[HN Gopher] 8BitDo Micro
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8BitDo Micro
Author : tosh
Score : 50 points
Date : 2023-10-30 18:51 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.8bitdo.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.8bitdo.com)
| jauntywundrkind wrote:
| I have yet to use mine but pretty nice feel & build. I was going
| to buy the earlier & similar Zero 2, but this came out just
| before & has nice-to-have extra shoulder buttons & more
| configurability.
|
| My day pack has a 8bitdo Lite 2 at I use ~1.5 times a month,
| which is a nice medium between this micro size & a regular
| controller size. It's very light & pretty thin, like a somewhat
| overwide pack of cards. I highly recommend it.
| evanjrowley wrote:
| I've been searching for the perfect Steam deck controller. 8BitDo
| is high on my list.
|
| I really like 8BitDo for their Bluetooth hall-effect
| controllers[0]. It's a decent $70 and comes with a charging stand
| and 2.4G wireless adapter. I just wish that controller's analog
| sticks were both positioned on the bottom, like a PlayStation
| controller. The Steam Deck also has a symmetrical layout for
| analog sticks / buttons. I also wish 8BitDo controller had 4 back
| buttons like the Steam Deck.
|
| PDP's Victrix Pro BFG controller[1] has the back buttons and
| configurable layout. Unfortunately, it lacks hall effect analog
| sticks and don't sell replacement analog sticks. The risk of
| permanent stick drift on a $180 controller is just too high IMO.
|
| The PS5 Edge Pro controller[2] is an absurd $200, but at least
| the analog sticks are replaceable. I'd be tempted to buy it if it
| had 4 back buttons instead of 2.
|
| I'm holding out for GuliKit's rumored PS5 controller[3]. They
| already make hall effect analog sticks for the Steam Deck &
| understand the desire for 4 back buttons. Fingers crossed.
|
| [0] https://shop.8bitdo.com/products/8bitdo-ultimate-wireless-
| bl...
|
| [1] https://pdp.com/products/ps5-pc-victrix-pro-bfg-controller
|
| [2] https://www.playstation.com/en-us/accessories/dualsense-
| edge...
|
| [3] https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2023/03/06/ps5-hall-
| eff...
| dabluecaboose wrote:
| For what it's worth, I have the 8Bitdo ultimate for my Steam
| Deck when it's docked, and I love the thing. It didn't actually
| work on release and I returned it, but I heard that 8bitdo and
| Valve did some work to iron out the kinks and it's pretty much
| plug-and-play now. It's really nice how the charging dock
| works, too. Pretty seamless to just pick up and play.
| Steltek wrote:
| The Pro controller has a Nintendo style button layout, compared
| to the Deck itself and Xbox controllers. Not a super big
| problem with Steams fantastic remapping but the labels will
| always be "wrong".
| user_7832 wrote:
| I have the Pro 2 and the analog sticks are at the bottom, but
| yeah the button remapping can be an issue. Not sure about the
| Pro 1 but the 2 also has an app to configure the settings.
| Op, one thing to keep in mind regarding the Ultimate vs the
| Pro/2 is that the ultimate lacks a distinct mode switch that
| the 2 has (modes being Switch, Android, D-input and X-input).
| brainbag wrote:
| I've been searching for a great quality PS5 controller that has
| the left thumb stick in a neutral position and doesn't cost
| $250. On the rare days when get a chance to play a longer
| session, I can use the Xbox or Switch Pro controllers for hours
| without issues, but I hardly touch my PS5 because the left
| thumb stick requires such a stretch that my thumb tendon
| already starts to get sore after 15 minutes.
|
| I understand the business logic, but I wish the console
| manufacturers would allow more portability between them.
| Agingcoder wrote:
| Interesting. Based on what I see I don't understand why anyone
| would buy it. It looks painful to use because it's too small.
| s0ss wrote:
| I could see keeping a pair of these in my backpack as a nice
| way to game with my son if the opportunity arises. Assuming the
| context is appropriate. Airplane, train, waiting room, etc.
|
| Would I trade this for a full-size at home? No, obviously not.
| dharmab wrote:
| This would be great as a player 2 controller to play Switch
| games with your kid e.g. waiting at the airport, doctor's
| office, etc.
