With Memorial Day sales basically here, it’s an excellent time of year to shop for a new controller for your preferred console or PC. As with other major sales periods throughout the year, controller deals are a dime a dozen across PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch systems.
Going off of discounts we’ve seen over the past few years, there are a few standout products that are almost guaranteed to see price drops this Memorial Day weekend. The Xbox Wireless Controller and its numerous colorways, for example, are a hot favorite. Likewise, I’m expecting manufacturers like CRKD, 8BitDo, and Turtle Beach to bring discounts for their top gamepads, too.
Having tested and reviewed some of the best PC controllers, best Xbox controllers, and best PS5 controllers of the past few years, I’m confident in recommending the following five gamepads to look out for during the Memorial Day sales period. Hopefully, you’ll find an all-new favorite and save money in the process.
Xbox Wireless Controller
It’s hard to go wrong with the current iteration of the Xbox Wireless Controller. Microsoft’s stalwart gamepad - and its numerous colorways - seems to be on sale more often than it’s not. But the controller typically sees especially great discounts over sales periods; and the Memorial Day sales should be no exception here.
The Xbox Wireless Controller is compatible with Xbox consoles, naturally, but also makes for an excellent PC controller. Its sturdy build quality makes it a controller that can last an entire console generation. On top of that, it’s got excellent battery life and I’m a huge fan of the rounded d-pad design which makes it an excellent choice for some of the best fighting games. Overall, though, it’s just an excellent and affordable gamepad that’s well-suited to most genres.
It is pretty basic in terms of features, however. Unlike many of the best Xbox controllers from third parties, you’re not getting additions like ancillary back buttons, trigger stops, or voice chat control features. That said, we’ve seen the controller drop as low as $39.99 at Amazon US and £34.99 in the UK over big sales events. We’re hoping for similarly low prices over Memorial Day weekend.
- Read more: Xbox Wireless Controller review
Turtle Beach Recon Controller
The Turtle Beach Recon Controller isn’t brand new or state-of-the-art, but it’s still one of our favorite Xbox controllers due to its overt usefulness in an online play environment. The Recon puts a quality voice and party chat experience first when you connect a gaming headset, and features dedicated on-board chat controls, mic muting, and equalizer settings, saving you from delving into your console’s settings separately.
The Turtle Beach Recon Controller retails at $59.95 / £49.99, but we’ve seen it drop as low as $39.95 / £32.99 during prior sales events. These are huge savings that position the Recon as one of the cheapest controllers that we wholeheartedly recommend.
It is worth noting that you’re only getting a wired connection here. So if you prefer to play games with a wireless controller, there may be an adjustment period if you purchase the Turtle Beach Recon. However, I feel this was the right call for a multiplayer-focused controller, in order to minimize input lag and keep voice chat quality as clear and crisp as possible.
- Read more: Turtle Beach Recon Controller review
DualSense Edge
Compared to Xbox, Sony has been sheepish in dropping the price of its premium DualSense Edge. It’s an impressively high-quality controller that improves on the already brilliant base DualSense design. But at an eye-watering $199.99 / £209.99 retail price, it’s typically hard to recommend.
We’re hoping this changes over the Memorial Day weekend. This is a fantastic PS5 and PC-compatible controller that really comes alive with games that support its patented haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. You’ll find that these work with Sony’s recent Steam ports including God of War, Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, and Returnal.
We’re not expecting huge discounts here; at best, Sony has only shaved $5 off its retail price in the US at prior sales events. UK folks have fared better, though, with the Edge dropping as low as £187.99 over last year’s Black Friday week. Hopefully, Memorial Day sales will host some stronger discounts for the DualSense Edge, as we feel it’s one of the best PS5 controllers in that premium price bracket and a more sizeable discount would massively increase its value proposition.
- Read more: DualSense Edge review
Nitro Deck
We consider the Nitro Deck to not only be one of the best Nintendo Switch controllers but also the best Nintendo Switch accessory on the market right now. CRKD’s controller/handheld dock hybrid is a must-own for any Switch owner, especially those who primarily like to play in handheld mode.
The Nitro Deck excels at a few things. For one, it’s built like a brick shithouse. In my Nitro Deck review, I likened it to your Nintendo Switch display donning a suit of armor; the sturdy Nitro Deck shell granting it some much-needed extra protection while you’re gaming on the go. Furthermore, its excellent Hall effect joysticks are a huge improvement on Switch, preventing the kind of stick drift that plagues the Joy-Con and even the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. The Nitro Deck isn’t just a great controller, it’s a substantial upgrade for your console.
Another impressive aspect of the Nitro Deck is its huge variety of colors and designs, many of which are frequently on sale. We routinely see both standard and limited edition Nitro Decks (the key difference being the limited editions come with a carry case and some alternate thumbsticks) at $10 off, taking them down to $49.99 / £54.99 and $79.99 / £79.99 respectively. We’re hoping for these discounts to be stronger over Memorial Day weekend, too, so be sure to keep an eye out for a Nitro Deck design that suits your fancy.
- Read more: Nitro Deck review
GameSir Nova and Nova Lite
A couple of my favorite recent additions to the third-party Switch hardware pile are the GameSir Nova and GameSir Nova Lite. These are exceptionally budget-friendly controllers and, despite launching only a month ago, have already seen some tempting price drops.
One thing to note is that you shouldn’t let the ‘Lite’ moniker of one of these gamepads fool you. In actuality, both have their own advantages and drawbacks when compared, and both received four out of five stars in my reviews of them. The regular GameSir Nova has a fantastic retro aesthetic, paired with lovely RGB lighting and perhaps the best implementation of HD Rumble outside of Nintendo’s official offerings. The Lite, meanwhile, actually has a sturdier-feeling build quality, but you are losing out on that rumble as well as basic Switch features such as gyro aiming.
Still, either are highly worth considering and I recommend both over the Memorial Day sales weekend. Typically $35.99 / £39.99, the regular GameSir Nova has already seen price drops to as low as $30.77 / £35.99 via Amazon deals. As such, you’d do well to keep an eye on these over the sales period if you’re after a cheap but reliable gamepad for Nintendo Switch.
- Read more: GameSir Nova review, GameSir Nova Lite review
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