Review: SteelSeries Nimbus is the best gaming controller for Apple TV and iPad

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 46
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    Yet everyone is waxing poetic on how Apple is going to reimagine the car, and redefine the market. Why can't the same be said about gaming controllers?

    Who is saying that?

  • Reply 22 of 46
    vmarksvmarks Posts: 762editor
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SupaDav03 View Post



    Definitely a great controller but the Horipad Ultimate (my controller of choice) and PXN Speedy are right there as well. The Madcatz C.T.R.L.I also is a very good option. MFi controllers have really come a long way and the prices are finally reasonable. It was laughable when they were asking $100 for controllers that were half as good as $50 PlayStation and Xbox controllers.



    The C.T.R.L.i is nice, but compare the joysticks on it with those of the SteelSeries Nimbus? The Nimbus has a noticeably better feel on the sticks.

  • Reply 23 of 46
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    noliving wrote: »
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    Yet everyone is waxing poetic on how Apple is going to reimagine the car, and redefine the market. Why can't the same be said about gaming controllers?
    Who is saying that?

    A bunch on here. Please keep up.
  • Reply 24 of 46
    vmarks wrote: »

    The C.T.R.L.i is nice, but compare the joysticks on it with those of the SteelSeries Nimbus? The Nimbus has a noticeably better feel on the sticks.

    Yes, the Nimbus is definitely nicer BUT the Madcatz is better if you want a control for your iPhone & ATV since it has the intergrated iPhone clip to hold the phone while you play.
  • Reply 25 of 46
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     

    Controllers are hard to get right. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo spend millions and millions in R&D on these things any time they go to revise them, and they can go through thousands of prototypes. Even then, they can end up releasing a second revision to the existing controller mid-generation (Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One) that just adds to the development cost.

     

    So I'm glad to see they've managed to produce what looks to be a mostly competent controller at a reasonable price. Though, ergonomically, this doesn't look to be too great. I'd have to get a hands-on with it before buying one.


    Ergonomically, I think the Nimbus feels the most like an Xbox 360 controller. Out of all the controllers I've used, the PS4 controller is hands down the best. I've always preferred Sony controllers. The Nimbus works great and I really don't dislike it, but it just doesn't feel as good to use as a PS4 controller. 

  • Reply 26 of 46
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Boltsfan17 View Post

     

    Ergonomically, I think the Nimbus feels the most like an Xbox 360 controller. Out of all the controllers I've used, the PS4 controller is hands down the best. I've always preferred Sony controllers. The Nimbus works great and I really don't dislike it, but it just doesn't feel as good to use as a PS4 controller. 


    I've only used PS controllers and I thought the Nimbus was one of the closest to a PS controller. Certainly, the joystick layout is PS all the way, which is why I preferred the Nimbus, but it's only because that's what I'm used to. If I were accustomed to the XBox controller, I'd prefer the different layout option available in other controllers.

     

    I love the Nimbus, really pleased with it so far, great quality, heft is there which I appreciate and it just feels solid in my hands, and the button layout is familiar.

     

    Now, I hope at some point that Apple introduces gyro and vibration into the MFi standard so we can have full console like experience with the controllers.

  • Reply 27 of 46
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by williamlondon View Post

     

    I've only used PS controllers and I thought the Nimbus was one of the closest to a PS controller. Certainly, the joystick layout is PS all the way, which is why I preferred the Nimbus, but it's only because that's what I'm used to. If I were accustomed to the XBox controller, I'd prefer the different layout option available in other controllers.

     

    I love the Nimbus, really pleased with it so far, great quality, heft is there which I appreciate and it just feels solid in my hands, and the button layout is familiar.

     

    Now, I hope at some point that Apple introduces gyro and vibration into the MFi standard so we can have full console like experience with the controllers.


    You are right. The joysticks layout is totally PS, but overall, it feels like an Xbox controller just by the size of it. The smaller PS controller feels so much better in my hands. When I used to play the 360, my hands would get tired pretty quick using the Xbox controller. I don't have that issue with PS controllers.

  • Reply 28 of 46
    Does anyone out there know if the Steelseries Stratus works with aTV?

    It's MFI/iOS compatible and is a great controller for little (child) hands.
  • Reply 29 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    Yet everyone is waxing poetic on how Apple is going to reimagine the car, and redefine the market. Why can't the same be said about gaming controllers?

