A good editorial from Brian Crecente at Polygon about the rise of the “Micro Console” – cheap, small set-top-box / game consoles that share more internal components in common with a modern smartphone than a PlayStation 4.
Call them set-top streamers or micro-consoles or streaming media devices, the latest entries in this growing market are coming from behemoths like Amazon, Razer and Sony. All three will have their own take on the diminutive devices out this year.
It’s a trend powered by the trifecta of a consumer base growing used to downloading content, the increasing quality of mobile games and a desire to tap into a blossoming market with a relatively low-cost device.
This article provides a nice overview of the recent contenders in the market. But there’s a pretty big elephant in the room when it comes to this topic that went unmentioned. It has already been confirmed that Apple has some of their best engineers on a next-gen Apple TV. Combine that with MFi game controllers, The A7 / A8 chip, Metal, the relatively massive installed base of killer iOS games… the micro-console war hasn’t yet begun.
Several people from Disqus (including the CEO) have reached out to me about this policy. While I certainly haven’t changed my opinion on the matter, I do believe they’re being honest with their respect for users and website owners opting out of tracking. While I seriously hope they reconsider their user tracking policy in the future, things seem okay for now. I won’t be removing Disqus quite yet.
I’ve updated the post to clarify a few points made in the comments.
Disqus, the popular commenting system used by a variety of blogs including this one, recently implemented a change in their privacy policy. Of note, they’re going to begin harvesting personally identifiable data from users of the service for the purpose of showing them advertisements based on their browsing history.
I’ll quote the relevant section below, then provide a bit of commentary on what it means, and what I (and you) can do about it.
Disqus Says:
We may also share certain information such as your location, browser and cookie data and other data relating to your use of our Service with our business partners to deliver advertisements (âadsâ) that may be of interest to you. Disqus may allow third-party ad servers or ad networks to serve advertisements on the Service. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser or mobile device, the ads and ad links that appear on the Service, and will automatically receive your IP address when they do so. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, device identifiers, location data, and clear gifs, see above) to compile information about your browserâs or deviceâs visits and usage patterns on the Service, and to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize the advertising content.
To be blunt, I consider this type of behavior morally wrong, and I don’t believe in supporting it. I’d like to make a few things clear:
Disqus has provided website owners the ability to opt-out visitors from this type of tracking, and I’ve obviously chosen to do that.
Disqus users can opt out of being tracked via the Data Sharing Settings page. If you comment on this blog or others using Disqus, you should do this.
Opting out inserts a cookie on to your device that tells Disqus not to track you. If you delete your cookies, it will start tracking you again.
Disqus apparently honors the Do Not Track included in most modern web browsers. Safari users can enable this in Safari’s “Privacy and Security” settings section.
In the short term, I’ve opted out of allowing Disqus to track AfterPad visitors, and I’m recommending that everyone who has a Disqus account choose to opt out of being tracked via the Data Sharing Settings page, because not every site is going to opt out of this type of thing.
In the longer term, I’m not sure what to do about this. I’d like to make one thing absolutely clear: I do NOT want to track visitors. I do NOT want anyone’s personal information. AfterPad will NEVER serve targeted ads. AfterPad will NEVER sell your personal information. The most information I want is the type of broad technology and popularity tracking I get from Google Analytics, and even there I’ve disabled interest tracking.
I consider tracking browser history to sell ads inherently wrong, from a moral perspective. Perhaps this is the minority view these days, judging from the rise of companies like Google and Facebook, but it’s how I feel on the matter.
So that brings me back to Disqus. I’m not sure how to handle this in the long term. For now, I’m hoping disabling tracking and advising users to turn it off is enough. For later, I have a few options:
I could disable comments entirely. This gets rid of any privacy implications, but it also blocks a LOT of really useful feedback I’ve received from many people. Comments have made AfterPad a better place, and I’d hate to lose them.
I could build my own comment system. The problem here is, I have no idea how to do this, and I’d also have to start registering users myself, which brings back the fact that I don’t want to track people or collect information from them.
I could replace commenting with another communication method, such as building a forum. The problem here is, I don’t particularly want to run a forum, and there already are forums for MFi gaming and general iOS gaming.
I could rely solely on Twitter for communication. The problem here is, I don’t particularly like Twitter’s privacy policies either, and I don’t want to endorse this as the best way to communicate.
For now, Disqus commenting will remain. Disqus’ policies seem relatively straightforward, and I have no reason to doubt that opting out of tracking does exactly what it says. As long as things stay that way, I’ll probably stick with Disqus. For the future, we’re left with a few less-than-ideal options. I’d love to hear from visitors and readers about what they’d like to see with regards to comments. Don’t be afraid to get in touch via
Email, or by commenting on this very post – again, tracking has been disabled on AfterPad. I’d love to get peoples’ thoughts on Disqus, and hear any ideas you might have. You can also reach out to Disqus to let them know how you feel about this change.
