Tag Archives: controller

Darryn Bonthuys

The PlayStation 4 controller has a “triple role”

May 6, 2013 at 1:30 pm | 39 Comments

There’s a lot that we still don’t know about the upcoming Playstation 4 console. Such as final pricing, availability or what it even looks like. Which means that come Christmas time, one over-eager child is probably getting a TV game machine as an accidental gift instead. Heh. What we do know though, is that the console has a controller. And it’s a controller with plenty of features apparently.


Darryn Bonthuys

Here are some more details on the Playstation 4 controller

March 28, 2013 at 12:30 pm | 11 Comments

Much like global warming, we know that the Playstation 4 is out there somewhere, but we just can’t prove that it actually exists. What does exist though, is the controller for that upcoming next-gen console. And it’s going to smother you with social interactivity.


Darryn Bonthuys

Rumour – The Next Xbox will have mandatory Kinect

February 12, 2013 at 7:45 am | 21 Comments

Move aside Playstation, because you’ve got some competition on the way. While everyone is waiting to see what Sony will be announcing on February 20 (PLAYSTATION MOVE 2!), there’s also Microsoft and their Xbox division, with codename Durango on the horizon. So what can we expect from that piece of next-gen tech? Mandatory installs, Kinect integration and multi-tasking, for starters.


Gavin Mannion

Is this the Dualshock 4?

February 4, 2013 at 12:30 pm | 12 Comments

The PlayStation 4 rumour mill is in high gear at the moment and every graphic designer and their dog is currently putting together renders of what they expect the console and it’s peripherals to be like.


Darryn Bonthuys

Rumour – Sony has a new PS4 controller design

January 21, 2013 at 7:45 am | 39 Comments

When it comes to controllers in the current generation of gaming, hands down the Xbox 360 has the best input device on the market. It’s a comfy, well designed piece of tech with some decent heft, something that even Nintendo copied for their Wii U pro controller. But the PS3 gamepad? That’s an antiquated piece of design that feels like it could snap in my hands at any second. And it looks like Sony has been listening to Geoff, because their next console is going to feature something…new.


Darryn Bonthuys

This collector’s controller for Tomb Raider is very distressed

January 11, 2013 at 11:15 am | 20 Comments

Much like Gavin, I too have a bit of a hard spot for specialised gaming controllers. While it may not be as bad as my love for stationary (Oh yeah, work those gel ink pens!), I’m still a complete sucker when it comes to forking out cash for one of them. And I like the look of this controller that’s aimed at the Tomb Raider crowd. Like, this much. No maybe this much!


Darryn Bonthuys

How Sony and Microsoft both turned down the Wii controller tech

November 19, 2012 at 12:00 pm | 5 Comments

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the Wii console put Nintendo back on the map, and was responsible for an onslaught of new wiggling-based gaming devices this generation. The technology behind, simple in idea and execution, opened up a whole new market for Nintendo, and earning them massive bags of cash that had a dollar sign emblazoned on the front. And that technology, almost belonged to Sony and Microsoft, before Nintendo carpe diemed it for themselves.


Darryn Bonthuys

Orb PS3 Wireless Bluetooth Controller Review -ExORBitant

September 17, 2012 at 3:30 pm | 14 Comments

Orb is back, and they’ve got a new PS3 controller with some familiar styling, especially for the market that is looking for something different than the stock-standard input device that comes with the console. Can Orb help capture a portion of the market that is looking for value at a low price?


Darryn Bonthuys

Wii U dual GamePad games will only arrive “next year”

September 17, 2012 at 1:30 pm | 9 Comments

The Wii U arrives on our shores on November 30, and will most likely cost a pretty penny or several thousand, based on inflation. Still, there’s some decent hardware packed in there, primarily that GamePad tablet controller. Heck, if you’ve got the cash, you might even want to buy two of them to play games on. Except you won’t be able to, because games that support such fancy dual-gaming capabilities, won’t be out until next year at least.


Darryn Bonthuys

Mobile phone gaming just got dual-shocked

August 8, 2012 at 2:00 pm | 2 Comments

You know, as much as I love playing a game on my imaginary smartphone that has yet to arrive, I have to admit, the controls suck. Trying to execute a tricky move or kill usually requires the grace of a dandy antelope, but my attempts usually resemble a quadriplegic trying to take part in a boxing match. It’s ugly, is what I’m saying. But now, some salvation, is quite literally, at hand.


Geoffrey Tim

Pachter was “guessing” about the Wii U

July 19, 2012 at 3:00 pm | 12 Comments

We’ve always considered videogame industry analyst Michael Pachter as little more than a well informed professional  guesser - and it seems that more often than not lately, his guesses have been way off the mark. He recently made some comments about the Wii U’s very traditional Pro controller (that bears more than a striking resemblance to the 360 controller), saying that it was likely due to Activision pushing for it on the grounds of Call of Duty support - which they’d pull without its inclusion.


Garth Holden

Gioteck’s HF-2 controller – A sniper’s friend

July 19, 2012 at 12:15 pm | 49 Comments

Since the dawn of RROD, Xbox players have been lauding the fact that their controllers are better than the PlayStation counterpart. Having grown up as a PS player and only moving to Xbox much later, I don’t see the big issue or what ‘the claw’ is all about. If you are in the market for a new controller and the idea of giving someone your spleen for a DualShock3 sounds like too extreme and you dislike the other third party options, check this baby out.


Gavin Mannion

Check out this custom StarCraft 2 controller

July 6, 2012 at 7:45 am | 10 Comments

The reason StarCraft 2 and most other strategy games haven’t made their way over to the consoles yet is simply because the controllers don’t have enough speed, accuracy or buttons to make it a viable option so when I saw someone on reddit claiming they had made a StarCraft 2 controller my first question was why?


Darryn Bonthuys

E3 2012: The Wii U wants to change the way we play and interact, says Reggie Fils-Aime

June 5, 2012 at 6:26 pm | 1 Comment

Reggie Fils-Aime takes the stage, and tells us how much he feels like a purple Pikmin. Greeting the audience in the Nokia Theatre, Fils-Aime goes on to talk the usual marketing talk about the Wii U, describing how it changes gaming habits and interactions.

The Wii U is going to have access to several media services, such as Netflix and Hulu, before he gives way to the line-up of almost two dozen Nintendo games.


Geoffrey Tim

MLG Pro Circuit controller review – Modular Madness

May 9, 2012 at 12:15 pm | 22 Comments

I’m generally not big on third-party controllers. the ones that ship standard with the console tend to be just fine. In the case of the Xbox 360 controller, there few (save perhaps, PlayStation loyalists and those with tiny hands) who’ll deny that it’s a smartly arranged, inherently comfortable controller, with near -perfect stick and button placement and wonderfully responsive trigger buttons. It’s  That doesn’t mean its without its problems.

It’s universally accepted that the standard 360 controller’s directional pad is terrible, offering sloppy input and imprecise control. More critically is the inherent issue of slow-turn, a phenomenon that affects older controllers - but often impacts their use out of the box. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, perhaps in a game of Halo 3 or Call of Duty, why your cursor moves in some direction’s at a snail’s pace regardless of your sensitivity settings. Slow-turn would explain it.

Mad Catz’ MLG Pro Circuit Controller,  available in South Africa this June, fixes both of those problems - but there’s more to it than that.

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