Best bluetooth gaming controller

Pivo504

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Feb 18, 2005
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As the topic states looking for the best one to do sum retro old school gaming on my android device. I currently bought the 8bitdo witch worked great for most games. But in fighting games I noticed whenever jumping towards am enemy the controller would not perform the move every time....I'm not sure if this is a limitation for the bluetooth controller in general?
 
Bump? !anyone

8bito is really the best bluetooth controller bar none, it's leaps and bound above the rest. Lots of retro fighters are finky as hell with the controls, especially on angles, so unless you are dead on you just fly straight up or move forward. Which is why arcade sticks using square gates where you can dig into the corner are preffrered (among other reasons). That said, bluetooth itself isn't the best idea for a face paced game or responsiveness in general.

Wire the 8bitdo directly in and mess around with it. Have you updated the firmware? They've fixed a lot of issues.
 
The current revision XBoxOne pad has been absolutely flawless for me. I'm connecting via Bluetooth right now, and not the dongle (haven't picked the dongle up because BT has worked just fine). It's rock solid (build-wise) and has been flawless connectivity-wise. My house can present challenges for this sort of thing too. There are more wireless signals bouncing around my house than any house has a right to bounce. :D Many wireless pads have had issues, dropped commands, latency, range problems, while the XBOne pad just works.

I haven't tried the Switch Pro Controller yet on my living room PC, but it works flawlessly with the Switch at the same distance, and I know that compatibility is pretty good with it for games in Steam. It's definitely worth a look, but it's also more expensive by a little bit. Since most games default to the Microsoft layout, I think the edge definitely goes to the XBOne pad.

I love those 8bitdo pads on paper. I think they look great, I like their form-factors, but I've never tried them. I've also heard both good and bad things about them. I'm pretty confident saying that the XBOne pads are the best all around for PC games.
 
Thanks for the responses! Like I said the 8 bit do is great it connects everytime flawlessly and works with any game ive thrown at it. I didn't realize it can be updated? Wouldn't the latest stuff be in it?
I never realized the xbox1 pad was also bluetooth thought it was just wireless but needs a dingle life the 360? I would have gone with that had I known since the price is almost the same..I'm guessing the x1 cam work with android emulation?
 
The older XB1 pads were just the MS wifi flavor. The newer ones have both. I didn't realize this early on, and stuck with other pads. Finally someone mentioned that they added Bluetooth, and I bought one to try it out. I need to pick up a second one sometime.
 
Don't know about the best, but stay away from Mocute's ones.
Independent d-pad buttons, and the edges aren't rounded off.

Might be good for RPGs tho.
 
Jerk are the xbox1 controllers compatible with emulators on android? Looks like my 8bitdo is fully updated to the latest version. Guessing it's either an issue with bluetooth or this gaming pad has issues with fighting games as everything else works fine. Kinda sucks bc I liked how compact it is compared to the bulky xbox controller.
 
Jerk are the xbox1 controllers compatible with emulators on android? Looks like my 8bitdo is fully updated to the latest version. Guessing it's either an issue with bluetooth or this gaming pad has issues with fighting games as everything else works fine. Kinda sucks bc I liked how compact it is compared to the bulky xbox controller.

I would assume they'd work for that, but I'm not 100% sure. I haven't tried it on Android so far.

That was also the appeal of the 8bitdo controllers for me. I really liked the compactness and SNES-like shape with the addition of the analog sticks. I still may pick one or two up for mobile purposes at some point. I've just got WAY too many controllers around right now. :D Wireless, wired, Bluetooth, dongled, arcade sticks, Wiimotes, etc. etc. Might have to get rid of some before I get more. :D
 
Thanks for the update jerk. So I did sum testing today. Tried the 8bitdo pro wired still same issue in fighting games, jumping forward is really hard to do everytime. Now I also hooked up my 360 wireless controller to my phone and same issue! So it must be sum kind of hardware limitation under android os with the analog controllers? I say this bc When I play fighting games on my pc I don't notice this issue when using the wireless 360 controller over steam playing street fighter v, dbz fighter or any other game I have on my pc. I also wired up the 8bitdo to my pc and played a few fighting games and the issue is not there! So it's not an issue with the controller but something else...
 
Thanks for the update jerk. So I did sum testing today. Tried the 8bitdo pro wired still same issue in fighting games, jumping forward is really hard to do everytime. Now I also hooked up my 360 wireless controller to my phone and same issue! So it must be sum kind of hardware limitation under android os with the analog controllers? I say this bc When I play fighting games on my pc I don't notice this issue when using the wireless 360 controller over steam playing street fighter v, dbz fighter or any other game I have on my pc. I also wired up the 8bitdo to my pc and played a few fighting games and the issue is not there! So it's not an issue with the controller but something else...

