Living in China I am one of the first persons to ever get their hands on the FC30, a retro-style bluetooth/USB game controller for PC and mobile devices released for the 30th anniversary of the original FAMICOM, also known as NES in western countries. I have received my sample today and I am going to present my initial impressions of the gamepad, along with a couple of exclusive pictures. A full review will be written by our review staff who will be getting theirs within the next few days.
The concept behind this gamepad is to imitate the original Famicom controller; though if you remember the actual famicom controller only came with A/B/Start/Select buttons:
The FC30 is thus some kind of hybrid NES/SNES controller as you'll find A/B/X/Y/L/R buttons on top of the regular D-PAD and Start/Select. The major difference with the original Famicom controller resides in the fact that it comes with a USB cable and can interact with a variety of mobile devices and computers via bluetooth. Upon unboxing you'll discover:
The controller can be paired with phones via Bluetooth, but I'm not entirely certain what you can do once this is done. I've asked for ideas of games and emulators that directly support USB game controllers and I'm currently waiting for an answer. If you're willing to root/jailbreak your phone though, you can actually map gamepad buttons and the D-Pad to specified zones on the screen, which will prove useful for emulators that offer on-screen touch controls as well as other games offering the same input mechanism.
Since I wasn't able to test Bluetooth properly, I tried fiddling around with the joypad a bit using the regular USB mode on my computer. Detected by Windows as a regular USB gamepad you'll be able to calibrate it with the default calibration tool, which seemed to be a necessary step before being able to properly enjoy it in full.
I proceeded to downloading a couple of emulators and games, namely Super Mario Bros. on the NES with Nestopia, my first-ever video game, and Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES with ZSnes. While the gamepad worked as advertised, I couldn't help but feel some kind of discomfort, which I think was caused by two factors: first, my hands are quite large and this device is about the size of a GB Micro. I first played the NES when I was 5 and it'll always be great in my memory, but I don't know if I'm able to handle such a tiny pad anymore. Also, while it does have the feel of the original Famicom controller, it would seem like it also has its flaws. I had a bit of a trouble with the D-Pad especially while changing directions.
That's all I will say for now: I haven't tested the device thoroughly, that's a job for the review staff. We will be getting at least 3 or 4 opinions since we've been inundated with free samples (already 3 given away in competitions!). In the meantime, check out the picture gallery that I've uploaded.
View FC30 picture gallery (13 pictures)
The concept behind this gamepad is to imitate the original Famicom controller; though if you remember the actual famicom controller only came with A/B/Start/Select buttons:
The FC30 is thus some kind of hybrid NES/SNES controller as you'll find A/B/X/Y/L/R buttons on top of the regular D-PAD and Start/Select. The major difference with the original Famicom controller resides in the fact that it comes with a USB cable and can interact with a variety of mobile devices and computers via bluetooth. Upon unboxing you'll discover:
- the controller, sized to be an exact match with the original Famicom controller
- I was told there would be a user manual, though it wasn't included with my sample. It will be available later so early users like me will need to refer to the online guide.
- A pretty good-looking keychain made of solid metal
- A microUSB to USB cable, similar to what you can find on external USB1/2 hard drives and other devices; except the red and white colors look nice when plugged in to the controller
- Some kind of plastic protection case, I am not sure if this can be used for anything other than protecting the device (ie. it doesn't seem like you can use it to attach the controller to a phone or something).
The controller can be paired with phones via Bluetooth, but I'm not entirely certain what you can do once this is done. I've asked for ideas of games and emulators that directly support USB game controllers and I'm currently waiting for an answer. If you're willing to root/jailbreak your phone though, you can actually map gamepad buttons and the D-Pad to specified zones on the screen, which will prove useful for emulators that offer on-screen touch controls as well as other games offering the same input mechanism.
Since I wasn't able to test Bluetooth properly, I tried fiddling around with the joypad a bit using the regular USB mode on my computer. Detected by Windows as a regular USB gamepad you'll be able to calibrate it with the default calibration tool, which seemed to be a necessary step before being able to properly enjoy it in full.
I proceeded to downloading a couple of emulators and games, namely Super Mario Bros. on the NES with Nestopia, my first-ever video game, and Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES with ZSnes. While the gamepad worked as advertised, I couldn't help but feel some kind of discomfort, which I think was caused by two factors: first, my hands are quite large and this device is about the size of a GB Micro. I first played the NES when I was 5 and it'll always be great in my memory, but I don't know if I'm able to handle such a tiny pad anymore. Also, while it does have the feel of the original Famicom controller, it would seem like it also has its flaws. I had a bit of a trouble with the D-Pad especially while changing directions.
That's all I will say for now: I haven't tested the device thoroughly, that's a job for the review staff. We will be getting at least 3 or 4 opinions since we've been inundated with free samples (already 3 given away in competitions!). In the meantime, check out the picture gallery that I've uploaded.
View FC30 picture gallery (13 pictures)
