Tag Archives: Gamepad

Technology

Valve Reveals Plans To Improve Steam Deck’s Screen, Battery

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Image: Valve / Sony / Kotaku

As we discussed earlier this week, the Steam Deck has had one hell of a launch year. It should be no surprise, then, that Valve has its eye on the future of its new handheld, which it has officially categorized as a “multi-generational product.” The company has now revealed a bit of what it’s hoping to improve and where it’s looking to expand in the hardware game.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Verge, Steam Deck designers Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais talked about ambitions and concrete goals for the Steam Deck. After nearly a year out in the wild, the Deck has certainly impressed with its performance and wide selection of games. However, areas for improvement are clear: The screen is serviceable, but it’s far from that of, say, the new Nintendo Switch OLED Model. And the battery not only tends to drain quickly but, as iFixit observed in its review, it’s one of the least fixable things in an otherwise repair-friendly device. We know now that these last two points are top of mind for Valve.

Though the company didn’t reveal much of its plans for the screen’s improvement, it did share some insight into the battery, its replaceability, and how future iterations of the product are addressing areas of concern.

With a battery that’s quick to lose its juice, and the nature of such a power source being to degrade over time, poor replaceability is a disappointment. Griffais told The Verge that due to the possibility of battery expansion, “you can’t really have the battery-shaped hole [inside the Deck] be exactly the same size as the battery” and that all of the glue that holds it in place is to keep it from moving around too much.

Concern for a rattley battery was apparently an issue in development. “In some of our early prototypes,” Griffais said, “we had [the battery shifting around] and I’ll tell you, it doesn’t feel good at all when you’re just moving around and trying to use your Deck.” Yang comically added, “You don’t want a Steam Deck maraca, and you don’t want a battery possibly touching other important components and jostling them around.”

So the decision to secure the battery in place so rigidly was necessary to get the Deck in a playable, shippable, and reliably safe state. Yang revealed that Valve has “rolled in a change to the geometry of the [glue that holds the battery]” which should allow for easier removal and repairs down the line.

Valve also revealed, perhaps to the surprise and joy of a select few, that a new Steam Controller is also something the company is aspiring to make happen. The original Steam Controller was a bit of an odd bird, but its high level of customization certainly caught the attention of a dedicated, if small, fan base. Us select few who fell in love with it already knew it, but the Steam Deck has continued to demonstrate the need for more malleable and dynamic gamepads for PC gaming.

Read More: The Steam Deck’s Funky Controls Prove That Gamepads Are Outdated

But if you’re ready to throw money at the screen for a follow-up to Valve’s owl-shaped controller, I’m sorry to say that it might take a while. “Right now, we’re focusing on the Deck,” Yang said. “[A controller is] definitely something where we’d be excited to work with a third-party or explore ourselves.”

 

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Technology

Reggie Explains Why The Nintendo Wii U Didn’t Utilise Dual GamePad Support

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Image: Nintendo Life

The Wii U generation had a lot of potential but its life was cut short in the end due to the lackluster sales of the system. One thing that was never expanded upon was the ability to play with not just one, but two GamePads at the same time – allowing players to come together for some dual-screen action.

While Nintendo acknowledged that it was possible, many have been left wondering why nothing ever came of this feature. In a recent interview with the YouTube channel MinnMax, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has elaborated on this. Yes, technically multiple GamePads could communicate with a Wii U, but other factors such as the system’s install base, lifespan, and no unique games or ideas for such a feature played a part. Here’s the full exchange:

MinnMax: When you first revealed the Wii U, everybody was asking you – can we use multiple Wii U GamePads? And eventually, it was interesting, because the messaging just came out and you [Nintendo] all said “yeah, yeah, absolutely you can, here we go”…and it was never asked again, and it was never implemented as far as I know…what was that like from your perspective?

