Arcade gaming has created some of the most immediately recognisable and iconic hardware in the videogame scene. Nothing quite spells old school charm quite like an arcade machine complete with a full complement of tactile buttons and switches. With arcade style fighting games still being huge in the tournament scene, these have continued to evolve into better, more portable and customisable hardware purpose built for the needs of the modern gamer. 8BitDo's latest Arcade Controller range is looking to take that legacy to the next level.
These new pads are touted as being one of the most advanced of its kind, and despite the marketing jargon they actually look very good. Coming in two varieties, one specifically for Xbox and Windows PC, and another designed for Switch and Windows PC play, the new arcade controller sports a hot-swappable PCB with 16 Kailh Wizard low-profile mechanical switches. Pros and hobbyists alike can use this to customise the board to better suit their play styles and preferences.
They also support remapping, and the Xbox one has customizable RGB lighting. This is all done by the control panel at the top left, which can also configure modes like SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) and tournament configs. You can also adjust these via included software, but it's really cool to see full control on the device. The presser says it's all easy and intuitive to configure, and having played with other controllers that claim the same, I'm sceptical, but hopeful.
This in combination with the size of the unit means it could be a great portable option for tournament goers. Its foot print is about the same size as an A4 sheet of paper and has a thin profile with a base thickness of 1.6 cm. This may change depending on which buttons you go with, but it's a good baseline for slipping in the laptop portion of a bag, which should keep the unit nice and safe. If you want something even smaller, 8BitDo might have you covered there too.
To go with the portability it also supports 2.4 wireless, as well as Bluetooth, and wired connections. The wireless works with a USB receiver that magnets to the main unit, which is something I always look for in wireless devices. There's nothing worse than losing these tiny little dongles just because no one thought to include a place to put them on the main piece of tech.
The buttons are another notable feature on the arcade controllers. Casting your memory back to the old days you probably conjure up a stick for your movement controls. But the fact is for a lot of competitive players, sticks are out and buttons are in. This is because sticks are less accurate and more likely to have input errors. They may feel or seem more natural or intuitive, but they present a false sense of analogue play when in reality they only convert their motion into button-like actions anyway.
The difference between stick and button gameplay has been so severe that many wanted to ban all button input for tournaments, saying it gives an unfair advantage. Of course lots of players still prefer sticks and do amazing work with them, so preference also definitely comes into play.
If this all sounds like too much fighting game jargon, then something like the 8BitDo Ultimate with TMR triggers and hall effect sticks might be more your scene. This is modelled of a Switch Pro controller, and is a lot more of the standard affair.
If you're into buttons, and also this controller it's set to go on sale mid August. The standard version, aka the one for Switch and PC is expected to retail for €89.99 / £74.99 and the officially licensed Xbox version for €99.99 / £84.99. While it's slated to release in North America, there's no word on US pricing just yet, so we could be waiting to see what Trump's Tariffs have in store for this device's MSRP.
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