Based on my searches, I could only find 3* controllers that have this feature (and interestingly, they all do it differently). There’s the new 8BitDo Pro 3, where the face buttons are magnetic, the GameSir Supernova, where you have to remove the faceplate to swap the buttons, and the GameSir Tarantula Pro/T3 Pro, where there’s a motor that swaps the ABXY layout.
This seems like a pretty simple feature that would be really useful for multiplatform controllers. Lots of controllers advertise that they work with PC, Xbox, Switch, Android, etc., but very few of them give you the option to physically swap the ABXY layout. They usually have one layout or the other. I would get not having these features on a really budget controller, but there are some controllers that are really expensive and don’t have this neat little button swap thing (instead opting for gimmicky things like a screen)
edit: * There’s actually 4**, I forgot about the Nyxi Flexi!
edit 2: ** Nope, it’s five***, the Gulikit KK3 Max has replaceable button caps! Very cool!
edit 3: *** Actually, the older KK2 Pro also seems to have this feature too, as well as a few other older Gulikit controllers, so I guess it’s >6? That’s cool. With four different companies (GuliKit, 8BitDo, GameSir, and Nyxi) offering at least one controller with this feature, I guess it’s not as rare as I thought. Who knew?
What third party controllers do offer is value (you can get some amazing budget controllers these days) as well as hall effect sticks and triggers (some newer models have TMR sticks, which apparently use lower power) meaning no stick drift and it will last longer.
Speaking of the DS4, I still have one, and I spray-painted it and I think it looks pretty cool! It’s a mix of spray paint (on the body, d-pad, and triggers), 3D printed face buttons, and cheap plastic I bought for that tiny little PS button. Makes it look more unique, but I forgot to tape the electronics and think I snapped one of the ribbon cables, so wireless is borked. I works fine wired though, so it’s all good.
When I was looking for replacement controllers the best I found was basically ones that have the same as what the ds4 already offers, or maybe an addition of paddles for more than the price of a dualsense pro lol
If I buy a controller now I’d like it to be something like those steam controller 2 leaks we had a while back honestly, a 2nd touchpad, touch capacitive sticks, and paddles (plus keeping gyro, cause for some reason many controllers don’t have that still lol)… that’d be enough additional buttons for me to consider upgrading
Which is to say hopefully valve time is quicker than the breaking down of my ds4… (if it was SC3 it’d never come so at least it’s only 2 /j)
You can see how shredded my left stick is at this point lol. It’s basically hard plastic. Though I had this controller for… 9 or 8 years?
Ooh yeah that looks pretty rough. I will say that there are definitely good third-party controllers nowadays for a pretty good price. There are some sub $30 options from both 8BitDo and GameSir (their Ultimate 2C and Nova 2 Lite respectively both seem really good), and a bunch of good controllers that are around the same price as a ds5, maybe a bit less from all sorts of companies with loads of different layouts and both membrane and mechanical buttons. There’s even a few with the ps-like symmetrical layout like the GameSir Tarantula Pro, their wired Tegenaria Lite, and the 8BitDo Pro series.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as long as this one works, im not in a big rush to swap it out to something that’d give me the same or worse experience anyway :3… if im gonna spend any kind of money it’s be for additional features lol… or if this one breaks, in which case I can pick up another ds4 or a dualsense.
I don’t really care about saving 10 bucks on something I use daily, so I’d take something I know will last me another decade rather than the third party controllers which looking up usually leads to numerous threads of them breaking x3
I mean, fair enough. The ds4 controller is a good reliable controller and has worked for many years and probably will work for many years to come. Only downside is micro-usb though…
I had two with my PS4 Pro, and both of them got stick drift (one after a disappointingly short amount of time). Just my personal experience though…
shame that the big companies don’t use HE…
True that x3… I bought a 3 meter micro usb cable specifically for it recently lol, those have not lasted me as long as the controller. Having a usb C would be nice tho, since when it inevitably breaks again I’d be able to temporarily use any of the other cables I have on hand :3
I remember that some guy did a USB-C mod on a ds4. For me though, I just have a micro-USB cable always attached to the controller so it feels more like a wired controller with USB on the end.
I also only use it wired lol :3