Reggie: Well, what was interesting is that with the Wii U, there was a full development plan for all of the interesting interactions and all of the interesting capabilities that the system could do, and so in that case, technically could multiple GamePads communicate with a Wii U? Answer was “yes”, but the install base never got large enough that that type of implementation made sense. And most importantly the company didn’t create a game where you needed another GamePad in order to have a great experience, the development just never proceeded and the lifespan of the Wii U ended up being so short, that it just never came to pass…in order for those initiatives to come to life (at least from Nintendo’s perspective) there needs to be a game that drives that implementation that enables the player to see why you would need a second GamePad as an example, and that game creation process is just so critical.

So – there you go, it comes down to the low install base, lifespan and also the usual case of needing a game that properly utilised the feature in order for it to be supported. If you would like to learn more about Nintendo’s Wii U generation, Reggie’s new book offers even more insight:

Would you have liked to have seen this feature rolled out? Were you supporting Nintendo yourself during the Wii U generation? Leave a comment down below.



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Technology

The Fisher-Price baby’s first gamepad has just been modded to play Elden Ring

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I never thought I’d be writing about my baby’s Fisher-Price gamepad again, but here we go: a modder has turned the cheap tune-filled toy into a complete Xbox gamepad with everything you’d need to play Elden Ring. And incredibly, he did so without losing any of the Fisher-Price Game & Learn Controller’s built-in sound effects — meaning you can now pair your Malenia run with such classic kiddie hits as “1, 2, 3, 4, up goes your score!” and “Orange, purple, white and pink, green, red and blue, woohoo!”

This may not be surprising if you’ve heard the name Dylan “Rudeism” Beck before, because this is actually one of the less ambitious controller stunts the New Zealand native and Twitch streamer has pulled — he’s the guy who beat Dark Souls 3 with a single button “Morse code” controller, built a motion-controlled lightsaber and Force power glove for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and rigged up his own flap, waddle and honk controls for Untitled Goose Game. You can see all of those in the tweets below:

But Rudeism tells The Verge that the new Fisher-Price mod is one of his favorite builds nonetheless, “purely due to how clean it looks.” After some fiddling, he was able to cram an entire Arduino Pro Micro clone in there, a two-axis joystick (since Fisher-Price’s original “joystick” was really just a button), and a few microswitches to turn the original’s clicky-but-non-electric “shoulder buttons” into real buttons as well.

All the original Fisher-Price buttons still work, though — right down to the Konami Code easter egg — because he’s got the Arduino set to piggyback off their inputs by soldering directly to the pre-existing board. So yeah, he’s largely playing games with the actual Fisher-Price gamepad, not just using a Fisher-Price gamepad as a shell. You do have to plug it in, though: “Not much space for batteries sadly,” he says, since the Arduino is taking up that room.

How does he get every Xbox button out of these limited controls, you might ask? Well, you can’t get ‘em all at once. But he did rig up the Fisher-Price slider as a mode selector that can let you have either a left or right analog stick at any given moment, as well as access to Start, Select and Guide buttons on A, B, and C. The “bumpers” can be both bumpers and triggers all on their own because they’ll press a different switch depending on whether you rock them left or right.

Rudeism says it was a two-week backburner project, and started as a joke: deal hunter Wario64 tweeted that the gamepad would be “perfect for Elden Ring,” and he decided to put that to the test. Unfortunately, there’s no footage of Rudeism destroying bosses with the baby gamepad quite yet, but he says he’s planning on beating the whole game this way (he’s also working on a YouTube build video if you want to try it too). The total budget was $20, including the controller itself — but admittedly not the old 3D printer he used to make mounts to keep the joystick and switches in position.

I don’t know if I’ll build one of these with my now-two-year-old’s pad, but it is a joy to see this hunk of plastic and circuitry in the headlines once again.



