I used ChatGPT to compare game controllers — here's what I bought for my gamer son

My kid is absolutely obsessed with Fortnite — or at least, that’s what I assume based on the hours he spends each week yelling upstairs in his bedroom at the game. I get it, I used to shout at Contra, Zelda and Dr. Wily back in the day.

But when I was a kid, we had one controller — the one that came with the game. Actually, I take that back; we also had the Nintendo Power Pad, but that was annoying to refold. (Anyone born in the ‘90s, you’ll just have to trust me).

So, when my son asked for a new controller for his birthday, I figured it would be pretty easy to pick one up the next time I was out. Boy, was I wrong. He wanted specifics including mouse-click triggers and interchangeable thumbsticks, both of which he swore would make him “the best player ever” and so happy he “would be extra nice to his little sister.” I wasn’t buying it. I was not falling for his grandiose efforts to convince me that a game controller had superpowers, nor would I make the purchase before doing some research of my own.

As someone who always reads reviews, I’ve recently taken my shopping decisions to the next level by running big or important purchases past AI. I have found this added layer of research beneficial for several reasons.

AI can analyze data from the reviews without emotion, it can also do price comparisons and evaluate product specifications. When I asked ChatGPT about game controllers, I was able to identify potential savings, hidden fees, and was even given a few alternative suggestions. Ultimately, AI helped me get the best value for my money.

ChatGPT delivered clear, concise results

In this instance, I started with AI by asking ChatGPT the following prompt: What are the names of the top 3 controllers with mouse-click triggers and interchangeable thumbsticks?

If I had used Google with the same prompt, I would have gotten pages of information. This might have been helpful if I were a serious gamer or cared to know what mouse-click triggers and interchangeable thumbsticks actually do. However, I simply wanted to buy a good birthday gift for my son. ChatGPT suggested three controllers.

Easy data comparison

Once I had the top three suggestions, I asked ChatGPT the following prompt: Create a spreadsheet comparing each of them by design, customization, performance and price.

I really liked how the results were easy-to-read and made sense to me even though I’m not an extreme gamer. After I got the results, I decided to drop the Xbox Elite Series 2 because my son mostly plays on PlayStation. I also crossed off the Razer Wolverine Ultimate because it did not seem to offer everything that the other two offered. However, I hadn’t planned to spend $250 on a game controller, so I decided to let ChatGPT make one more comparison chart for me.

I threw in a wildcard

My son mostly games using PlayStation. Since I noticed that a PlayStation controller wasn’t represented among the original three results, I decided to compare the SCUF Reflex to PlayStation’s DualSense Edge wireless controller.

What’s interesting is that I knew this specific controller had mouse-click triggers and was surprised that it did not make the original list. Again, I'm not a gamer, so I was putting my trust in ChatGPT to steer me in the right direction.

ChatGPT left out an important detail

In fact, I had to correct the AI and was a little dumbfounded when it mentioned it overlooked the very specification that I was looking for in a controller. But hey, AI is not perfect and hiccups like these, remind us of that. Had I not known about the DualSense Edge features, I probably would have gone with the SCUF Reflex because it had everything my son requested, and more.

My final decision

Ultimately, I went with PlayStation’s DualSense Edge because it was slightly cheaper and frankly, I was more familiar with the brand. It was definitely close, though.

I have done comparisons like these with everything from cars to snowblowers, and I've found AI to be a highly reliable companion. Artificial intelligence is also a great starting point when you’re getting a lot of advice from friends, family, and neighbors but all you want to do is narrow down the list. Speaking of lists, now that I’ve crossed off "buy controller" from my to-dos, I should probably order a birthday cake.