There’s nothing that sucks more than sitting down for a night of gaming action on the Xbox 360, only to find that one, or both, your controllers are dead. Of course, you can dig out the AA battery surrogate packs that are included with the controllers, but mother nature would have a hairy conniption at the waste that you’ve laid with all the discarded cells. Of course, Microsoft makes their own rechargeable batteries and charger, but are there any good alternatives out there to the expensive OEM version? NYKO seems to think they’ve got one.
The NYKO Charge Base 360 offers up charging to two seperate controllers. It also gives you a nifty place to toss your controllers after you’re done with them. It’s better than flopping on your couch and falling right on top of them, necessitating a trip to the chiropractor.
What’s in the Box?
Inside the box, you get everything you need to retrofit two Xbox 360 Controllers for drop and charge action on the Charge Base 360. This inlcudes the Charge Base 360 itself and two additional rechargeable NiMH battery packs. A quick setup guide with lots of pictures is included if you need a bit of help.
The base itself is very well contructed and features non slip feet so it doesn’t go flying. Even without the controllers onboard, the unit seems like it carries enough weight to keep it planted. Vent holes are present in the unit to keep it from overheating when charging up your controllers. The plug is not detachable so if the cat chews through it, you’re buying a new one.
Setting Things Up
Retrofitting your Xbox 360 controllers to work with the Charge Base 360 is pretty straight forward. All you need to go is replace the original batteries with the ones provided by NYKO. Don’t forget to peel off the protective stickers or they won’t work or charge. On the bottom of each battery, you will notice some gold connectors that allow the batteries to charge when docked in the Charge Base 360. NYKO recommends that you don’t place the controllers in liquid after the retrofit as bad things may happen. That means if you spill your Red Bull or your Beer, you should clean it up right away before putting the controllers down. The quick setup guide also mentions keeping the contacts clear of oil and sweat. I guess you’ll have to crank the AC and stop eating the KFC bare handed.
The battery packs are generally of high quality construction and didn’t seem cheaply made like a lot of knock off stuff on the market. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite fit as well as OEM batteries when doing the initial retrofit. You sort of have to give them a bit of a shove while the OEM ones simply slide in without much fuss. Not a big deal, but just something I noticed. Also, if you’re pimping the Xbox 360 ELITE, the Charge Base 360 currently does not come in black so you’ll have a bit of that Panda 360 action going on.
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Charging It Up
Once you’ve got the new batteries installed, all you need to do is plug the base in and drop the batteries in for a charge. Although the manual doesn’t say so, I’d probably recommend that you charge the batteries overnight before using. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to charge the batteries on their own without them being attached to the controllers. That means if you forget to charge them, you’ll have to dig out those surrogate AA battery packs to get you through the night.
The Charge Base 360 includes a very bright indicator light, one for each controller. Green means the controllers are charged, Red means they are charging, and off means they are fully charged. But isn’t green also charged? I’d rather see the green because to me, green means go. Charge times are anywhere between 150 minutes for a single charger to 280 minutes for both controllers. My first charge was about 4 hrs, which is roughly correct, though the batteries probably have a bit of a charge on them to begin with. My unscientific tests deem the batteries to put out roughly the same play time as the OEM rechargeables, but then again, I have been good and dropping them into the Charge Base 360 when I’m done.
The Charge Base 360 seems to have this great way of allowing the controller to find the right point in the charger. I’ve tossed them in totally crooked, and they seem to find their way to the dock properly. Despite all the warnings about not putting the contacts in liquid or subjecting them to sweaty palms, I haven’t been shocked yet, though I probably wouldn’t try to do that on purpose. I’m sure it’s just more cover your ass language by the NYKO lawyers.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Overall, I really liked this product. It gives you a place to put your controllers instead of leaving them on your couch and having someone sit on them (or having them fall into the cracks of the couch cushions). Except for an initial fitment problem, the battery packs do seem quite well put together and the base has a substantial enough amount of weight to keep it planted. Repeated dockings with my Xbox 360 controllers did not seem to faze it. Yes, I did actually did get bored one day and tried dropping each controller in about a hundred times to see if anything would fail.
The Charge Base 360 does have a way of guiding the controllers to their destination to begin the charging process. Helpful for those times when you’ve got the caffeine jitters or when your hands are locked from fatigue at a marathon gaming session. The batteries charge within 3 – 4 hours depending on if you have one or two controllers dropped in and don’t seem to last any more or less long as a standard OEM battery pack. Long term use may reveal other details.
As far as nitpicks go, they are few, though I would love to see this in black to go with my bawlin’ black Xbox 360 ELITE (a limited edition Black was released earlier in the year). One thing that might be an area of improvement for the future would perhaps be the ability to charge the batteries seperate from their controllers. Currently, if you forget to drop the controllers in the dock when you’re done, you’ll be greeted with a dead battery. You can’t simply drop the battery itself in the dock and have it charge while you find a surrogate. It would be very cool if the batteries could be charged on or off the controller. Finally, a detachable power cord would be lovely in case the family pet gets hungry and takes a bite.
Overall, the NYKO Charge Base 360 is an excellent addition to your arsenal of XBox 360 accessories, providing both convenient storage and a rechargeable battery alternative to both the OEM and low quality knock offs out there. Not mention, for about $40.00 on the street, it’s a real steal.
Pros
- Provides a place to put your controllers, rather than shoving them in the cracks of your cushions
- If you remember to dock them, you are greeted with always charged batteries
- Excellent build quality should last for many hours of repeated docking abuse
- At around $40.00 US, they represent a great value
Cons
- A replaceable power cord would be nice
- Batteries cannot be charged without them being in the controller
- How about a slick black to match my Xbox 360 Elite?
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NYKO Charge Base 360 Dual Controller Charger Photo Gallery
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