    What would your ideas be?
  • Reply 30 of 46
    melgross wrote: »
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    Yet everyone is waxing poetic on how Apple is going to reimagine the car, and redefine the market. Why can't the same be said about gaming controllers?

    What would your ideas be?

    I'm not a designer, and I refuse to believe that Microsoft's design is the pinnacle of controllers.
  • Reply 31 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    I'm not a designer, and I refuse to believe that Microsoft's design is the pinnacle of controllers.

    We're not just talking about Microsoft. We're also talking about Sony.

    But that's a cop put. If you can't at least give us an idea of what you think would be better, then why should we agree with you?

    Nintendo tried, with their 3D motion hand sticks. They seemed popular, for a while, them people mostly went back to the usual styles. We've only seen minor variations for several decades, because it's a good design. Microsoft tried with the Kinect, but that's a failure too.

    We see some new control effects every generation, and some of those additions are more popular than others, but none change the paradigm.

    If you have no ideas, why do you think anyone else will?
  • Reply 32 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    boltsfan17 wrote: »
    Ergonomically, I think the Nimbus feels the most like an Xbox 360 controller. Out of all the controllers I've used, the PS4 controller is hands down the best. I've always preferred Sony controllers. The Nimbus works great and I really don't dislike it, but it just doesn't feel as good to use as a PS4 controller. 

    It's a lot closer to,the Sony than my Mad Catz, which uses the XBox layout. For me, it's close enough.
  • Reply 33 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    vmarks wrote: »

    The C.T.R.L.i is nice, but compare the joysticks on it with those of the SteelSeries Nimbus? The Nimbus has a noticeably better feel on the sticks.

    The one thing I don't like about sticks on pretty much any controller is the dish in the middle. Maybe for kid sized thumbs, it,holds them in place. But my thumbs roll over the stick. The dish in the middle give a disjointed feel when my thumb hits the edge when rolling it round. The PS4 controller has a strange top with a positive round in the middle surrounded by that slight ridge. But it's better than most of the others with a deep dish and sharp edges.
  • Reply 34 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    boltsfan17 wrote: »
    Ergonomically, I think the Nimbus feels the most like an Xbox 360 controller. Out of all the controllers I've used, the PS4 controller is hands down the best. I've always preferred Sony controllers. The Nimbus works great and I really don't dislike it, but it just doesn't feel as good to use as a PS4 controller. 

    I prefer the front buttons on the Nimbus, though no one makes good front buttons. I'd prefer that you could keep your finger on both and sort of rock them up and down to use those buttons, rather than have to take your finger off, move it up, and then press down again.
  • Reply 35 of 46
    melgross wrote: »
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    I'm not a designer, and I refuse to believe that Microsoft's design is the pinnacle of controllers.

    We're not just talking about Microsoft. We're also talking about Sony.

    But that's a cop put. If you can't at least give us an idea of what you think would be better, then why should we agree with you?

    Nintendo tried, with their 3D motion hand sticks. They seemed popular, for a while, them people mostly went back to the usual styles. We've only seen minor variations for several decades, because it's a good design. Microsoft tried with the Kinect, but that's a failure too.

    We see some new control effects every generation, and some of those additions are more popular than others, but none change the paradigm.

    If you have no ideas, why do you think anyone else will?

    Did you, or anyone here think that smartphones should be entirely touchscreen with capacitive multi touch?

    Am I any different than many on here that say the other smartphone manufacturers should come up with their own design instead of copy Apple's yet offer no ideas as to how?

    The Sony, and Microsoft controllers are different enough that if I picked them up blindly I can tell them apart. There's a big difference between being similar to being exactly the same.
  • Reply 36 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    Did you, or anyone here think that smartphones should be entirely touchscreen with capacitive multi touch?

    Am I any different than many on here that say the other smartphone manufacturers should come up with their own design instead of copy Apple's yet offer no ideas as to how?

    The Sony, and Microsoft controllers are different enough that if I picked them up blindly I can tell them apart. There's a big difference between being similar to being exactly the same.

