Exclusive: Moga Ace Power MFi Controller Pulled from Apple Store
The first available controller becomes the first discontinued controller
The MOGA Ace Power MFi controller appears to have been removed from sale. Apple has removed its listing from the Apple Store and removed the controller from store shelves, and stocks are limited (and often discounted) at Best Buy. While still available on Amazon from third party sellers, ship time has slipped to 3-4 weeks. Moga offers the controller for sale on their website, though the ‘Buy Now’ link on the controllerâs homepage is broken, and there have been reports of errors with actually purchasing the controller.
The Ace Power was first made available in mid November of last year, becoming the first MFi controller sold, and beating Logitechâs offering by about a month. While the Ace Power had build quality and price issues, it is still the only form-fitting iPhone controller with an Extended analog layout.
Invisible MOGA
The Ace Power controller isnât the only thing thatâs hard to find; MOGA themselves have maintained almost complete silence over the past several months.
MOGA promised to reveal information about a new MFi controller at GDC this year. GDC came and went without MOGA saying a word.
After a flurry of activity through early March of this year, MOGAâs Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube channels have been largely abandoned. That is with the exception of one Facebook post on April 16th apologizing for their lack of response to customer support emails – implying that in addition to public silence, MOGA has been ignoring private support requests.
This near complete silence is echoed at MOGAâs parent company Power-A, whose Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube accounts have reflected an identical lack of activity, and whose blog is offline.
Whatâs more, Craig Erickson, Director of Hardware Engineering and Systems Integration and lead designer of the Moga Ace Power and Moga Rebel controllers, appears to no longer be working at MOGA parent company Bensussen Deutsch & Associates as of March 2014, according to his Linkedin page.
Itâs unfortunate. Apple pulling their controller from sale, MOGA completely abandoning their social media channels, promised press release dates being missed without comment, a lead designer departing⦠None of this bodes well for MOGA. Weâve requested comment, and will update this post if we hear anything new.