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Technology

Cyberpunk 2077 On PS5 Makes Great Use Of DualSense’s Haptics

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Not gonna lie, the improved in-game AI kinda has me looking like this.
Image: CD Projekt Red

After countless delays and a huge amount of work on the part of developer CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 finally hit PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on February 15. This enhanced version launched with a massive patch that added some much-needed quality-of-life improvements and gameplay tweaks, including an overhaul to the game’s perks system. But the coolest feature of this release may actually be exclusive to PlayStation: It’s the way CD Projekt Red has used the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers to make the game much more immersive. In fact, more than anything else, it’s this feature that’s making Cyberpunk 2077 worth coming back to for me.

If you’ve held a PlayStation 5 controller, then you know what I’m talking about. The DualSense features adaptive triggers that can add resistance to the L2 and R2 buttons. Depending on the game, this could translate to more tension when shooting a gun, or vibrations while driving a car. The end result is a more nuanced experience, one that seeks to mimic the real-world action performed in the game. It’s hardly a 1-to-1 comparison, of course, but when utilized well, the DualSense does an excellent job at conveying the impression of a real experience through its adaptive triggers.

Read More: I Love Everything About The PS5 DualSense Except The Home Button

For Cyberpunk’s next-gen launch, CDPR has really capitalized on the controller’s capabilities, and the game feels totally different because of it.

Take driving, for example. It wasn’t great at launch, with cars feeling floaty and steering feeling imprecise. The next-gen re-release addressed some of these concerns while also fundamentally changing how driving feels via the DualSense’s adaptive triggers. Now, when cruising down the rain-slicked streets of Night City in an old junker or a top-of-the-line sports car, you feel the gears shifting and the tires gripping the road while drifting corners. And because the DualSense also has other haptics built into it, crashes are much more impactful thanks to the varying degrees of vibrations that occur. Honestly, driving just feels miles better and way more nuanced now.

Shooting this gun with the DualSense’s adaptive triggers must require a lotta force.
Screenshot: CD Projekt Red

The same is true for guns, with the trigger buttons making them feel heavier and requiring more pressure to aim and shoot. Perhaps most striking is just how different it feels to fire a pistol, a hefty machine gun, and a shotgun. CDPR lead gameplay designer Michał Dobrowolski told Kotaku over email that these sensations are created via the adaptive triggers shifting between different settings and emitting various levels of pressure needed in order to press the buttons.

“The feeling you end up with is immersive to say the least,” Dobrowolski said. “It lets you feel the game world around you in a completely new way, distinct from how you experience the world through visuals, sounds, and even vibrations. It’s a whole new realm of possibilities design-wise, and from the gamer’s perspective—and I am a gamer myself, too—a really fun way of diving deeper into the experience.”

Read More: Cyberpunk 2077‘s Next-Gen Update Is A Pain On PlayStation

Dobrowolski is right. Playing Cyberpunk 2077 is fun, particularly because of the PS5 controller’s adaptive triggers and haptics. They add a unique feel that, as Dobrowolski put it, lets you feel the weight of the game’s world. Things are heavier, more impactful, and more nuanced now. It doesn’t quite make Cyberpunk 2077 feel like a new game, but it definitely makes the game’s efforts to pull you into Night City that much more successful.

It’s just a shame that Cyberpunk 2077 is still starving for content. The quality-of-life improvements are welcome, and the new features alter the game’s feel, but many of us who have already completed the game are now left waiting for new things to do and experience in its freshly revamped world. Hopefully, CDPR opens up about whatever major paid expansions are in development soon, because these cool adaptive triggers and haptics–along with all the other changes brought about with this re-launch–need the support of great new adventures in Night City to really make the most of their potential.

 

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Technology

Scuf’s New PS5 Controllers Are As Cool As They Are Pricey

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All the colors of the wind.
Photo: Scuf Gaming

Atlanta-based Scuf gaming’s made a name for itself with outstanding third-party controllers for Xbox One, Series X/S, and PlayStation 4. Now the peripheral maker sets its sights on the PlayStation 5 with the new Scuf Reflex line, a trio of high-performance PS5 controllers with four rear paddles, swappable thumbsticks and faceplates, and onboard profile switching. That’s a lot of extra functionality, but it comes at a steep price.

