iCade 8-Bitty retro wireless game controller for iPhone, iPad
The iCade 8-Bitty retro wireless game controller for iPhone and iPad is enough to make anyone's inner geek run screaming for the order now button. Sadly, it won't be available until later in the year, but it shows just how meaningful iOS has become for old school gaming lovers. All the great games, all the nostalgia of our youth, all the greatest hits from Atari, Sega, Namco, and others are now available on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and thanks to accessories like those from the iCade line, we can enjoy many of them in beautifully crafted arcade cabinets, or soon, with this retro style controller.
The 8-Bitty will have 8 buttons, 4 on the face, select, start, and two shoulder buttons for easy blasting. There's a D-Pad for movement, and it will automatically go into power saving mode when not in use. It's compatible with the same games that already support iCade, including PAC-MAN and over 100 classic Atari games on iPad, like Missile Commander, and even MAME emulators if you've jailbroken. (You can see the full list of currently supported games via the link below.)
It will retail for $24.99 from ThinkGeek, and we'll keep you posted on a release date.
Senior Editor at iMore and a practicing psychotherapist specializing in stress and anxiety. She speaks everywhere from conferences to corporations, and co-hosts of the iMore show and ZEN and TECH podcasts.
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I can't even begin to describe how badly I want one of these. It hits all the right marks: iCade compatibility, design, and price! Others have done it (iControlpad, etc), but at $50-100; this is cheap. If it's even half good, I'll buy one.
Deffo a 'Shut up and take my money' product!
Looks really cool but I think I recall Nintendo having a patent on a "+" d-pad. Number one reason why dpad on 360 and Playstation suck as much as they do. Might want to pick one up before big N gets wind of it.
http://nfgworld.com/mb/thread/388-Nintendo-s-d-pad-patents
There patent expired in '05 but like the dreamcast there are ways around designs.
The squared corners are very dated and NOT delightfully retro. Hurts to hold. Round the corners ala SNES controller. Other than that gotta love it. Like that it appears to have shoulder buttons too. Can then map for Turbo etc.
Also, would prefer if the 4 Red buttons were placed in a diamond shape, rather than a square for the same reasons.