| xanathar wrote:
| Why not use the two joycons for that? What am I missing?
| plussed_reader wrote:
| Stick drift.
| moleperson wrote:
| This actually looks perfect for me. I travel often with my
| steam deck, and sometimes pack an xbox controller or two to
| play local multiplayer with friends but this is a much less
| bulky alternative.
| jabroni_salad wrote:
| I'm pretty sure I could squeeze 2 of these into my switch case
| and have 4 controllers (including the joycons).
|
| Please understand that I must bring Overcooked to every social
| function until the friend group falls apart.
| jlundberg wrote:
| Neat! I have the previous Zero 2 model and it has great build
| quality.
| techknight wrote:
| This looks like a great option to keep around for using with the
| Quest headset. Meta's VR controllers don't have a d-pad, which is
| awful when you want to play Tetris Effect in VR.
|
| I've used the slightly larger 8BitDo Lite SE gamepad for that in
| the past, but a smaller unit with a nice d-pad would be nice.
|
| (Assuming that it does in fact work with the Quest. Now I'm not
| sure..)
| syntaxing wrote:
| I wish this had Apple TV support like the other controllers. I
| was trying to find a controller that's the right size for a 5
| year old and this was perfect minus the Apple TV support.
| shinratdr wrote:
| iOS & tvOS support any controller that can appear as an Xinput
| Xbox Controller, PS4/PS5 controller, or Switch Pro controller.
| 8BitDo just doesn't call out this compatibility for some
| reason.
|
| You should try the 8BitDo Zero 2, should fit your needs. This
| also might work in one of those modes. I'd just buy it on
| Amazon so you can return it easily if it doesn't.
| Pfhortune wrote:
| This should work with the Apple TV when set to switch mode. I
| haven't tested that specifically, but it works perfectly with
| my iPhone that way.
| hotnfresh wrote:
| > I was trying to find a controller that's the right size for a
| 5 year old and this was perfect minus the Apple TV support.
|
| That's a real struggle with any halfway-modern controller--
| there's so much to cram in that it's hard to make friendly to
| little hands. Even if you fit them on there, that's a lot of
| stretching.
|
| The second challenge is that so many buttons and sticks and
| such confuse the hell out of kids that age.
|
| The NES, with a real Nintendo NES (or NES Classic Edition)
| controller or credible knock-off, is probably the perfect place
| to start for very young kids. Only finger that needs to do
| anything on the left is the thumb, and it only needs to worry
| about a single D-Pad. Only finger on the right that needs to do
| anything is also the thumb, with just two action buttons to
| sort out (in _almost_ all games--there are exceptions like
| Punch Out). Maybe some combos (hold-action-button-plus-
| direction-to-run in Mario) but they 're minimal and rarely
| required to get started.
|
| I remember being confused by and forgetting about all the extra
| buttons (those shoulder buttons!) on the _SNES_ controller when
| I was just a little older than that, let alone any kind of
| modern controller.
| holmb wrote:
| Interesting. The obvious use case aside, I would like to try this
| out as a presenter tool (next slide, etc).
| warp wrote:
| In the small print it says in does not support "console wake",
| which is the main problem I have with these controllers when used
| with a Nintendo Switch.
|
| The "Ultimate Bluetooth Controller" from 8BitDo apparently can
| wake up the switch, so it seems like a strange omission in all
| their other Switch compatible controllers.
|
| Would it really be that expensive to include?
| jonny_eh wrote:
| I assume it requires certification from Nintendo, maybe even a
| Nintendo provided chip. Just guessing though.
| jeffcox wrote:
| In my experience 8BitDo makes nice products, but given the
| audience I have to ask... did anyone else's hands preemptively
| cramp just looking at this thing?
