iCade 8

How many times have you played a really sweet game on an Android or iOS device, but found yourself wishing for better controls?

Because, let’s face it, some games really suffer when your thumbs block the screen, or when you don’t get any tactile feedback. Tapping glass is a far cry from mashing buttons.

Enter ThinkGeek’s iCade 8-Bitty, a mobile version of ThinkGeek’s iCade gaming cabinet, an iPad-only accessory that started out as an April Fool’s Day joke.

The retro-styled 8-Bitty pays homage to the original Nintendo NES D-pad controller, but tethers to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth instead of cords.

The gizmo has a four-way D-pad, four red game buttons, two shoulder buttons, and Start/Select buttons. The whole thing is wrapped in wood paneling to complete the retro look.

I easily paired the controller with my iPad, but then discovered a glitch: while it’s paired, the onscreen keyboard won’t appear. So when you go to the App Store to search for iCade-compatible games (more on that below), you’ll have to turn the 8-Bitty off. Annoying!

Although ThinkGeek had originally planned to sell the 8-Bitty for $24.95 (way back in February, when it was first announced), it’s currently priced at $29.95.

That’s not a huge deal, but this is: not nearly enough games support the 8-Bitty. Although it works with any game that supports the iCade, that list (available on the product page) currently numbers only a couple dozen — and those are all for iOS. The games that would really benefit from a controller like this — I’m thinking Lep’s World 2 and Crazy Taxi, to name a few — aren’t coded for it.

Update: The list of iCade-compatible games actually numbers around 120, as listed on Ion’s Web site. And there I found some titles that really do work fabulously with the 8-Bitty, including AirAttack HD and Rush City. That’s still a drop in the bucket compared to how many games don’t support the controller, but at least there’s a greater selection than I originally thought.

Android support in particular appears to be limited to MAME emulator MAME4droid.

So what you’ve got here is a really cool game controller without many really cool games to play with it. (The original iCade: same problem.) Likewise, a lot of the buttons are extraneous; few titles take advantage of, say, the shoulder buttons. One silver lining: if you’re willing to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad, you may be able to use the 8-Bitty with more games.

If not, well, I think there’s some disappointment in your future. Much as I’d like to recommend the 8-Bitty, I just can’t.

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iCade 8

Remember the iCade? It’s the iPad gaming cabinet that started out as an April Fool’s joke, but then evolved into a real product.

Neat, but at $99.99, it’s not exactly an impulse buy–and it leaves Android, iPhone, and iPod Touch gamers out of the fun.

Enter ThinkGeek’s latest retro-gaming accessorry, the iCade 8-Bitty. It’s a handheld analog controller that closely resembles the old Nintendo NES controller–minus the cord. The 8-Bitty works wirelessly (via Bluetooth, I’m guessing, though ThinkGeek doesn’t specify).


ThinkGeek

And it works with nearly all Android and iOS phones and tablets, though Android support is just a promise at this point: “Because the 8-Bitty uses a completely open interface system, any app developer can easily add game support–even to Android devices.” Translation: no Android games support the device–yet.

As you can see in the photo, the 8-Bitty has a four-way D-pad, four red game buttons, two shoulder buttons, and Start/Select buttons. The whole thing is wrapped in wood paneling to complete the retro look.

The 8-Bitty will run you $24.95 when it goes on sale “later this year.” The question is, will you want one?

I ask because I found the original iCade rather disappointing. Not because the hardware wasn’t cool–it was–but because the games I wanted to play didn’t support it. Asteroids, yes. But Frogger, Galaga, Donkey Kong, and countless other arcade classics, no.

Admittedly, there’s a fairly substantial list of iCade-compatible games, and the arrival of the 8-Bitty might lead to more. But there aren’t many mainstream titles on that list–no Madden Football, Dead Space, Need for Speed, or other games that would benefit greatly from an analog controller.

That’s a shame, because a lot of the retro arcade stuff just isn’t that fun anymore.

Of course, that’s just my inner curmudgeon talking. If the 8-Bitty worked with the games I want to play, I’d be all over it–especially for $25, which seems like a reasonable price for an accessory like this. What do you think?

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