5 ms·

Touchscreen buttons? No thanks.

by nicolashahn 5y ago

jayd16 5y ago
Just pair a controller.
- kbenson 5y ago
  At that point, why use the surface duo over some phone that doesn't take up that space with another screen? This does bring up that a good gaming controller meant to mount to a phone might have a lot more use these days with the cloud gaming services than it would a decade ago though. A high quality Xbox or PS4 like controller that could mount a phone might sell well. Or an adapter for the real ones.
  - fullstop 5y ago
    > A high quality Xbox or PS4 like controller that could mount a phone might sell well. Or an adapter for the real ones. These adapters exist today.
    - FemmeAndroid 5y ago
      I picked one up for the PS5 controller, and it works great and costs less than $10.
  - jayd16 5y ago
    Still seems like a nice form factor to me. If you get a text you can just switch to that and type as you normally would. When a phone is strapped to a controller it seems a bit more cumbersome but I think it comes down to personal preference. This mode only adds a feature and takes nothing away so in my mind its just a nice addition.
    - kbenson 5y ago
      Perhaps I was too dismissive initially. I can see the benefit of having controls already there without having to take up screen real estate, so it does make sense, especially for games that don't require precise timing and movement, and there are plenty of those. Having access to those games easily and without needing a separate controller or using controls on the same screen you view the game with is beneficial, and doesn't preclude adding a separate physical controller for games that would benefit from one, so this seems like a net win.
  - opencl 5y ago
    There are controllers that split in half and you stick the phone in the middle for a Switch-like form factor. The ergonomics are much better than the controller clips because those end up being very top heavy with most newer phones. The real problem is that there are few mobile games designed for controllers, unless you want to use one of the streaming services or console emulators.
- techrat 5y ago
  Thus defeating the entire purpose of having a two screen setup where one screen acts like a controller. You'd be better off getting a larger screen phone and a bracket to clip the phone to a physical controller. Especially with one that has as many buttons as the XBox controller does.
  - jayd16 5y ago
    I'd probably prefer this little laptop mode over holding a phone strapped to my controller. You could fold it around to one screen and use that configuration if you like as well. There are a lot of options and I think that's neat.
  - SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
    One of the best games I played last year was Outer Wilds. Would have played fine with a touch controller if it’s all I had. I think some people are making too big a deal about this article. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
- phillipcarter 5y ago
  Or use a Nintendo Switch, which has great slate of games that work well with the form factor, a great "grow up story" for social gaming, and physical controls.
mcphage 5y ago
Especially tiny, closely packed touchscreen buttons, on a screen you're not even looking at. Trying to hit the right button, with no tactile feedback, is not a recipe for success.
- livre 5y ago
  Or you hit the right button but you have to keep holding it down to move the character and don't realize your finger has been slipping and the character suddenly stops moving at the worse moment. I've had that happen with Gameboy emulators on the phone a lot of times.
rvz 5y ago
Exactly this. And it is $836.21 for the device according to this link: [0] No thanks and certainly no deal. [0] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JTDPRM1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JTDPRM1
- dylan604 5y ago
  Using that link, I see the 128GB version for $768.99 a discount of $631(45%) from the $1399.99 original price. The 256GB is $849.99 being a $650(43%) discount of the $1499.99 price. I see no other discounts to get to the price you posted.
kbenson 5y ago
That was my thought initially too, but on further reflection, there are plenty of games that have input that's not time sensitive (or not that time sensitive) that having a built in (mediocre) controller is better than not having one and needing to put finger over the display screen for the same controls. And you can still pair a controller. I think that maybe makes this "better than other phone devices for xcloud" at least, which is something.
- VortexDream 5y ago
  I play a lot of JRPGs on my Android tablet. Input is far from time sensitive. I still prefer a gamepad 100% of the time and I just won't play at all if I don't have one on me. The UX is simply not comparable.

Touchscreen buttons? No thanks.

jayd16 5y ago

Just pair a controller.

kbenson 5y ago
At that point, why use the surface duo over some phone that doesn't take up that space with another screen? This does bring up that a good gaming controller meant to mount to a phone might have a lot more use these days with the cloud gaming services than it would a decade ago though. A high quality Xbox or PS4 like controller that could mount a phone might sell well. Or an adapter for the real ones.
- fullstop 5y ago
  > A high quality Xbox or PS4 like controller that could mount a phone might sell well. Or an adapter for the real ones. These adapters exist today.
  - FemmeAndroid 5y ago
    I picked one up for the PS5 controller, and it works great and costs less than $10.
- jayd16 5y ago
  Still seems like a nice form factor to me. If you get a text you can just switch to that and type as you normally would. When a phone is strapped to a controller it seems a bit more cumbersome but I think it comes down to personal preference. This mode only adds a feature and takes nothing away so in my mind its just a nice addition.
  - kbenson 5y ago
    Perhaps I was too dismissive initially. I can see the benefit of having controls already there without having to take up screen real estate, so it does make sense, especially for games that don't require precise timing and movement, and there are plenty of those. Having access to those games easily and without needing a separate controller or using controls on the same screen you view the game with is beneficial, and doesn't preclude adding a separate physical controller for games that would benefit from one, so this seems like a net win.
- opencl 5y ago
  There are controllers that split in half and you stick the phone in the middle for a Switch-like form factor. The ergonomics are much better than the controller clips because those end up being very top heavy with most newer phones. The real problem is that there are few mobile games designed for controllers, unless you want to use one of the streaming services or console emulators.
techrat 5y ago
Thus defeating the entire purpose of having a two screen setup where one screen acts like a controller. You'd be better off getting a larger screen phone and a bracket to clip the phone to a physical controller. Especially with one that has as many buttons as the XBox controller does.
- jayd16 5y ago
  I'd probably prefer this little laptop mode over holding a phone strapped to my controller. You could fold it around to one screen and use that configuration if you like as well. There are a lot of options and I think that's neat.
- SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
  One of the best games I played last year was Outer Wilds. Would have played fine with a touch controller if it’s all I had. I think some people are making too big a deal about this article. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
phillipcarter 5y ago
Or use a Nintendo Switch, which has great slate of games that work well with the form factor, a great "grow up story" for social gaming, and physical controls.

mcphage 5y ago

Especially tiny, closely packed touchscreen buttons, on a screen you're not even looking at. Trying to hit the right button, with no tactile feedback, is not a recipe for success.

livre 5y ago
Or you hit the right button but you have to keep holding it down to move the character and don't realize your finger has been slipping and the character suddenly stops moving at the worse moment. I've had that happen with Gameboy emulators on the phone a lot of times.

rvz 5y ago

Exactly this. And it is $836.21 for the device according to this link: [0] No thanks and certainly no deal. [0] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JTDPRM1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JTDPRM1

dylan604 5y ago
Using that link, I see the 128GB version for $768.99 a discount of $631(45%) from the $1399.99 original price. The 256GB is $849.99 being a $650(43%) discount of the $1499.99 price. I see no other discounts to get to the price you posted.

kbenson 5y ago

That was my thought initially too, but on further reflection, there are plenty of games that have input that's not time sensitive (or not that time sensitive) that having a built in (mediocre) controller is better than not having one and needing to put finger over the display screen for the same controls. And you can still pair a controller. I think that maybe makes this "better than other phone devices for xcloud" at least, which is something.

VortexDream 5y ago
I play a lot of JRPGs on my Android tablet. Input is far from time sensitive. I still prefer a gamepad 100% of the time and I just won't play at all if I don't have one on me. The UX is simply not comparable.