Hal Effect sticks are a must. I’m looking for a controller because my PS4 controller has some pretty horrible stick drift. I don’t want a repeat of that.
PlayStation layout is also a must. Never understood the appeal of the wonky xbox layout.
Must also ship to Europe. Preferably a company from Europe. But outside of Europe also works if shipping and customs don’t add twice the controller’s cost to the price.
I’m asking this in Linux Gaming, so obviously must work with Linux (though so far I’ve had less issues getting controllers to work on my Linux desktop than I’ve had with Windows).
8bitdo 2c Ultimate I got off Amazon for 30$. Its 2.4ghz and bluetooth, and its hall effect.
Seconding this one. Legitimately the best casual use controllers I’ve ever used. Does everything it needs to, works flawlessly out of the box, offers plenty of customization for those who want to dive deeper, and just feels great to use.
Thirded
The new 8bitdo Pro 2 gamepads have hall effect stick, a symmetrical layout and are available in Europe. Made in China, though. I have … some of them. Love especially the translucent purple one.
Pretty decent looking gamepad. Do you have experience with the 8bitdo Pro 2? How are the ergonomics? How does it feel?
If you like the DS4, you will most possibly like the Pro 2. They have a nearly identical form factor. I like the feel of the Pro 2 with it’s textured back more.
Buttons, d-pad and sticks are great, also on par with the DS4. The back buttons are nice to use, while I never triggered them accidentally. Only the Start and Select buttons are just okayish, but do the job.
Thank you! This will certainly be a strong contender. They also have very cheap shipping to Denmark, so that’s a plus.
I still love the dualshock 3. Recently bought two more from ebay because my first one is half broken.
How do you recognize fakes?
Tbh I just bought from a high rated seller with a lot of reviews and that’s it
I suppose thats a way, and if it works properly should be ok.
Well, the Playstation layout is severely limiting. I recently bought a GameSir Tarantula and it’s really awesome, but it only has Xbox/Switch physical layout.
It can present itself as a Playstation controller to the system, though, so it will be detected as such, but the physical buttons won’t match. But if you don’t need that and are more interested in games recognising you have a PS controller, it could work for you.
I use it with my Steam Deck, so it works well for Linux.
Which one did you buy? I have the tarantula pro and it has the playstation layout
Tarantula Pro as well. It doesn’t have PS layout, though. How did you achieve that?
When looking for the Tarantula Pro, this is what shows up:
https://gamesir.com/collections/all-products-1/products/gamesir-tarantula-pro
Yes, that’s the one I have, it has Xbox/Switch layout. Or are you seeing something different?
This is what I see
Well, that’s not a Playstation layout.
Are you referring to the face buttons? When people talk about Xbox vs playstation layout they refer to the left side joystick/d-pad positioning
Is there a company outside of China making controllers with Hall effect sticks yet? I’m not aware of any, which means what you are asking for will severely limit your options.
FWIW, my six-year-old DualShock 4 has almost no stick drift; so little that I never notice it in practice and haven’t bothered to calibrate it. Perhaps that’s because I keep it in a drawer, where dust can’t settle on it and then work its way into the potentiometers inside.
You know you can calibrate these things in Linux, right?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Gamepad#Setting_up_deadzones_and_calibration
I’ve also traveled across Europe with it a few times. I bought my DS4 for use with my laptop (years before I built my own PC) shortly after the PS4 came out. I’ve had that controller for a very long time.
I considered perhaps replacing the sticks with hall effect ones myself, but I don’t have a soldering kit, and I can’t justify buying a whole soldering kit when I don’t have place for one and intend to only use it once.
This may not be all that helpful, but if your willing to learn (and possibly fry your controller) you may have a makerspace near where you live. If so, they would most likely have a soldering setup that you could use for a small fee.
Or heck, my local Library has a tool checkout system. Check with your local library (the bigger the better) as there’s a non-zero chance that they could loan you one.
8Bitdo Pro 2 is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Not entirely sure where they’re made, but I’m pretty sure they sell to Europe. On Linux, you’d have to follow these instructions to do firmware updates, since their update tool only works on Mac and Windows. I have a 8Bitdo SN30 Pro+ and its been perfectly fine on Linux.
As an aside, if you, or anyone reading this is comfortable with soldering. Gulikit sells Hall Effect Sticks that can be retrofit into both the Dualshock 4 and the Dualsense, if you’re looking for that Playstation stick layout. (I believe Gulikit also provides the hall effect sticks that 8bitdo uses)
This may be a dumb question, but any idea why you would want/need to update the firmware of these controllers?
Haven’t had any issues with the 8Bitdo, but I also have a Gulikit King Kong 2 that when it was new, had some issues with how the accelerometers worked when playing Switch games that eventually got fixed with a firmware update. It was kinda hard to play Splatoon 3 for a bit until it was updated. So i’d say the firmware updates are for stuff like that
Ah, makes sense.
DualSense or a Logitech F310 (F710 if you need wireless).
The Logitech controllers are solid, sturdy, use the PSX layout (they’re designed after the OG dualshock), and inexpensive.
Idk what kind of sensors they use, but I’ve had my F310 since they launched and it’s still in perfect condition.
DualSense doesn’t use hall effect sensors, but I’ve also had these for 3+ years now, used daily, no issues. But you can replace the sensors if you want to.
Wouldn’t recommend them for a submarine tho
They’re perfect for billionaires
I never had stickdrift before having the DualSense controller.
Still, otherwise it’s a lovely controler and the second one works fine.
I have the Retrofighters BattlerGC Pro, this is the Playstation layout equivalent:
https://retrofighters.com/our-collection/defender-pro-wireless-gamepad/
Hall effect sticks, Bluetooth support, 2.4ghz dongle, excellent buttons. The BattlerGC Pro is the best controller I’ve ever owned. If this Playstation style controller is even close to as good you won’t be disappointed.
Edit: they also have this mini controller, and this one is currently available, whereas that more deluxe one is a pre-order shipping in January.
