All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Sure, Sony's PlayStation 4 came out last week. And Microsoft's own next-generation console launches in a few days. But the biggest gaming announcement for us this month may be a $100 iPhone accessory from Logitech.
During Apple's developer conference back in June, the company showcased a new feature baked into iOS: A licensed controller standard, dubbed Made-For-iPhone (or MFi) that allows both game developers and accessory makers to coordinate button layouts so iOS gamers could use real, actual controllers, instead of virtual buttons on a touchscreen. While a gaming controller seems like a no-brainer accessory, without Apple's explicit support, previous iOS controllers were poorly-supported and kludgy. But this holiday season, you can unwrap a controller that already works with hundreds of games, some of which have been ported from the consoles. One of the first ones to hit the market is Logitech's Powershell.
This case-like controller fits around the iPhone 5 and 5S. It also works with the 5th generation iPod touch with an additional insert. True to Apple's controller specification, it includes an analog D-pad on the lefthand side, four colorful buttons arranged in the traditional diamond on the right, and two pressure-sensitive trigger buttons. Around the back, you'll find a battery inside an ergonomically sculpted shell. All these buttons and batteries come with a catch, though, as the Powershell more than doubles the length of the iPhone 5s and triples the weight. The controller attaches to an iPhone through your handset's Lightning jack, so if you want to charge the Powershell + iPhone combo, you'll need to use a MicroUSB cable.
We were able to get a few minutes of hands-on with the Powershell, and rest assured -- it feels great in the hand. All the buttons are analog, and they don't feel cheap. In terms of button response, it's much closer to the Xbox 360 controller than the Wii U Classic controller. The total size seemed appropriate for a handheld system, even if it isn't super-pocketable. We played a few freemium games, and although the experience was improved by having a controller, I see the Powershell really shining when playing ports of console games or AAA titles.
To people who care about terms like "disruption" or the "console wars," the MFi controller presents a turning point. Apple's newest iOS devices boast graphics processing power that compares to the most recent generation of consoles, and there are already tens of millions of them on the market. Apple's "hobby," the Apple TV, runs off a fork of iOS, and could conceivably integrate both game apps and iOS controller support with a single software update. In fact, even now, an Apple TV can mirror iOS games onto a big screen -- but whether the experience, complete with controller, is good enough remains to be seen. Still, the current controller is very limited in scope: It only works with the newest devices, and it needs to be physically plugged in due to the lack of Bluetooth support. This also means the first generation Powershell isn't going to work with the iPad.
Currently, according to Logitech, there are more than 300 games that support Logitech's Powershell, including some big deal titles like Bastion and Galaxy on Fire, and we're looking forward to putting the controller through its paces. We'll post a full review as soon as we've spent some more time with it.
