumper.
If you’re holding the controller properly, your fingers should lay on top of the bumpers to get the triggers. This means you need to simply roll your finger or squeeze it in a bit to activate the bumpers. That’s the reason there is so much resistance on the button, so you don’t accidentally hit it. If you’re squeezing it with your inner finger, however, the button-pressing action feels just right.