When I wrote my review of the SteelSeries Stratus XL, I ended it with the following:
Iâm having trouble determining who the Stratus XL is for. iPhone gamers are excluded, and would be better served by the CTRLi, with itâs solid iPhone clip. Retro gamers who demand a perfect d-pad are excluded, and would be better served by the Horipad. Price-conscious gamers are excluded, and would be better served by the Micro CTRLi, which retails for $20-$30 less than this. Gamers who rest their fingers on the triggers are excluded, and would be better served by literally anything else.
One thing is for sure: I cannot wait to see the third Stratus SteelSeries makes. If it is as much improved over itâs predecessor as this controller is over the first Stratus, weâre in for a real treat.
To me, SteelSeries had two goals with their next controller, the Nimbus:
Fix the obvious design flaws, like the terrible d-pad and triggers
Design a controller that actually makes sense for a target demographic
With the Nimbus, SteelSeries has achieved both of those goals, and then some. The Nimbus is not merely a good controller. The Nimbus is an outstanding controller. In almost every way, the Nimbus leapfrogs every other MFi controller, and becomes the model to beat.
Similarly, the Nimbus has a defined target audience in mind: Apple TV gamers. The Nimbus works perfectly with iPhones and iPads, but for reasons I’ll get into throughout this review, it feels designed to go with the Apple TV even more than with these other devices.
SteelSeries has learned from their previous controllers. They’ve corrected the previous mistakes. They’ve included the latest technology. The results: the Nimbus is the best designed MFi controller ever made. It isn’t without flaws – I’ll get to those – but it represents the start of a new generation of controllers. The bar has been raised.
The Nimbus incorporates elements from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft controllers, but also features several touches that are distinctly SteelSeries. The analog sticks are pretty close to those of the Xbox one controller, though they’re laid out similarly to a PlayStation 4 controller. The D-Pad is reminiscent to (but worse than) Nintendo’s Wii U d-pad, thanks to an expired Nintendo patent and relaxed MFi controller standards. But the buttons, triggers, and industrial design have a uniquely SteelSeries identity.
The Details
The Analog Sticks
The analog sticks on the Nimbus are the best of any MFi controller. They’re reasonably sized, almost identical to those of an Xbox One controller. The sticks’ concave surface and rubberized ridges give them a pleasant amount of grip. Deadzone is minimal, and the amount of pressure required to activate the sticks feels perfect.
The sticks are positioned in a traditional, non-staggered layout – analog sticks parallel, positioned below the d-pad and ABXY face buttons. Xbox gamers might balk at the layout, but unless you feel strongly about it, you’re not going to find anything to complain about here.
The D-Pad
Good news: unlike every other SteelSeries controller, the d-pad on the Nimbus isn’t terrible. In most games, I’d go so far as to call it good.
Thanks to an expired Nintendo patent and relaxed MFi controller standard, controller makers are now able to use plus-shaped d-pads instead of circular pads. This is a mixed blessing. Plus-style pads make it much easier to avoid accidentally pressing diagonal inputs, but conversely, they can make it difficult to purposefully trigger diagonal inputs. This is the case with the Nimbus: it’s large, plus-style d-pad is wonderful for going along the standard axis – left, right, down, up – but anything in-between feels like a struggle.
The place where SteelSeries really dropped the ball with the d-pad is the size: it is way too large. One of the largest plus-style d-pads I’ve ever seen on a major controller. This large size is the chief reason why diagonal movement is difficult – side-scrollers and racing games work well, but not anything more complex than that. I can’t help but feel SteelSeries sized the d-pad for aesthetic concerns, rather than gameplay. This was a mistake – it’s the one big blemish on a controller that would otherwise be close to perfect.
The ABXY Buttons
The buttons on the Nimbus are pretty close to perfect. They’re large, pleasantly rounded, and beautifully designed. The plastic material is triple-shot – a transparent outer layer covers colored letters that are raised above a black base. It’s as beautiful here as it is on the Xbox One controller, where I first saw this style of button.
The Triggers and Shoulder Buttons
The triggers have, historically, been the Achilles heal for SteelSeries. The first Stratus sacrificed any semblance of quality triggers to keep the size down, resulting in 4 difficult-to-reach shoulder buttons. The Stratus XL switched to a modern trigger design, but botched the execution by using strings that were far too weak – resting your fingers on the triggers caused them to activate. I’d often find myself firing my gun accidentally, braking when I didn’t mean to – things I didn’t want to be doing.
The Nimbus corrects the problems from SteelSeries’ other controllers, and then some. These triggers activate with a perfect degree of pressure, yet feel smooth going in. Resting my fingers on the triggers had no negative side effects. Unlike other MFi controllers, they have a matte surface texture, which I found made them even grippier.
The shoulder buttons are similarly excellent. They’re positioned directly on top of the triggers, making them easy to reach, while also being placed far enough out from the triggers that you won’t accidentally activate them.
