My time at E3 was filled with headsets. PDP, Astro Gaming — you name it, I saw it/heard it. That includes Turtle Beach, makers of headsets for Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. I wasn't there for headsets I've already tried out, though; the very first thing we covered is Turtle Beach's partnership with Xbox One.
Turtle Beach will be the first to market Microsoft-licensed gaming headsets for the Xbox One. With that little bit of information, I was shown two prototypes of such headsets.
The Xbox One Turtle Beach headsets will have the XO designation. The first one I was shown was the Ear Force XO SEVEN. While the model I saw was just a prototype, the XO SEVEN is essentially the Turtle Beach XP SEVEN/Z SEVEN/M SEVEN with colored trimming that matches the shade of green of the A button on the Xbox One controller.
Like other Turtle Beach headsets, the speaker plates will be interchangeable, the ear cushions will be memory foam, and the mic will be removable, so you could also use the headset with all of your mobile devices. It will use a 3.5mm connector for mobile devices, but I was not told what the Xbox One audio connection would be yet. The MSRP is set for $149.95, which means unlike the XP SEVEN and Z SEVEN models, the XO SEVEN won't come with the Audio Control Unit.
Set at an MSRP of $99.95, the Ear Force XO FOUR will also be available for adopters of the Xbox One, and at a lower price point to boot. The XO FOUR uses mesh ear cushions for breathability, will be compatible with mobile devices, and comes with a high-quality mic. I was told the band on the XO FOUR might not stay that way — it was a prototype after all — and that Turtle Beach may change the band to one of their leather-stitched ones.
For those gamers that plan to buy the PlayStation 4 instead, there are two headsets I was also shown for that console as well. Essentially, like the Xbox One's planned headsets, they're rebranded models of current Turtle Beach headsets with red trim to represent Sony. They were also prototypes, and I wasn't given as much information about these headsets, so I'll update you with more information about those as I receive it.
What I took away from this was that Turtle Beach isn't going to fix what's not broke. I'm sure we'll see other Turtle Beach models for the PS4 and Xbox One after they've been on the market for a while, but for now, here's what you have to look forward to.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at [email protected]
