#mfi controller

It’s finally here! About a year behind schedule, but at long, the time is upon us: the 9.7 inch iPad Pro / iPad Air version of the Gamevice is available right now from the Apple Store!

Mine arrives tomorrow. I’ll have a review up shortly thereafter. I’m expecting my opinion of this Gamevice will closely mirror my opinion of the iPad Mini Gamevice – and I still think the iPad Mini Gamevice is the best MFi controller you can get.

Buy Now

Amazon has the original Horipad MFi controller on sale for $49 – $30 less than it’s usual price.

The Horipad is an excellent controller. At the time of my in-depth review, it was my favorite MFi controller available. It’s excellent d-pad makes it a great choice for retro gamers, and it’s 4 rear shoulder buttons makes for a perfect controller for PlayStation-era games.

The newer Horipad Ultimate controller is probably a better choice for most people, but the original is also excellent. Both are among my favorite MFi controllers.

If you’ve been waiting for a price drop on the original Horipad, and you prefer it’s circular d-pad and four shoulder buttons to the newer Horipad Ultimate’s plus-pad and triggers, now is a great chance to pick up a great controller.

Buy Now

Amazon just dropped the price of the PXN Speedy to $49, down 20% from the original. This puts it at the same price as the newer Horipad Ultimate and SteelSeries Nimbus controllers.

If you’ve been looking for a first-rate Xbox-style MFi controller, the Speedy is as good as it gets. I wrote an extensive review of the Speedy on this site, but long story short, this is one of my favorite bluetooth MFi controllers. The build quality is outstanding, the d-pad is extremely responsive, and the included adjustable grip makes this one of the best choices for iPhone gamers.

Buy the PXN Speedy

Good news for MFi controller fans and Massdrop shoppers: the TteSports Contour is on sale for $49 right now! The sale runs out in less than 24 hours, so act fast if you want one.

If you aren’t familiar with Massdrop from the last time they dropped an MFi controller, they work a little differently from other stores. Massdrop is technically a “member’s only” site. This is a requirement placed on them by sellers – sellers don’t want people to see Massdrop’s deals without signing up first. The good news: Membership at Massdrop is absolutely free. The better news: If you like AfterPad, sign up using this link and I’ll get free stuff.

Once you sign up, all you have to do is follow this link, and you’ll be able to see $49 TteSports Contour in all its glory. Whether you want to buy one after that… well that’s up to you.

I didn’t exactly love the Contour when I reviewed it. It suffers from a relatively uncomfortable design, oversensitive triggers, and a poor d-pad. Still, it does have the best integrated iPhone grip you can get on an MFi controller – and not by a small margin, either. There are better controllers out there, but not better iPhone clips.

If the Contour is your wish list, now is the best opportunity yet to grab one for cheap. And hopefully it heralds the coming of better MFi controllers on Massdrop.

Buy the TteSports Contour on Massdrop

January 28th Update:

The Stratus XL is back on Massdrop! This time for a (less compelling) $39.99 price tag. I recommend spending the extra $10 on the far better Nimbus or Horipad Ultimate controllers, but if you absolutely want a budget option, perhaps for development work or multiplayer, this is a great opportunity to grab one.

Hot on the heels of the Nimbus, SteelSeries seems to be clearing out stock of their last model: the Stratus XL is currently available for $32.99 $39.99 on Massdrop!

Massdrop is a little strange; here’s how it works. Massdrop is technically a “member’s only” site. This is a requirement placed on them by sellers. Membership at Massdrop is absolutely free. You can’t see Massdrop’s deals without signing up first. If you like AfterPad, use this link and I’ll get free stuff.

The Stratus XL isn’t my favorite controller – it has some serious issues with its triggers – but it’s a killer adequate deal for $32.99 $39.99.

Buy Now

You have to hand it to competition to bring down prices. Just days after Hori and SteelSeries released great $49 MFi controllers, Mad Catz just dropped the price of their full-size C.T.R.L.i to $45 – a big discount from the previous $59 price tag.

Mad Catz has long had the best general-purpose Bluetooth MFi controller with their C.T.R.L.i, but thanks to a combination of stronger competitors and changes to the MFi controller design policies, this has recently changed. The PXN Speedy (review coming soon) is a superior take on the C.T.R.L.i’s Xbox-style design, and the latest controllers from Hori and SteelSeries are killer options for people who don’t need an iPhone grip.

Still, it’s hard to argue with a $45 price tag. The C.T.R.L.i is a solid controller, and for $15 dollars less than anything else with a phone grip, this is an excellent opportunity to pick one up.

If you’re looking for more information on the C.T.R.L.i, be sure to check out the in-depth AfterPad Review.

Buy Now

Well that was fast. Looks like the sale is over. $24.99 still isn’t a bad price, though.

Looks like Amazon is cleaning out the warehouse. The MOGA Ace Power – the first MFi controller ever released – is currently on sale for $16.99 right now, while supplies last.

No, this is not the best controller in the world. It’s cheap feeling, it only works with 4-inch devices, and you can’t play games on it while it’s charging. But still, for $16.99… if you have a compatible device, I’d recommend picking this one up while you can.

If you’re a developer, this is BY FAR the cheapest way to get a test controller. Think about it like this – you’re going to get at least $17 worth of sales from controller-obsessed gamers if you add support now.

Heck, throw a $8.99 Logitech PowerShell into the cart while you’re at it. No clue if we’ll ever see another “Standard” layout MFi controller any time soon, but the Logitech PowerShell is still one of the most portable options available for owners of 4-inch iPhones and iPod Touches.

As previously revealed, Worms 4, the latest entry in Team17’s long-running Worms series, is here.

Superficially, it seems like a good release. The framerate appears to finally be unlocked from 30fps, and sometimes reaches a smooth 60fps on modern devices. The $4.99 price tag is reasonable.

Sadly, that’s where the good news ends for MFi controller fans. While it is possible to use MFi controllers in-game, menus are completely unsupported. Worse, the (pointless) roulette game the game forces you to play after every round is unusable with controllers, but also doesn’t allow you to use touch input as long as a controller is connected.

That counts as a game-breaking bug. In order to advance to the next round, you must disconnect your controller, tap the screen to bypass a stupid minigame that shouldn’t have been there in the first place, then reconnect your controller.

As far as I’m concerned, that’s unplayable. I’m not adding this to my MFi game database at this time. Hopefully soon.

If you insist on buying this now, it’s $4.99, and it seems to be a decent game for touch gamers. But if you’re looking for something to play with an MFi controller, you’re going to want to wait until this gets patched, or stick with Worms 3.

Download: Worms 3

Download: Worms 4