One of the best inventions of this mobile gaming age is the Gamepad controller for Android, Smartphones, tablets, and PC. Handling games started long ago, with wonderful gaming equipment like Game Boy and Game Gear.
The truth is that so many persons have long moved from plastic cartridges and link cables, in the 1990’s and early 2000s, to smartphones with console-level graphics and tablets which comes with a 5 point multi-touch.
When playing wonderful games like PES for mobile, Angry Birds, Zombies Highway and Fruit Ninja, you can’t help but noticed that our own fingers most times stand as blockage, and if you’ve played games like Minecraft and Zenonia, you’ll notice this too.
However, there is good news, as several hardware companies’ eyes have been opened to see the obstacles gamers faced while playing games on their Mobile phones/smartphone devices. At the just-concluded CES which was held last month, Hardware company giant, Nvidia announced that they will be building their own specific Android-based handheld, Project Shield gamepad controller, and Archos gave us a hands-on look at its dedicated gaming tablet.
There are several wonderful gamepad controller products like the PowerA Moga and the iControlPad, which brings the console-like controls to your existing smartphone and all the games stored in your mobile device.
One of the main reasons why I decided to pen up this article here on Techopera is this; “Will any of these smartphone gamepads actually live up to the promise of controlling our games?
If the answer is yes, then which is the best gamepad controller for our smartphones?
There are a few hundreds of gamepad controller products in the market today, so I will be providing a guide and the list of the best gamepad controllers for your smartphone. But to make your choice a little easier, we’ve gathered the most popular brands on the market, which a complete comparison of their features, including their compatibility, prices, and features.
Best Gamepad Controller Compatibility
The gamepad controller compatibility will give you an insight into which gamepad is really compatible with your operating system. So I will be taking a few seconds to explain the best ones for iOS and Android operating systems.
iOS
On iOS, we discovered that all game developers did wholeheartedly choose the iCade standard as the language that the games and gamepads are to communicate with.
This selection sidesteps Apple’s limited Bluetooth support in the iOS, but more importantly, this universal selection and adoption from game developers, also means that games that support one gamepad may also be supported by other iOS-compatible models, even if they haven’t been officially tested and approved by Apple.
We’ve included links to each gamepad’s iOS compatibility list, and even if a game isn’t listed below, the odds are pretty good that it’ll still work with your device.
- SteelSeries Free iOS compatibility list
- iControlPad iOS compatibility list
- Gametel compatibility list
Android
As we all know, the Android operating system is something different from the ios, and popularly used by several phone manufacturers, especially by Samsung Mobile, Tecno, infinix phones, and a variety of other phones, which makes the android operating system slightly more popular than other operating systems.
However, mobile phones which are using the older versions of Android don’t support native Bluetooth gamepads, however, for people using Android 4.0 and above, they can enjoy the gamepad controller. If you have problems, try changing your gamepad’s mode, or check the manufacturer’s website for a firmware update.
No doubt, most people would love to use their new gamepad to play classic console games on their smartphone, using an emulator. But there are somethings you need to know about the Emulator.
Apple doesn’t allow emulators in the App Store, which means you can’t download it legally on your device. However, Google does not permit them in the Google Play store. Though while the emulators themselves are legal, games that you don’t personally own are not, so be sure to keep your console emulation in line with the letter of the law, so as not to get in trouble with the law.
Our experience with the gamepads which are listed here varies from one emulator to another. From the experiment carried out so far by Patrick, our game savvy writer, who discovered that some performed best in Android’s native gamepad mode, but others (like the N64 and PS1 emulators) worked better in keyboard mode.
Gamesir G3w Wired Gamepad Controller for Android Smartphone
The Gamesir G3w Wired Gamepad Controller for Android smartphones, tablets works for these platforms: PlayStation 3, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac. With 4.6 out of 5.0-star rating on Amazon, this gamepad surpasses our expectations. The gamesir g3w gamepad controller is a detachable mobile bracket for 3.5 – 6-inch smart phones.
This range of screen size includes from iPhone 3, iphone7 to Samsung s7, the latest smartphones in the world.
Specification
- It comes with a 32-bit high-speed MCU chip, high sensitivity and on-time response.
- This gamepad supports X-input, D-input and Android native games.
- Works perfectly fine with multi-platforms, such as Android, Windows, PS3.
- This gamepad can be connected to the mobile phone through a wired connection.
- A wired connection, plug and paly. This gamepad is a detachable mobile bracket for mobile phones, from 3.5 – 6.0-inch smartphones, multiple angles can be reached with the help of one bracket.
MOGA Mobile Gaming System for Android 2.3+
The MOGA Mobile Gaming System for Android has more than 1,668 customer reviews on Amazon, as at the time of writing this article. This gaming controller for smartphones works perfectly fine for all Android devices.
The truth is that more people go for the Moga mobile gaming system because it functions on ONLY one platform, which is Android. You will surely get the best game experience anywhere and anytime with the MOGA controller.
The MOGA Mobile Gaming System is built with the latest state-of-the-art, portable controller, which comes with a library of amazing titles (more added every month) and the MOGA Pivot App. The Moga pivot app helps you to find the latest MOGA Enhanced games quickly and easily.
| Release date | October 21, 2012 |
|---|---|
| Customer Reviews |
1,668 customer reviews
3.3 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,545 in videogames #707 in Video Games > Accessories |
| Pricing | You can find the current price on Amazon. |
| Product Dimensions | 5.5 x 1.4 x 8.8 inches; 8 ounces |
| Media: | Video Game |
With the Moga gaming controller, you’ll be able to experience the best mobile gaming solution for Android smartphones and tablets. Game On. Anywhere.