Scuf’s new Reflex line encompasses three different models. There’s the basic $200 Reflex, which comes with all of the bells and whistles Scuf customers have come to expect from its expensive controllers. It’s got four removable, programmable rear buttons, a very nice feature that’s rare on other controllers due to Scuf’s patents on it. There’s a button to switch between three different controller profiles for different games. Buttons can be remapped on the fly, without having to pause gameplay. Initially available in black, all Reflex models will support swappable faceplates and thumbsticks, short or long, concave or convex.

The Reflex Pro, which starts at $230, includes all of that plus a “high-performance grip,” which is meant to increase player endurance and comfort and apparently costs $30 or so to apply. Both the regular Reflex and Pro include the PS5’s adaptive triggers as well as vibration, reproducing the tactile feel of Son’s official DualSense controller.

Baby’s got back buttons.
Photo: Scuf Gaming

The final Reflex model is the $360 Reflex FPS, Scuf’s first dedicated first-person-shooter gamepad. The Reflex FPS does not have vibration motors, making for a much lighter controller that’s free from distracting vibration. And both its triggers and bumpers are built to activate instantly, eliminating trigger pull. Why removing features from a controller makes it more expensive is beyond me, which is probably why I am not a controller salesman.

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All three models of the Reflex PS5 controller are available now for purchase exclusively at Scuf’s online store, which likely does employ some sort of controller salesperson who might be able to help you figure out the Reflex FPS pricing thing.

Scuf makes great hardware. I used its PS4 controllers almost exclusively, and the Scuf Instinct Pro is my go-to Xbox Series X controller. They are strong, solid, dependable, and versatile. If those same adjectives apply to these new PS5 controllers, then I am in, once I scrape together a couple hundred dollars.

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Technology

A brief love letter to Xbox’s new colorful, cool-looking Forza gamepad

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Enlarge / Play it loud with Microsoft’s newest game-specific Xbox gamepad.

Sam Machkovech


While Ars Technica is in the loop about a lot of gamepad launches, we mostly look at gamepads that offer significant features and upgrades. Those features can boil down to accessibility, luxury, value, quirkiness, or dramatically new gimmicks.

In today’s case, however, I can’t help but gush over a controller that feels remarkably humdrum in some aspects, yet absolutely goes for it on an aesthetic basis. If you pine for ’90s-era interfaces when loud colors and transparent plastic ruled the gamepad fray, this week’s launch of the Forza Horizon 5 Xbox Wireless Controller is for you.

  • The new controller’s box.


    Sam Machkovech

  • Fresh out of the box.


    Sam Machkovech

  • Focus on the transparent plastic.


    Sam Machkovech

  • Focus on the colorful buttons and joysticks.


    Sam Machkovech

This official variant of the Xbox Wireless Controller (the name of the gamepad’s latest, Series X-adjacent revision, complete with a “share” button) comes at an MSRP of $74.99. The $15 premium over the default gamepad’s MSRP is primarily thanks to a very loud and unique color design, which largely resembles the colorful video game of the same name. (Otherwise, this works just like other XWCs, and it includes compatibility with both the Xbox 2.4 GHz wireless standard and Bluetooth.) The entire front face consists of transparent, yellow plastic, though roughly half of this is covered with a handsomely laser-printed paint splatter. The fact that the design looks as sharply printed as the facsimile on the box is a testament to whatever printing process Microsoft is using for its gamepads.

The Forza gamepad edition is also one of the only official Xbox gamepads that features alternating colors on its joysticks: blue on one side, magenta on the other. (This applies to the backside triggers, as well). The only other option I’ve seen on that front is a limited-edition Space Jam: A New Legacy gamepad, which is smothered in text and logos. Microsoft’s latest option is incredibly tasteful on that front, on the other hand, with a hard-to-see Forza logo on the front and a single “H” on the back. To which I say: yes! More colors, fewer logos, please.