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| A couple thoughts on what it's primary use-case might be:
|
| 1) The thing is so small that it can fit in your pocket and you
| have it with you "all the time" to use with your
| phone/tablet/Switch console, whenever the mood strikes, even if
| you're away from home.
|
| 2) You have a cheap, perishable controller that you don't mind
| lending to visiting family/friends with small children who want
| to play your Switch console, but you're afraid they will break
| your $70 Switch Pro controller.
| colonelpopcorn wrote:
| TBH, I've been thinking about these for my young kids. The
| small size is a plus in that regard.
| Pfhortune wrote:
| I've had one of these since it launched, and it is much nicer
| than its predecessor, the Zero 2. I admittedly haven't used it
| much, but plan to try this little hack out that uses adhesive
| suction cups:
| https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/comments/17g6ykp/android_...
| LukaD wrote:
| I have one of those and it's exactly what I expected it to be. A
| fun gimmick but nothing I would use for more than 5 minutes at a
| time. It's probably good for little kids.
| Cyberdog wrote:
| Why would this work with Android and various Pi-targeted Linux
| strains but not macOS or Windows?
| user_7832 wrote:
| I have no reason to think it wouldn't. There's probably some
| minor driver(??) issues and they chose to not officially
| support it.
| actionablefiber wrote:
| One of the most popular applications for these controllers, at
| least in the circles I run in, is doing flashcard reviews in
| Anki. It's super convenient if you have a controller since you
| can do the reviews while on the go, while huddled under the
| covers, while relaxing on the couch and so on. You can search
| `"8bitdo" site:reddit.com/r/medicalschoolanki` or `"8bitdo"
| site:reddit.com/r/anki` and you'll get a bunch of results from
| people configuring these for flashcard reviews.
|
| From what I see in the comments here it looks like some people
| also use them to play video games!
| valyagolev wrote:
| I'd rather love to have a truly ergonomic controller with full
| shoulder width
| Nokinside wrote:
| I bought 8BitDo Micro to use in one device I was making. Using
| Python evdev package it's straight forward to read it.
|
| - button press not always reliable if you use light touch.
|
| - reliable range is < 2m. Works some time for 3 m.
|
| - shuts down automatically after no input in something like 5-10
| minutes. (unfortunate for my use)
|
| Does anyone know tiny Bluetooth device with 1-2 buttons.
| Preferably pen shaped that you can hold in your fist.
| marklar423 wrote:
| You could make your own with an ESP32 wired to two buttons,
| then you can customize it exactly as you need it. It shouldn't
| be too difficult (famous last words, I know) if you use one of
| the BT HID libraries like
| https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-
| idf/en/latest/esp32/....
| noobermin wrote:
| He'd have to make a package, make the connections solid, etc
| etc. A fun project but a project onto its own self.
| user_7832 wrote:
| A more boilerplate solution would be to use something like
| ZMK (or a similar "keyboard") OS. ZMK uses Zephyr RTOS and
| is quite feature-rich. A macropad should not be very
| difficult to make. Reddit's r/ergomechkeyboards may be a
| good starting point.
| noobermin wrote:
| Have a link to github? Would be fun to try with mine.
| Nokinside wrote:
| Just copy paste fro evdev tutorial.
|
| https://python-evdev.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial.html
| suprjami wrote:
| One of those "presentation" mouses would hopefully do? They're
| a mouse but you hold them in your hand and wave them around to
| move the pointer, like a Wiimote but they pre-date the Wii. The
| mouse pointer part sucks in my experience but they do have two
| buttons and are comfortable to hold. Considering you're writing
| your own input parser you can ignore mouse events.
|
| There are also "smart pens" these days with Bluetooth but I've
| never tried one.
| Nokinside wrote:
| Good idea. Those finger ring mouse/presentation clickers seem
| perfect.
| noobermin wrote:
| 8bitdo have fantastic controllers imo. I got a snes style
| controller for some of the switch games that are on its emulator,
| it fits very well.
| m-p-3 wrote:
| It reminds me of the iMpulse controller I got on Kickstarter
| almost a decade ago, but at least this one has a chance of being
| decent considering 8bitdo's history.
|
| https://www.androidpolice.com/2013/08/30/impulse-bluetooth-c...
| causality0 wrote:
| I'm enjoying mine. I bought a sheet of mini suction cups and
| attached them to the back. Now I have a gamepad small enough to
| keep in pocket I can stick onto my phone screen to give me real
| buttons for on the go gaming.
| teaearlgraycold wrote:
| RSI speedrunning equipment
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