8BitDo started as a company that traded almost entirely on nostalgia – and it still does – but it also makes some pretty great conventional gaming products at great prices. Take the very first controller in the popular ‘mobile grip’ category, the new Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller. Eh, maybe go easy on the hyperbolic names, guys.
Like many similar designs (e.g. the Razer Kishi or various flavors of Backbone), it essentially chops a standard Bluetooth controller in half and places a sliding phone grip in the middle. But there are a few things that might catch your attention. Firstly, it uses the same layout and general shape as the previous ‘ultimate’ console and PC controllers, which were very well received. That makes it bigger – and hopefully more comfortable – than the usual gripper controllers.
8BitDo
Secondly, it uses Hall effect sensors for both the triggers and the analog sticks. The technology behind this is complicated, but essentially it means they last a long time. long time and should not suffer from impulsiveness, a notorious problem for gamers. I also dig those metal rings around the sticks, for a little extra durability.
8BitDo’s design offers several other upgrades over similar budget designs. You can program the layout of the buttons (including two extra buttons on the back!) with 8BitDo’s PC app and adjust the settings for the sensitivity of the sticks and triggers. I also like the device-independent slider, which can accommodate most of my foldable phone thanks to a wide-open top and bottom. The specs say it should be able to handle devices up to 170mm wide/height. (That’s big enough for a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, even in a thick case.)
You get all that for just $50. That’s just $10 more than the GameSir X2s I blew through Skies of Arcadia on a recent vacation, and it’s half the price of the Razer Kishi V2, Backbone One, or SCUF Nomad. The 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller is available for pre-order now and will ship on November 29.