  • Alternating blue and magenta triggers. And what’s with this black material on the handles?


    Sam Machkovech

  • Let’s take a closer, brighter look. If you prefer a softer, rubberized material for your hands to rest on—over the gamepad’s default, hard plastic dimples—this might be your jam.


    Sam Machkovech

Speaking of the backside: this gamepad covers its handles with a unique rubberized material, as opposed to the series of hard plastic dimples on Xbox’s 2020 gamepad revision. Microsoft describes this material as “inspired by a race car steering wheel.” I wouldn’t go that far in terms of the material’s quality or texture, but I am also unsure that I’d want to pay an additional premium for actual car-grade materials like leather on these grips. I like the gamepad’s soft sensation, but I cannot immediately predict whether this material will wear out or rub off onto hands after extended use.

  • A custom-painted 1932 Ford that’s unlocked by the new gamepad’s DLC code. I’m not a fan of that text on its trunk.

  • A custom-painted 1932 Ford that’s unlocked by the new gamepad’s DLC code.

Additionally, the gamepad comes with a Forza Horizon 5 DLC code, and this unlocks one custom-painted car (the 1932 Ford De Luxe Five-Window Coupe), one T-shirt for your in-game avatar, and one custom “dance” emote. I’m not really a fan of hardware-gated features in software, but these are also wimpy cosmetic additions. So if you miss these, you’re not missing much. (You can unlock a less colorful version of this car for pretty cheap in the normal game, and this DLC’s paint job includes a dorky-looking “HORIZON FESTIVAL” text crawl on its trunk, so I honestly don’t recommend it.)

This gamepad design may not be your cup of tea, but I applaud the Xbox team for something so bold and shameless in terms of its color design. Many “special edition” gamepads from the likes of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo err on the side of either militaristic gaudiness or understated logos—and those styles can certainly look cool (or, at least, appropriate for whatever gaming series inspired them). But I’m a fan of bolder color designs in general, especially with something as inherently whimsical as a controller for a gaming system. Until Microsoft unlocks similarly wild paint and color-variety options on its own Xbox Design Lab system, this head-turning Forza gamepad will have to suffice.

  • The new controller posed next to the Xbox Elite Series 2 (top) and vanilla Xbox Wireless Gamepad (left).


    Sam Machkovech

  • The new controller posed next to the Xbox Elite Series 2 (top) and vanilla Xbox Wireless Gamepad (left), backside edition.


    Sam Machkovech

  • An Xbox gamepad in the hand is worth $74.99 in the MSRP bush.


    Sam Machkovech

  • Better zoom on the colorful ABXY array.


    Sam Machkovech

  • You can barely see the Forza “F” logo here. Which I prefer.


    Sam Machkovech

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

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Technology

Scuf Instinct Pro Xbox Series X/S Controller: The Kotaku Review

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Mind the giant hands. The controller is normal size.
Photo: Mike Fahey / Kotaku

Since 2011, Scuf Gaming has made a name for itself by producing some of the highest quality third-party console controllers and owning a ridiculous number of controller patents. The Scuf Instinct and Instinct Pro are the company’s first stabs at creating an elite-level controller for the Xbox Series X/S consoles, and it pretty much nailed it.

What is Scuf Gaming?

We’ve been writing about Scuf controllers at Kotaku for years now, testing both its PlayStation 4 controllers and its answer to the original Xbox Elite Wireless controller. We also covered its patent infringement case against Valve and its Steam controller, in which Valve was ordered to pay Scuf four million dollars.

Scuf Gaming is an Atlanta-based peripheral maker founded in 2011 that does two things. One, it makes highly-configurable, usually quite expensive controllers for Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Two, it collects gaming patents like they were baseball cards. The company owns more than 100 patents, including rear buttons or paddles on game controllers, side “sax” buttons, and trigger stops, which limit the distance a controller’s triggers need to move in order to activate. The company has an entire page of its website dedicated to its patents. You know the Xbox Elite Controller from Microsoft? Most of the tech that makes it so elite was licensed from Scuf.

