I have to say that I'm glad that this gen has finally ended, it went a long time from back in late 2005 to right now in current Nov 2014. I was looking forward to eventually getting one of the new consoles a year or two after their release but there's one thing that's giving me a major turnoff from the new systems and that's the wireless controller. I was reading Game Informers review or somewhat review of the Xbox one and found out that the console controller is wireless. I'm somebody who used a wired controller with the 360 because it saves money on batteries. However it looks like both consoles have went with a wireless controller and no options for a wired. That to me is extremely disappointing as I'm going to have to spend a lot more on batteries if I were to choose to get a new console. I don't understand why the Xbox one and the PS4 couldn't have had the option to have a wired controller. I may have to get a new PC and just go with PC this gen over the consoles.

This might be a dealbreaker for me and I have my skepticism about DRM but I may have to deal with Steam as the better alternative if Microsoft and Sony aren't going to offer better controllers and we are still going to have 30FPS on the new consoles. The gap keeps getting wider between console and PC and if Nvidia releases a new Titan graphics card which is rumored to happen, then that gap will keep getting bigger. Words can't express how disappointed I am at both companies, it's just disappointing and that's all I can further say about it.

Just buy a docking station for the controller. The PS3 could be wireless but I keep mine plugged in so I dont need to worry about recharging and all that.

Buy a rechargeable battery when those come out. They tend to last a year or two.

I use wireless Xbox 360 controllers on my living room PC and my solution to this problem was rechargeable batteries. IMO it works very well, as the controllers seem to be very power efficient. The Wii controllers eat batteries pretty quickly, but the 360 controllers seem to sip juice. I use a smart battery charger and Sanyo Eneloop batteries (IMO these are some of the best rechargeable batteries on the market).

I normally like wired input devices (I ALWAYS opt for a wired keyboard and mouse on my desktop PCs), but for playing vidja games on my TV it's got to be a wireless controller.

It's November 2013.

Sorry, had to point that out.

But what's wrong with wireless controllers? A fresh battery lasts quite a long time.

Not sure about xbox but I'm pretty sure ps4 ain't gonna have batteries. Ps3 controller was also wireless and when it would power off you'd stick it into the console via usb cable and charge it. No battery slots. And it usually lasted for a week for me if I'd play a lot, much longer if I didn't play as often. I always played wireless because my tv screen was big and it was nice to be further away (and besides I already had several shorter usb cables and didn't feel like buying a new, long one), and while I was playing on one controller the other one was charging.

Regardless, batteries can get expensive when you use your controller a lot. And they are a hassle.
Ever have your batteries die during an important part of the game?

I bet that within a year both consoles will introduce wired controllers. I think that's how it went for the last ones.

Xbox will still have those 'play as you charge' batteries.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/controllers/wireless-controller-and-play-and-charge-kit

The PS4 controller has an internal rechargeable battery, and the XB1 controller will probably have a battery pack like the 360. You shouldn't have to buy any batteries.

I use http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/accessories/batterieschargers/xbox360quickchargekit with my Xbox 360. Got them about a month or so after buying a 360 and it's been years and they haven't had any issues. They last a very long time on their own without needing to be recharged, and when they do you just swap out for the other one as well as you can use the second pack whenever somebody else needs a controller.

I could have sworn that I read somewhere that you could use a micro-usb cable to connect the controller to the console, thus making it a "wired" controller. I currently use only the cable from http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/accessories/batterieschargers/xbox360playchargekit and it works perfectly fine on a wireless controller without batteries. I imagine something similar will work for the new controllers as well, eventually.

It was more of a hassle for me using those damn batteries. The controllers last a very long time. All you have to do is charge it back up (you can still play while it's charging). Honestly, I've never heard of people complain about wireless controllers.

Both the PS3 and PS4 have always used internal batteries. You just charge them up. If you really wanted to, just leave the charging cable plugged in.

http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries-Position/dp/B004RP2VNI/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1385001974&sr=1-2&keywords=sanyo+eneloop rechargeable batteries with charger. Less than $20, or a used game.

These rechargeable batteries are the best I have ever used.