This article erroneously reported that 8.1 fixed the disconnect issue. This is NOT true. The issue is, however, less pronounced on the iPhone 6 I tested with.
Apple yesterday released the first beta version of iOS 8.1, and it brings SOME good news for MFi controller owners, but sadly not enough.
First the bad news: the Bluetooth disconnect issue is NOT fixed. Back to waiting for this one.
With that said, on to the good news: the ghost controller issue seems to be resolved. In previous versions of iOS 8, bluetooth controllers would often show up twice, with the second one labeled as “Forwarded”, even when connected directly. iOS 8 appears to fix this problem.
Also, controller forwarding itself appears to be working now, albeit in a slightly less polished state than people would like. Connecting a controller to iOS Device A, then launching a controller compatible game on iOS Device B, then accessing the controller icon from the bottom-left corner of the lock screen of iOS Device A, allows you to use the control iOS Device B using iOS Device A’s controller.
Controller forwarding brings new life to old controllers
Controller forwarding may sound a bit convoluted, but in practice, it works well. It allows gamers with form-fitting controllers like the PowerShell or Moga Ace Power to control games on iPads and bigger iPhones that the controller would otherwise be unable to connect to.
It is unfortunate that so many bugs with controller support wound up in iOS 8, but it’s great to see Apple actively attempting to fix them. Let’s hope they go all the way.
Hot on the heels of its big brother, the Micro version of the Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i is also now available for pre-order, at an even cheaper price of $49!
Micro C.T.R.L.i is 20% lighter than the standard C.T.R.L.i, in addition to being 20% cheaper. It is still powered by two AAA batteries, this time embedded in the handles instead of the back. The detachable rear iPhone grip is now a clip-on design instead of the larger model’s screw-in design, but it is apparently capable of holding phones the exact same width – 3.17 inches, just wide enough for the iPhone 6 Plus without a case.
Unlike the regular sized C.T.R.L design, I have yet to actually use this one myself. According to TouchArcade, this controller’s analog sticks might actually superior to the larger, more expensive model’s. I look forward to getting my hands on both of them, and will be putting up comparisons and a review as soon as possible.
I thought the last C.T.R.L.i seemed like a great deal at $59, but this one seems like an even better choice at just $49. We’re starting to get into the “reasonable price” territory for MFi controllers here – let’s hope Mad Catz makes good on this controller’s potential.
The Micro C.T.R.L.i is currently available to preorder from Mad Catz in North America, though judging by Mad Catz’ past release schedules, Europe won’t be far behind.
My game uses both the connect and discount notifications along with the list of connected controllers. A single player game can just assume that the controller they want to reference is the first in the list but I need to show which player colour will represent which controller.
I was seeing that for each controller there were 2 players listed, this meant a single player game was impossible. I kept thinking it was an issue that would be resolved in the next beta so I did not look in to the cause or submit a Radar (Apples version of bug submission).
[…]
I had a few goes at disconnecting and reconnecting my MFi controller and eventually the app crashed. I hooked it up to Xcode to check the device logs and saw it crashed when trying to query the controllers property of âisAttachedToDeviceâ. This will return true for the case type controllers and false for Bluetooth controllers. Itâs useful to know this as you could rely on touch screen buttons also if you know they are near the device. I tried calling this code on my phantom forwarded controllers and rather than fail gracefully or report false it instead crashed, just like the Game Controller Tester. Sometimes the forwarded controller connects first, sometimes the real controller does.
This is something, I think, Apple are expecting developers to work around. Controller forwarding is a new feature and we will need to update our apps to support this.
If you’re a developer, you need to read the whole piece. It gets into some of the nitty gritty details about what could be causing the issue, and provides a work-around solution for fixing it.
Myself, I still have some questions about why this problem is occurring in the first place. This seems like a pretty serious bug on Apple’s end, not a deliberate change in how controller support works.
Controllers SHOULD show up as forwarded when they’re being forwarded from an iPhone to an iPad. When they’re not, they should show up exactly the same as they did in iOS7. Thats what I took away from watching Apple’s keynote on game controllers at this year’s WWDC. I have no idea why Bluetooth controllers are showing up twice, but I’d be shocked it if was an intentional change. If it WAS an intentional change, I have no idea why Bluetooth controllers are behaving any differently from Lightning controllers.
Anyways, this article provides a great workaround for developers, and is well worth a read. A patch for Aztec Antics that incorporates this workaround has already been submitted, and should be available soon.
Hot on the heels of the recent MOGA Rebel MFi controller release, high-end gaming accessory maker Mad Catz has finally begun taking preorders for their own full Bluetooth MFi controller, the C.T.R.L.i, for an early October release, at a price of $59!