Scuf was purchased by Corsair Components in 2019, making it an integral part of Corsair’s evil gaming hardware empire, which also includes Origin PC and streaming device maker Elgato.

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What is the Scuf Instinct Pro controller?

The Scuf Instinct Pro is a combination wired and wireless controller designed for the PC and Xbox Series X/S consoles. It’s Scuf’s latest take on making its own Xbox Elite Wireless controller. There are actually two models of Instinct. There’s the $200 Instinct Pro, which comes with trigger stops and textured grips, and the $170 non-pro Instinct, which lacks those two features.

Without the metal paddles it looks a lot less like a meat slicer from the back.
Photo: Scuf Gaming

Both Instinct models feature four buttons on the back of the controller. Those are Scuf’s beloved patent babies. They used to be long metal paddles, but now they’re cute little buttons easily activated by your middle fingers. Beneath the battery compartment—yes, the Instinct Pro uses batteries instead of a rechargeable battery pack—there’s a button for quickly switching between three different button configuration profiles. The little silver switches beside the battery bay lock the controller’s triggers so they don’t have to travel to activate, which is nice for shooters.

There are so many faceplate colors for this thing.
Photo: Scuf Gaming

The front of the Scuf Instinct Pro looks a lot like your standard Xbox Series X/S controller, down to the share button and the one-piece directional disc. There’s an additional dedicated mute button for headset users, which is lovely.

How does the Scuf Instinct Pro controller feel?

What really sets the Scuf Instinct Pro apart from the standard Xbox Series X/S controllers is the removable faceplate. Not only does it allow for you to switch up the look of the controller with different covers and analog stick rings, you can also swap the analog sticks for different sizes and shapes. There are a couple of convex sticks included in the package, which I immediately threw away because convex sticks are garbage.

Don’t look at it there, it’s embarrassing.
Photo: Scuf Gaming

Aside from those groovy little back buttons, the Scuf Instinct Pro controller feels like an official Xbox controller with a textured grip. The form factor is pretty much the same as my standard Xbox Series X/S game pads. Despite its modular design, the Instinct Pro has a nice, solid feel to it. The weight is nice.

I was worried the little buttons on the back wouldn’t be as satisfying as the metal paddles from older Scuf models or Microsoft’s Elite Wireless Controller, but they’re actually decent and unobtrusive. You can feel them there, but they don’t feel like they’re in the way.

Is the Scuf Instinct Pro controller better than the standard Xbox Series X/S controller?

If you’re looking for extra features, more buttons, and customization options, the Instinct Pro has the original Xbox Series X/S controller beat hands down. If you don’t need any of those things, the standard controller should do you just fine.

Is the Scuf Instinct Pro controller better than the Elite Wireless 2 controller?

This is a much tougher call. For one, Microsoft’s Elite Wireless 2 costs $20 less than the $200 Instinct Pro. The Elite Wireless 2 has multiple hair trigger stops as opposed to the Instinct Pro’s, which are either on or off. And the Elite Wireless 2 has adjustable analog stick tension, which the Instinct Pro does not.

Seriously, my hands are huge.
Photo: Mike Fahey / Kotaku

That said, I do prefer the little nubby buttons on the back of the Instinct Pro, and my custom faceplate is so much prettier than the Elite Wireless 2. If you want to make a statement with your controller, the Instinct Pro is the way to go.

Should you buy the Scuf Instinct Pro controller?

Look folks, I am not going to tell you what to do with your money. If it were up to me you’d be spending it all on transforming robots from Japan shipped directly to my front door. What I will say is that if you drop $200 on Scuf’s fancy new Xbox Series X/S and/or PC controller, I do not think you will be disappointed. It’s a solid pro-grade controller that feels like something Microsoft might make, and not just because Scuf owns most of the patents on what Microsoft makes anyway.

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