At the moment, the hard-to-find $150 Xbox One Elite Controller is back in stock for a limited time at Gamestop and Best Buy. The product’s Amazon page says it’ll be available to order on January 23 (via GameSpot).
It’s been difficult for most consumers to get their hands on the elite controller, which will probably remain the case through March of this year, according to a previous statement by Microsoft.
Microsoft has admitted that they had misjudged reactions to the controller. According to Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela, the company “totally underestimated” demand. Capossela also said they built a reduced number based on feedback they received at E3 2015. It turned out that a significant amount more people were willing to pay $150 than the company had previously perceived.
“On the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, myself and Kevin Turner our COO, and the guy who runs our stores, David Porter, we go around and visit 30 or 40 different stores," Capossela added. "Best Buy and GameStop and AT&T and Verizon and Microsoft Stores, just to see how things look, and the one thing we heard from everybody was, 'You needed to make way more of these controllers.”
If you buy the $500 Xbox One Elite model that launched in November, you can get the elite controller that way.