You don’t need to settle for the gamepad that came with your console. Here are some other ways you can play on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
If you own a video game console like the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One, you already have a controller for it. And, let’s be honest, it’s probably a pretty nice controller. The Xbox Wireless Gamepad and Sony DualShock 4 are built well and comfortable to use, and the Switch’s Joy-Cons are ingeniously multifaceted. Your gaming experience doesn’t have to end with them, though. There are plenty of alternative controllers you can pick up for your console, whether you just want spare gamepads for same-screen multiplayer with friends or very specific, custom controllers for your favorite genres. Here are your options for all three major systems. PlayStation 4 and Xbox OneInexpensive Third-Party Gamepads
Sony is pretty dedicated to keeping the PlayStation 4 an almost purely DualShock 4-controlled system: There are very few third-party wireless gamepads that play nice with the console. If you want a conventional gamepad that isn’t a DualShock 4, your options are a wired controller or a much, much more expensive custom or semi-custom job. And, sadly, we can’t recommend any wired third-party PS4 controllers; most models we’ve seen that aren’t purpose-specific (like Hori’s fighting-game-oriented, analog-stick-less Fighting Commander) are products from dubious brands only available online from Amazon and other reseller sites.
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Microsoft is slightly less tight-fisted with third-party gamepads than Sony, and you can find one or two nice, inexpensive wired alternatives to the Xbox Wireless Gamepad for the Xbox One. The PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One, for example, is a very capable $30 gamepad that works easily with the Xbox One, feels almost exactly like the system’s own controller, and features two programmable buttons on the rear similar to much more expensive custom gamepads. Hori also makes an Xbox One Fighting Commander, but besides those the pickings are slim unless you dive into little-known brands you can only order from resellers. High-End Third-Party Gamepads
If you don’t mind shelling out some solid cash, though, you can get a very powerful, feature-filled, and customized PS4 or Xbox One gamepad. Custom controller companies like Scuf Gaming, Evil Controllers, and Controller Chaos let you build your own modified DualShock 4 or Xbox Wireless Controller, replacing or augmenting most of the parts of Sony’s gamepad with your choice of buttons, sticks, shells, colors, and textures. These custom controllers often feature programmable buttones or paddles on the back, giving you more options for how you play your games. In some cases, you can even get special electronic mods installed in the controllers that enable special techmiques in first-person shooters (techniques that border on if not are outright cheating). These custom gamepads regularly cost $150 to $250, depending on the options you choose.
Scuf Gaming also recently released the first major third-party wireless PS4 controller, the Scuf Vantage. Unlike the Scuf Impact and Infinity, which are modded DualShock 4 controllers, the Scuf Vantage was built from the ground up by Scuf with Sony’s blessing. It’s a pleasant alternative to modded DualShock 4s, featuring plenty of customization options and rear paddles like the Impact and Infinity, but with asymmetrically positioned Xbox-style analog sticks. Don’t expect it to be more affordable than a custom DualShock 4, though; the Scuf Vantage starts at $200. Astro Gaming also will be releasing its own high-end console controller for the PS4, the C40 TR, later this year.
The Astro Gaming C40 TR Controller is our new favorite among pricey controllers, though. The company’s first gamepad works with the PS4 over a 2.4GHz connection instead of Bluetooth thanks to an included USB dongle, and can just as easily work wired, or with a PC in wired or wireless modes. It doesn’t have the loads of cosmetic choices Scuf, Evil Controllers, and even Xbox Design Lab offer, but instead it packs almost every concievable option for how the gamepad feels to play. You can switch the analog sticks and direction pad between parallel PlayStation and offset Xbox layouts, remap every digital input, and even adjust sensitivity curves. It feels excellent, too. Alternate First-Party Gamepads (Xbox One Only)
Sony has stuck with the DualShock 4 ever since the PlayStation 4 was launched, and it hasn’t offered many alternatives or upgrades outside of different colors or patterns of the shells. Xbox, on the other hand, offers both extensive customization options for its standard Xbox Wireless Controller, as well as a much more premium version.
Xbox Design Lab lets you build your own Xbox Wireless Controller, choosing different colors and patterns for the shell, buttons, sticks, triggers, and directional pad. You can even get your name or tag custom laser engraved on it. At heart it’s still a standard Xbox One gamepad, but with your favorite colors mixed and matched so it really feels like your own personal controller.