The Battery
The battery in the Nimbus is one of the best in any MFi controllers. It’s rechargeable, fully integrated into the controller, and gets over 40 hours on a single charge. The extensive battery life is likely due to the fact it connects to iOS via Bluetooth 4.1, rather than the older Bluetooth 2.1 standard used by other MFi controllers.
Also unlike every other MFi controller: the Nimbus charges it’s battery via the Lightning connection. This is a first for MFi controllers. I can only hope the rest follow suit, because it makes things much easier. Other controllers either require non-Apple-standard Mini or Micro USB cables, or require removable batteries. A rechargeable 40 hour battery that is charged via Lightning is a vastly better experience. The only negative: a Lightning cable isn’t included in the box. You probably have a bunch lying around, but still, it would have been nice.
Extras
I’m happy to report that SteelSeries fixed the other big issue they had, aside from the triggers: updating the firmware on the Nimbus no longer requires installing dangerous kernel extensions! SteelSeries has an app, and you can use it to keep everything updated. Its a few years late, but certainly welcome!
There is still one glaring omission: the Nimbus lacks any form of grip for holding an iPhone. I’m not going to lie: this is baffling to me. Gripping your phone into a controller may not be the best way to play, but it is better than nothing. By not including a grip, or even offering one as an extra purchase, SteelSeries basically takes the Nimbus out of contention for iPhone gamers. Considering that iPhones make up the vast majority of iOS devices… I don’t know what SteelSeries is thinking here.
Conclusion
I won’t bandy words here: the Nimbus is the best Bluetooth MFi controller you can buy. It improves on the previous controllers from SteelSeries in every way, and leapfrogs most other MFi controllers on the market in some fundamental ways.
Build quality is top-class; comparable to first-party controllers from Microsoft and Sony. Every component feels “premium”, with the analog sticks and ABXY buttons being particularly first-rate. The only less-than-perfect component is the d-pad, and even still, it isn’t terrible.
The Nimbus is a step forward for the entire MFi controller platform. The internal components have been upgraded, and support a more modern and efficient Bluetooth version. Charging via Lightning means you don’t have to keep a second type of cable lying around.
So should you buy the Nimbus?
For the vast majority of Apple TV gamers, the answer is definitely yes. Those who absolutely cannot stand the Nimbus’ analog stick layout should consider the PXN Speedy instead, and those who require the absolute best d-pad should consider the original Horipad. But for most people, the search should end with the Nimbus: it’s that good.
iPad Air and iPad Mini gamers have an additional consideration with the Nimbus. Some people – myself included – would prefer to clip their iPad into their controller, rather than separating the two and treating the iPad as a small TV. If you fit that description, you’d probably be happier with the Gamevice. It’s more expensive, but it provides an experience optimized around the device you connect it to.
For iPhone gamers, the Nimbus is a tough sell. It doesn’t matter how premium a controller is if it doesn’t work with your device. The Nimbus lacks any way to grip to your iPhone. If you’re fine sitting your iPhone on a table and squinting at it to play, the Nimbus works perfectly fine. But a controller with an integrated iPhone clip would probably make a lot more sense for most iPhone gamers – again, the Speedy comes to mind.
But if the Nimbus does fit with the way you play, don’t hesitate to pick one up. At $49, it’s cheaper than almost any other MFi controller’s list price. And for the first time in the history of the MFi controller program, this controller feels like it’s worth every penny of its asking price.
The Apple TV’s included Siri remote can be used to play every game on the Apple TV, but the experience is less than ideal. Fortunately, there are other options. The MFi controller program has been going strong for 2 years now. With so many different controllers out there, deciding which one to get looks like a daunting task. I want to make it easier.
The Best Apple TV Controllers
#1 – The SteelSeries Nimbus
The Nimbus is the newest MFi controller, and also the one Apple is throwing the most weight behind. The good news is, it happens to be excellent.
Everything about the Nimbus feels like a premium product. The finish is a high-quality matted plastic with no sharp edges or inconveniently placed screw holes. The analog sticks are solidly built, perfectly textured, and highly responsive. The buttons are among the most beautiful to ever appear on a game controller, featuring a glossy transparent surface housing 3D raised letters on a black background. Unlike previous SteelSeries controllers, the triggers and bumpers have a perfect amount of pressure.
The Nimbus rises above the rest in other ways, too. The integrated battery charges via Lightning cable, rather than requiring obsolete micro USB connections. The Bluetooth connection is via the more modern, less laggy 4.0 standard, unlike previous controllers which use the 2.1 version. And the price is a reasonable $49, unlike most other controllers which range from $59 to $79. And even with the lower price, the Nimbus is a top-quality product, the rival to the Dualshock 4 and Xbox One controller.
The Nimbus is a big deal for MFi controllers. It's being heavily promoted by Apple, it's reasonably priced, and it's excellent quality. This is the controller most Apple TV gamers are going to purchase, and that's not a bad thing.
