Mobile gaming has spent years trying to convince players that touchscreen controls are “good enough.” Meanwhile, most of us have spent those same years accidentally throwing grenades while trying to reload. Ohsnap is hoping to finally solve that problem with the official launch of the MCON mobile controller, a compact magnetic smartphone controller that arrives after a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign pulled in more than $1.5 million from over 16,000 backers.
First revealed during CES last year, the MCON is designed to transform smartphones into a portable console-style gaming setup without the usual bulky clamps and awkward attachments that make most mobile controllers feel like temporary science projects. The MCON folds down to less than an inch thick, allowing it to stay attached to a phone even during normal day-to-day use. Slide it open, and a full gaming controls deploy instantly. Slide it closed, and you are back to regular phone mode without removing the device. Honestly, that seamless transition may be the most impressive feature of the entire product.
The controller itself sounds surprisingly serious for something this compact. Ohsnap says the MCON includes full-size Mag-Res joysticks designed to outperform Hall Effect sticks while reducing stick drift and power consumption. It also packs silent buttons, console-grade analog triggers, motion controls through a built-in gyroscope, and deployable ergonomic grips for longer play sessions.
The MCON is also versatile. The MCON supports handheld gaming, tabletop play via kickstand mode, and television gaming via the optional MCON Dock. iPhone users can cast gameplay directly to a television while maintaining near-zero latency and a 1000Hz polling rate.
Available at Best Buy for $149.99, MCON definitely lands in premium accessory territory. Still, as mobile hardware approaches handheld PC performance levels, products like this feel less like gimmicks and more like the next logical step in portable gaming.