Interesting. Is it only that exact combo (I know that's the only one you've mentioned)? So Right+Button or Right+Up? Or are there other combinations?
 
Only when jumping right forward or if your on the right side of the screen left forward. It's very noticeable and makes fighting games hard to play. It has to be some kind of android os limit as it does not do it when running on windows with either the 8bitdo or the xbox360 wireless controllers. I guess this means I can keep the 8bitdo as this would most likely occur even with the xbox 1 bluetooth controller under android.
 
Same boat, I'm out sick so Ive been dicking around with my couch setup.

I use Nvidia shield as my streaming client and recently installed Steam Link app as my game streaming tool. Its got a better more responsive browser than Moonlight or Nvidia Gamestream. The problem I'm running into is finding a good low/zero touch controller.

I have the follwing controllers so far
Nvidia Shield Controller - its a solid controller but its borted for Kodi, its literally breaks my ability to use the program so I gotta disconnect it every time I wanna use Kodi or the buttons freak out still haven't found a fix.

8bit N30 - This is in a lot of ways my favorite and easiest to use controller. Its pretty small like smaller than an NES controller. Steam doesn't seem to want to default it to an X360 scheme for some reason though. The first game I ran into issues with is "Two Brothers". Still troubleshooting. That said the stick has been a champ for everything else. I even use it as my primary controller for my nintendo switch. If its has a specific drawback Ive noticed is that it seems to never power save. It just runs until it dies. I need to go update the firmware Im not sure Ive ever updated it since I bought it a few months ago.

Playstation 4 - It seems good so far, but the problem is it doesnt have select/start buttons. Its just got that home button the share button, touchpad and options, all of which get randomly preset in different apps. I really wish Sony hadnt gotten cute with this stick and these dumb new buttons.

Next to try controllers '

Playstation 3 - This is my favorite controller I use with my PC. its got the perfect grip for me and the right button layouts. I use SCP as my bluetooth manager on my PC for and its great(playing FF9 on PSXE atm). I'm gonna try and get it linked to my Nvidia shield and I'll report back

Xbox One - I dont particularly like the big bulky feel of the xbox controllers all the way back to OG, but I noticed Steam Link seems to prefer the Xbox controllers I'm gonna give it a whorl and report back

Xbox 360 wireless - To my knowledge this is not a bluetooth controller which for me may kick it off the list as I need my ports for mouse and keyboard. I also dont have a usb adapter for it. I'll have to go order one. Its very bottom on my list.

Lastly Im thinking about picking up a Steam Link controller. Any one have any experience with these?
 
As far as pc gaming goes I use the xbox360 controller. If I could do it again I would just go with xbox1 which is bluetooth. Unfortunately my pc does not have bt so I have 3 xbox360 wireless controllers! I highly recommend the 8bitdo pro for Retro gaming and maybe someone can figure out what the issue is with fighting games under android OS
 
I'm convinced that without a proprietary dongle all Bluetooth controllers drop inputs. I've tried a variety of controllers and dongles. You might not notice it with many games, but you mentioned fighting games specifically.
I started doing tests with Zangief's Ultra Combo in SF4.
For those that don't know, that move requires a 540 degree spin (on either a dpad or analog stick) followed by 3 buttons at the same time. You have to do that in about 1/4 of a second.
When using the proprietary PS4 and Xbox 360 dongles, I can do this move about 90-95% of the time. When I used either via Bluetooth, they dropped at least one of the directional inputs about 40% of the time...which keeps that move from registering. That's with 3 different brands of UBS dongles for the PC.
You aren't going to notice that when you're playing something like Fortnite or Assassin's Creed or whatever but with fighting games you likely will.
 
I'm convinced that without a proprietary dongle all Bluetooth controllers drop inputs. I've tried a variety of controllers and dongles. You might not notice it with many games, but you mentioned fighting games specifically.
I started doing tests with Zangief's Ultra Combo in SF4.
For those that don't know, that move requires a 540 degree spin (on either a dpad or analog stick) followed by 3 buttons at the same time. You have to do that in about 1/4 of a second.
When using the proprietary PS4 and Xbox 360 dongles, I can do this move about 90-95% of the time. When I used either via Bluetooth, they dropped at least one of the directional inputs about 40% of the time...which keeps that move from registering. That's with 3 different brands of UBS dongles for the PC.
You aren't going to notice that when you're playing something like Fortnite or Assassin's Creed or whatever but with fighting games you likely will.

No problems here with a newer blue XBOne pad on BT with SFV, SCVI, DOA5, and every 2D indie game I play. The same can't be said of other BT pads I've tried though in the same room. I got all kinds of drops on other ones. I've also gotten drops on Logitech F710 pads with their little dongles (not sure which frequency and protocol they use off the top of my head) etc. The XBOne pad though works flawlessly. (including combos and specials in SF games) I prefer to use the Tank Stick for the fighters, but no complaints with the MS pad. I have thought about picking up the dongle, but I just haven't felt like I needed it.
 
