The 5 Worst Xbox Accessories Of All Time

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Gaming accessories are supposed to make your console experience better. Whether they can make your gameplay more immersive, offer improved controls, or provide new ways to interact with games, the best accessories can offer a better or unique gaming experience. However, not every ambitious accessory turns into fan excitement.

While some of the accessories over the years have been a useful addition to the Xbox ecosystem, others weren't nearly as successful. Accessories like the Xbox One Kinect, Xbox One stereo headset adapter, Xbox 360 HD DVD player, Xbox 360 wireless networking adapter, and Xbox 360 Chatpad are some of the worst accessories developed by Microsoft. 

These accessories were introduced to improve the gaming experience of the user, but some struggled to justify their price, while others lost relevance due to outdated technology or failing to appeal to the core audience.

Xbox One Kinect was intended as a core part of the Xbox One experience. This accessory's goal was to let developers build experiences around voice commands, gestures, and player recognition for the user to have a different and fun experience. However, at launch, it was unpopularly tied to the console for $499. Microsoft then announced a console option without the Kinect for $399.

Initially, Microsoft had reserved valuable console resources (10% of the GPU capacity) for a feature that many games could choose not to use. Not all developers would utilize the Kinect's skeletal tracking capabilities, and Microsoft's decision to reserve GPU resources for system-level processing for this feature was questionable. So, in June 2014, Microsoft gave developers a way to reclaim the GPU capacity when they didn't need Kinect's skeletal tracking. Kinect may not have been a bad innovation, because the original one, released for Xbox 360, had a pretty positive reception. However, Microsoft's decision to bundle it with the console at a premium made it a questionable addition to the Xbox One.

Like its predecessors, the original Xbox One controller did not come with a built-in 3.5 mm headset jack. So, in 2014, Microsoft introduced the Stereo Headset Adapter to let players connect stereo headsets, control the headset volume, and mute the microphone from the controller. 

The Stereo Headset Adapter was announced to be $24.99, but around a year later, Microsoft launched a new Xbox One controller which came with a built-in 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, making the accessory far less relevant. The new Xbox One controller also supported headset volume, microphone monitoring, and audio-balance adjustment.

While the new controller was one of the reasons this accessory failed, there was another reason. Adding another piece of hardware to an everyday activity can be a bit inconvenient, especially when plugging the headphones directly into a controller with a built-in 3.5 mm jack is a much simpler and preferred solution. This device only served players who already had the older Xbox One controller, meaning it was an ultimately niche workaround when someone could just get a brand-new controller instead.

On launch, the Xbox 360 had a built-in Ethernet port, but there was no option for wireless connection. Microsoft instead offered a separate wireless networking adapter to connect the Xbox 360 to the internet without using an Ethernet cable. However, the adapter was introduced at a price of $99.99, which was seen as excessively high for hardware that served a single purpose.

The accessory was revealed to be limited to just the Xbox 360 console rather than a general-purpose wireless adapter that could be used with other devices. The Xbox 360 S and Xbox 360 E, both unveiled on June 14, 2010, and June 10, 2013, respectively, eventually featured built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi at launch. New Xbox owners no longer needed the separate wireless adapter for Wi-Fi connectivity. 

While the accessory was useful, its hefty price tag was difficult to justify, especially when it meant paying extra for such a basic convenience. So long as players had the option to plug in an ethernet cable, that was the far cheaper alternative most were willing to compromise on.

Microsoft introduced an HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 so console owners could watch high-definition movies without having to buy a separate standalone HD DVD player. Instead of building an HD DVD drive into every console, Microsoft sold an external USB-connected player for $199.99. However, this accessory was then discounted to $179 in 2007, and the offer included five free HD DVD titles. Later on, in early 2008, the price was slashed to $129.99, but the free five HD DVD titles deal stayed intact to attract customers.

At that time, the HD DVD was competing directly with Blu-ray for the high-definition movie market. In early 2008, Toshiba announced the end of its HD DVD business, which further invalidated the purpose of this accessory. Not only did it have a high price tag, but it was also perhaps the worst accessory to purchase for long-term value.

The Xbox 360 Chatpad, released in 2007, was a miniature keyboard attachment for the Xbox 360 controller. It was sold as part of Xbox 360's Messenger Kit for $29.99, containing both the chatpad and a wired headset. The Chatpad's purpose was to make sending messages to friends on Xbox Live easier, and while the idea was practical, it had several shortcomings. As the Chatpad was designed for text messages, players who rarely messaged their friends had no use for it. 

Although the Xbox 360 Chatpad was designed to make messaging more convenient, its tiny keys also meant that users still had to type with their thumbs, much like they would have when using a controller to navigate an on-screen keyboard. While the physical keys offered a more direct way to input text, the cramped layout could make typing messages feel awkward and slow. Another major issue was comfort, as attaching the Chatpad underneath the controller could interfere with the player's grip, making it less comfortable for some users.