    You're not talking about something nearly as complex. The technology wasn't in place much before Apple was able to integrate it into a product and OS. But controllers are much simpler, technically. What new technology is required that we don't have now for a new controller paradigm to arise? Mind control? That's about it. We have gloves with sensors that send the signal through a wire, or wireless, to a computer. That failed. We've got the ones I mentioned that were different, and failed. We now have holo headsets that aren't doing well because of what's apparently basic problems. 3D in general has failed.

    What else is there? Just saying that you can't imagine anything else, but there MUST be something else, doesn't cut it. What is it that you DONT like about the present controls, and how would you do it differently? That's a perfectly fair question. If you don't know what you don't like about present controllers, then you won't be able to come up with something else. But if there are things you don't like, express them here with some reasoning behind that, and let's think if there's some way around those problems. That's fair enough, isn't it?

    Seriously, it's an interesting question.
  • Reply 37 of 46
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    melgross wrote: »
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    Did you, or anyone here think that smartphones should be entirely touchscreen with capacitive multi touch?

    Am I any different than many on here that say the other smartphone manufacturers should come up with their own design instead of copy Apple's yet offer no ideas as to how?

    The Sony, and Microsoft controllers are different enough that if I picked them up blindly I can tell them apart. There's a big difference between being similar to being exactly the same.

    You're not talking about something nearly as complex. The technology wasn't in place much before Apple was able to integrate it into a product and OS. But controllers are much simpler, technically. What new technology is required that we don't have now for a new controller paradigm to arise? Mind control? That's about it. We have gloves with sensors that send the signal through a wire, or wireless, to a computer. That failed. We've got the ones I mentioned that were different, and failed. We now have holo headsets that aren't doing well because of what's apparently basic problems. 3D in general has failed.

    What else is there? Just saying that you can't imagine anything else, but there MUST be something else, doesn't cut it. What is it that you DONT like about the present controls, and how would you do it differently? That's a perfectly fair question. If you don't know what you don't like about present controllers, then you won't be able to come up with something else. But if there are things you don't like, express them here with some reasoning behind that, and let's think if there's some way around those problems. That's fair enough, isn't it?

    Seriously, it's an interesting question.

    I'm an avid player on the Xbox consoles, and I like the design MS came up with, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved upon.

    I do a lot of online gaming, it's high paced, and highly competitive. The only idea I can think of would be to have some type of eye scanning technology that moves the onscreen reticle with just a look.
  • Reply 38 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    I'm an avid player on the Xbox consoles, and I like the design MS came up with, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved upon.

    I do a lot of online gaming, it's high paced, and highly competitive. The only idea I can think of would be to have some type of eye scanning technology that moves the onscreen reticle with just a look.

    Try the Sony. It's pretty much agreed upon in the gaming community that their controllers are better.

    Eye scanning has already been tried, but it's too unreliable. The problem is distance, if you're using a console, and body and head movement. It works better with a smartphone held a foot away, if you want to play that closely. But holding the device makes eye control unnecessary. We've got apps for iOS that uses eye movements to control the environment. But they're fairly crude now. Moving the tablet or phone around does the same thing in these apps. It's also all 3D, but people often have a problem with that.

    Maybe something like Glass, with a scanner that reads your eye movement, might work. What would that cost?
  • Reply 39 of 46
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    melgross wrote: »
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    I'm an avid player on the Xbox consoles, and I like the design MS came up with, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved upon.

    I do a lot of online gaming, it's high paced, and highly competitive. The only idea I can think of would be to have some type of eye scanning technology that moves the onscreen reticle with just a look.

    Try the Sony. It's pretty much agreed upon in the gaming community that their controllers are better.

    Eye scanning has already been tried, but it's too unreliable. The problem is distance, if you're using a console, and body and head movement. It works better with a smartphone held a foot away, if you want to play that closely. But holding the device makes eye control unnecessary. We've got apps for iOS that uses eye movements to control the environment. But they're fairly crude now. Moving the tablet or phone around does the same thing in these apps. It's also all 3D, but people often have a problem with that.

    Maybe something like Glass, with a scanner that reads your eye movement, might work. What would that cost?

    I have a PS3, I just prefer the games available for the Xbox, specifically Halo, and Gears of War.
  • Reply 40 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,640member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    I have a PS3, I just prefer the games available for the Xbox, specifically Halo, and Gears of War.

    We're just talking about controllers. You didn't respond to my question at the end.
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