I used ChatGPT to compare game controllers – here’s what I bought

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.