The C.T.R.L.i is a long-anticipated entry to the market, and seems likely to be the second full-size Bluetooth MFi controller available. Similarly to the MOGA Rebel, this is a full size console-style controller with an Xbox style staggered joystick layout, fully analog buttons and triggers, and wireless Bluetooth connectivity.
Similar to the MOGA Rebel, the Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i includes a mounting solution for an iPhone, this time in the form of a sturdy-feeling grip that screws security in to the back of the controller. The grip should be large enough to support the new iPhone 6 designs, including the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus. Unlike the Rebel, the C.T.R.L.i does NOT include a rechargeable battery, and instead relies on non-Apple-standard AAA batteries.
I happen to own the PC equivalent of this controller, the C.T.R.L.r, and while this iOS version will be different is several key ways, I can confirm that the build quality of the controller is outstanding. Absolutely first-rate, up to the caliber of the last generation first-party console controllers. Unfortunately, the buttons, d-pad, and analog sticks are another story, and all have serious problems. However, as these have all been completely replaced for this iOS version, I’m withholding judgement until I can get access to the real C.T.R.L.i – you can expect a review as soon as possible, as well as a full comparison to the MOGA Rebel.
Sadly, Mad Catz seems to have picked a bad time to release the C.T.R.L.i, coming right on the heels of an iOS update that kills Bluetooth MFi compatibility with a large amount of games that were previously compatible under iOS7. With any luck, Apple will fix this issue before the C.T.R.L.i ships in October. The other benefit to waiting is that you’ll have access to the alternate controller colors, rather than being stuck with black, which is the only option you can preorder.
Sadly, the full color range is not currently available – hope you like black
At $59, this Mad Catz controller undercuts all of it’s competitors. If Mad Catz can keep the build quality up here, there is a very good chance that this will wind up being the best MFi controller available this year. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on one and writing a review.
Customers in the United States and Canada can pre-order from the American Mad Catz store. European customers can order from the European Mad Catz store. Presumably, the C.T.R.L.i will find its way into Apple Stores before long.
The much-anticipated Moga Rebel – the first full-size bluetooth MFi controller – is now available online from Apple, after being available for the past week in-store.
I’ll have a full review of the Rebel coming shortly, but suffice it to say, this controller works, feels reasonably comfortable, and (most important) is the only traditional-style bluetooth controller available right now.
The Rebel has one significant downside, though, and that downside is iOS8. Apple’s latest system seriously damaged MFi controller support across the board for bluetooth controllers, with about half of all tested games no longer being compatible with the Moga Rebel or SteelSeries Stratus.
If you’re interested in the Moga Rebel, and if you’re running iOS7, you should absolutely consider picking one up today. If, however, you’re running iOS 8, it might be worth a wait – the list of iOS8 bluetooth compatible games might end up being a lot smaller than you’re hoping.
Good news, classic arcade game fans: the entire Metal Slug series now supports MFi controllers on iOS!
While Metal Slug 2 and Metal Slug 3 previously supported MFi controller input, the other games in the series did not. Thankfully, SNK Playmore and Dotemu just fixed fixed that.
Classic arcade gameplay and some truly stunning pixel art
Unfortunately, these games aren’t playable with Bluetooth controllers on iOS8, due to the previously documented bug (seriously hoping for a fix from Apple on that). But all gamers on iOS7, and gamers with the Moga Ace Power and Logitech PowerShell on iOS8, will definitely want to give this one a look.
After further testing, many of the games marked as compatible on this list still exhibit problems on weaker devices, and in low memory situations. Take this list as a rough guide, rather than a definitive compatibility guarantee. This is an inherent problem with Bluetooth on iOS 8, and every game is affected.
The good news is, the 8.1.1 firmware update fixes these problems almost entirely for owners of the SteelSeries Stratus controllers. Owners of the MOGA Rebel are still likely to experience disconnects, however.
As previously mentioned, and subsequently covered on TouchArcade, iOS8 doesn’t play nice with wireless MFi controllers. Some games work perfectly, while others exhibit serious flaws that cause the controllers to lag and drop their connections.
The following is an attempt to catalog the games that are confirmed working, and the games that are confirmed not working, as tested with the Moga Rebel on a Retina iPad Mini
I doubt I’ll be able to test every game (I certainly hope Apple fixes the problem before it reaches that point), but I hope to put together at least a selection of some of the most popular games, confirmed either to be compatible or broken. If you’re on iOS 8, and you either have a SteelSeries Stratus or a Moga Rebel, you should bookmark this page. It will be frequently updated.
Lastly, I’d like to remind everyone that these issues do not exist on iOS7, and do not exist with Lightning-connected MFi controllers like the Logitech PowerShell, Moga Ace Power, and Razer Junglecat. This only affects bluetooth controllers in iOS8 – Namely, the SteelSeries Stratus and Moga Rebel controllers.