I have a million controllers and my conclusion for emulators is that there is nothing like the real thing, plugged in to a USB adapter :).

8bit do is good but I have a hard time in fighting games. Works well for retropie non fighting games though.

My all around favorite for my retropie are the wireless xbox one controllers. They are affordable and work out of the box for most emulators and don't require a ton of programming but little things can be fixed here or there.

The bluetooth xbox controllers are great when they work, but retropie compatibility is very poor. I have had much better luck using the wifi controllers, but of course the best is using the actual controllers for the system your emulating :)

8bitdo is pretty much the only controller I'll bring with me though, it's very portable, and good for older games.
 
I'm convinced that without a proprietary dongle all Bluetooth controllers drop inputs. I've tried a variety of controllers and dongles. You might not notice it with many games, but you mentioned fighting games specifically.
I started doing tests with Zangief's Ultra Combo in SF4.
For those that don't know, that move requires a 540 degree spin (on either a dpad or analog stick) followed by 3 buttons at the same time. You have to do that in about 1/4 of a second.
When using the proprietary PS4 and Xbox 360 dongles, I can do this move about 90-95% of the time. When I used either via Bluetooth, they dropped at least one of the directional inputs about 40% of the time...which keeps that move from registering. That's with 3 different brands of UBS dongles for the PC.
You aren't going to notice that when you're playing something like Fortnite or Assassin's Creed or whatever but with fighting games you likely will.

There's a reason fighting gamers use wired.
 
There's a reason fighting gamers use wired.

These days it's mostly just because they can't have 5000 wireless devices trying to pair at random in tournaments. Occasionally they'll have a hiccup where someone's pairs wirelessly by accident.
Lots of super high level players rock the default PS4 pad wirelessly at home. Outside of Japan, that's what most players under 30 are using.
 
syncd up a ps3 controller last night man I change my mind this is the best experience so far. I havent run into a single button layout issue in steam link. working exactly as intended in the shield os as well. extremely fast response. Faster than the N30. unfortunately im not a fighting game player. im installing sfiv ultra right now and mame KOF to test. I really recomnend trying ps3 if you have one. i know for a fact its built into retropie by default you just have to go turn the ps3 bt driver on.
 
syncd up a ps3 controller last night man I change my mind this is the best experience so far. I havent run into a single button layout issue in steam link. working exactly as intended in the shield os as well. extremely fast response. Faster than the N30. unfortunately im not a fighting game player. im installing sfiv ultra right now and mame KOF to test. I really recomnend trying ps3 if you have one. i know for a fact its built into retropie by default you just have to go turn the ps3 bt driver on.

Wired arcade stick, if you must use a pad wired hori fighting commander or a fight pad
 
I've never gone to Reddit before (matter of principle, and yes, I am slightly insane :p ) but this link appears like it might have some useful info perhaps just from the Google blurb. I've also seen some other reports of what you're talking about with many controllers that have the separated 4-direction d-pad. However, since yours is doing this on Android and not on Windows, that may rule that out, unless there's some type of input filtering going on in one OS's input layer and not the other. Anyway, here's that link, not sure if it's of much use, but...

 
Wired arcade stick, if you must use a pad wired hori fighting commander or a fight pad

I agree that this is the ideal method for fighting. I used to build my own sticks, but after selling my last custom one, decided to grab an X-Arcade setup because it was cheaper than building a new one. :D I added the X-Input adapters to it, and it's quite nice.
 
I've never gone to Reddit before (matter of principle, and yes, I am slightly insane :p ) but this link appears like it might have some useful info perhaps just from the Google blurb. I've also seen some other reports of what you're talking about with many controllers that have the separated 4-direction d-pad. However, since yours is doing this on Android and not on Windows, that may rule that out, unless there's some type of input filtering going on in one OS's input layer and not the other. Anyway, here's that link, not sure if it's of much use, but...


That's one of the reasons the OG saturn pads with six face buttons and a circular pads were the best for fighters now there are these pads which mimick that style. Also why fighting arcade sticks use square gates with clear diagonals. His problem does sound like android + bluetooth is compounding no exact inputs though.



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SOAREVERSOR: I Def believe it's sum kind of andriod issue and has nothing to do with blue tooth. I say this bc when I connect my wireless xbox 360 controller to my android phone and play a fighting game it does the exact same thing as my 8bitdo! However, when I connect the 8bit or the xbox360 wireless controller to my pc and game the issue is not there. Any ideas on what might be causing this let me know!
 
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