Microsoft has just announced a first party set of headphones available early March. Integrated volume controls for both game sound and chat levels including the always required mute, we can expect to finally be able to adjust sound and chat volumes in one place. Furthermore the controller adapter is detachable, so you’re not tethered to the provided headphones.
What’s more, they’re also releasing the adapter for sale separately, though no word on price for either yet. While the direct connection to the adapter will get you full headset capability, you will need to have an external connection to either the Xbox One optical port, your television or sound setup to get the game sounds through the same earphones.
We expect to see these on the shelves just in time for Titanfall. I look forward to being able to use some of my older 360 chat headset – specifically a throat communicator.
[Update] Larry Hryb, AKA Microsoft`s Major Nelson has clarified several points:
Legacy gaming headsets get game audio from the back of the console from the S/PDIF port. Get chat audio by connecting the 2.5mm chat cable to the adapter.
New Xbox One headsets – get chat and stereo directly from the adapter. No need to connect anything to the console.
Any 3.5mm stereo headset (that uses the CTIA plug standard) can get stereo game audio by plugging into the adapter.
The Stereo Headset MSRP is $80USD, where the adapter alone will be $25USD. While this certainly adds to the value proposition, and we certainly appreciate them following an industry standard that includes headphones provided with most major smartphones, some questions that spring to mind is how much battery power will this drain from the controller, and if there is a limit of how many controllers can have the audio piped through attached headphones. We`ll have more info as it becomes available.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, at a young age I was forced to decide whether the harsh northern winters were going to claim my fingers, or to turn to the safer pursuits of indoor activities. Little did I know that a little game called Ninja Gaiden would bring my digits more pain than frostbite ever could. Starting with Vectrex and C64 games and moving forward through the era of electronic entertainment, I sampled as much as I could in the different platforms, and began my interest in PC gaming from wrestling with DOS memory management.
While console games were a part of my earliest gaming memories and I certainly had played on most platforms including 3D0, all things Nintendo, PS1 and the like, truly the PC was my domain until the Xbox. As an old PC gamer, I ever chased the cutting edge technology. Eye of the beholder with CGA 4 colors was my first step down the the path of blowing thousands of dollars on PC upgrades over two decades. Ultima 7, with the Guardian talking to me through my monitor, still haunts my dreams and keeps me ever hoping for a decent Ultima 8 and 9. From the 3DFX SLI VooDoo2s and Aureal to today's GPU driven DirectX games, the new and shiny pictures seem to keep me going. My PC gaming has slowed down with the market shift though, and although I have choice games that will ever be on PC, I have found myself in console gaming with a bit of portable gaming in my life.
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