Best Xbox 360 Peripherals

Hands down, the best standard controller is the first party Microsoft Wireless Controller. There are cheaper controllers out there from other companies, but in terms of reliability, comfort, and control precision, the official pad from Microsoft is the best.

One complaint about the Xbox 360 controller is the d-pad, and if you want to play fighters or old school games (and don’t want an arcade stick) it just doesn’t cut it. The Mad Catz Fight Pad is a great solution. It has a big, squishy, amazingly comfortable d-pad and nice face buttons that work great with fighting games. It is also USB, which means you can use it on your computer as well as your Xbox 360, which make it a great value at around $40.

The best guitar controller for use with Guitar Hero and Rock Band games is either the World Tour or GH5 guitar. They are the same shape, but the GH5 model has a nicer finish and slightly different internals to offer a bit more precision during gameplay. Both guitars are absolutely great to play with (they’re what I personally use), and offer the absolute best experience possible with music/rhythm games.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one cut and dry winner as far as drums go. Rock Band and Guitar Hero have different gameplay setups, so you kind of need to have the game-specific drum kit to really get the most out of the game. They are still playable, and you can definitely get used to it, but the “wrong” kit will feel pretty darn weird. If you can only get one drum kit, the best solution is to use the Rock Band 2 drums with a cymbal add-on kit (about $30) so you get the best of both worlds.

The official Microsoft Wireless Racing Wheel is the winner in terms of value and performance. There are some higher end wheels available, but they cost a lot more and it is hard to justify their price unless you are a major race fan. The Microsoft wheel is a decent price (less than $100) and gives you solid performance, great force feedback, comfortable pedals, and a wireless connection to the system so you won’t have too many wires running all over the place. Almost all Xbox 360 racing games have custom control setups designed specifically for this wheel, so you can just connect the wheel and have perfect controls instantly.

The best arcade stick (for use with fighting games, old school games, and arcade-style games) is Mad Catz’s line of Fight Sticks. Currently available in two flavors, the TE stick is around $150 and has higher quality parts (only hardcore fight fans will really notice, though) while the SE stick is only around $80 and will be good enough for casual players. The sticks are easy to modify with new parts and even with custom cover artwork.

There is a growing lineup of flight combat games on the Xbox 360, and to really play them right you need a flight stick controller. The Saitek Flight Stick is affordable ($50) and offers great controls in a surprisingly small package. It works great with all of the flight combat games released so far, and is a solid choice for a flight game fan.

Turtle Beach has a great line of headphones designed specifically for use with the Xbox 360, but they also work just fine with your PS3 or DVD player. There is a lower end set called the Ear Force X3 that are less than $100 and a higher end set called the Ear Force X4 that are around $200 (but you can find them for less). Both are excellent, though I have to say the X4’s are noticeably better in terms of features and sound quality, but you can’t really go wrong with either one. It all just depends on how much money you want to spend.