CES 2015: TteSports Reveals the Contour MFi Controller

Making good on their promise, TteSports took to CES last week to reveal their upcoming MFi controller, called the Contour.

Just like last time, TteSports gave the big story to the MegaTechNews site.

TtEsports Contour MFi controller dpad AfterPad image — A circular d-pad and flat rubber analog sticks (Source: MegaTechNews)

Superficially, the Contour MFi controller appears to be similar to the Moga Rebel. The analog sticks appear to be an untextured, rubberized plastic with a slight ridge (identical to the Rebel). The d-pad appears to be a circle pad with a slightly textured elevated plus-shaped directional navigator. It features an integrated (and removable) hinge for attaching iPhones.

Unlike the recent Mad Catz and SteelSeries controllers, the Contour will feature an integrated battery. Generally, I’m a fan of integrated batteries, but in this case, I’m cautious: TteSports is only claiming 10 hours of battery life per charge. If this turns out to be the case, it would put this at the bottom of the barrel in terms of controller battery life, and far less than any of the other Bluetooth controllers.

TtEsports Contour MFi controller dpad family AfterPad image — A retractable, resizable grip makes iPhone gaming easier (Source: MegaTechNews)

TteSports appears to have refined the design since it was originally revealed at CompuTex last year. The d-pad, buttons, and iPhone grip seem more polished now. Exactly as I predicted at the time, cross-platform compatibility has been pulled, since Apple doesn’t allow MFi certification for Android or Windows controllers.

Despite revealing the controller at CES, ThermalTake hasn’t been particularly forthcoming with information about it. I haven’t been able to discover many references to this controller on their site, let alone a press release or images. That tends to suggest that the release date is still a ways off.

Video demonstration (Source: TteSports Facebook)

TteSports will be entering a very different market today than they would have last year. Many MFi controllers are available today that do exactly what the Contour do, and appear to do it with nicer analog sticks and (potentially) better d-pads. I’m curious to see exactly how TteSports plans to stand out in this increasingly crowded field.

The Contour should be available at some point in the future at a price of $79; I’ll be picking up a copy for review ASAP.