#2 – The Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i
The Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i is a great controller, and it raised the bar significantly from the controllers before it. It isn't nearly as premium a product as the Nimbus, it generally has a higher price tag, and it suffers from a few notable flaws, but it is still a great choice for gamers accustomed to Xbox 360 controllers.
Unlike the Nimbus, the C.T.R.L.i uses the Xbox's staggered analog stick layout, placing the left stick in the prime position under the left thumb. The sticks themselves are almost identical to those of the 360 controller – rubberized, with 4 little bumps to grip and orient your thumb. The trigger layout is also identical to the 360's, with more distinction between shoulder bumpers and triggers than the Nimbus.
The C.T.R.L.i suffers from a couple of notable flaws. First, and most importantly, is its d-pad. It's a mess. Most MFi controllers have terrible d-pads, but the Nimbus doesn't – it's d-pad is quite good for the types of games that will need it. The C.T.R.L.i's is a mushy mess, and you'll want to actively avoid using it with games that require it. It's better than the Siri remote's track pad, but just barely.
Instead of using an integrated battery that charges via Lightning, the C.T.R.L.i requires disposable AAA batteries. Bluetooth 2.1 standard means you'll go through these batteries faster than you would with the Nimbus' Bluetooth 4.0 connection. Build quality is solid, visual aesthetics are a big of a mess, with sharp angles and garish logos that are out of place in the Apple ecosystem. The C.T.R.L.i is a highly functional, generally pleasant controller, but it does NOT feel like a premium product deserving of a $10 price premium over the Nimbus.
The C.T.R.L.i does, however, have one significant feature the Nimbus lacks: a grip for your iPhone. While this obviously doesn't matter for the Apple TV, the C.T.R.L.i makes a great controller for iPhone as well. The Nimbus works with iPhone, but the lack of a way to attach your iPhone to it makes it less than ideal.
For most gamers, the Nimbus is the best choice. But for hardcore Xbox 360 fans and gamers looking for a universal controller to use with their iPhones and Apple TVs, the C.T.R.L.i is a great choice. And its currently on sale for about $10 off, making it even cheaper than the Nimbus.
#3 – The Mad Catz Micro C.T.R.L.i
The Micro C.T.R.L.i is like the regular C.T.R.L.i controller (or Xbox 360 pad), only smaller. Everything has been shrunk down – the body, the analog sticks, the buttons, and the d-pad. This is not a bad thing. The C.T.R.L.i is one of the biggest MFi controllers out there. The Micro C.T.R.L.i brings the same design to smaller hands.
The Micro C.T.R.L.i improves on the full-size C.T.R.L.i with a much better d-pad. It's still not great, but it lacks the larger pad's mushiness. In exchange, it gives up the high quality iPhone clip. It does have a clip, but it is poor quality, and you won't want to use it. Still, for Apple TV gamers, this doesn't matter. Like the C.T.R.L.i, it uses AAA batteries to charge instead of rechargeables, but the battery does seem to last a long time.
The smaller size actually makes the Micro C.T.R.L.i a great choice for gamers with smaller hands – such as kids. If you're interested, the Micro C.T.R.L.i is the same price as the Nimbus and regular C.T.R.L.i – $49 on Amazon right now.
#4 – The Horipad
The Horipad is the other controller I recommend for the Apple TV. It's not for everyone – it's a limited-appeal controller compared with the other options on this list – but a certain subset of retro gamers are going to love it.
If the C.T.R.L.i is a spiritual sibling to the Xbox 360 controller, the Horipad is a sibling to the PlayStation controller. It features the same layout. It features the same button spacing. It features R2 and L2 shoulder buttons instead of triggers. It shakes things up with a circular d-pad and Xbox 360 style analog sticks, but PlayStation gamers will still feel right at home with this one.
The d-pad is the Horipad's biggest asset. It's excellent. Far better than the C.T.R.L.i series, noticeably better even than the Nimbus. For retro gamers looking for the best d-pad money can buy on an MFi controller, the Horipad is it. If you're primarily getting an MFi controller to play retro games or emulators, the Horipad is seriously worth considering. The killer d-pad and retro-friendly shoulder buttons make it a better match for the old classics than any of the newer pads.
Buy the Horipad if you want the absolute best controller for games from the PlayStation era and earlier, and you don't mind spending $79 on a controller. For everyone else, unless the Horipad gets a serious price drop, the Nimbus is the way to go. It's cheaper than the Horipad, it looks nicer, it charges via lightning instead of obsolete Mini USB, and it's more suitable for modern 3D games and shooters.
The Rest of the Apple TV Controllers
The TteSPORTS Contour
TteSPORTS recently released their long-awaited Contour controller, and I found the results disappointing. It's not a bad controller exactly. And it does have a killer iPhone clip. The problem is, it's worse than the competition in pretty much every other way.
The analog sticks are worse than the others. The d-pad is worse than everything but the C.T.R.L.i. The triggers are far too sensitive, and register unintended presses. The overall shape is angular and uncomfortable. The buttons are slightly too small and too close together.
All of this would be fine for a budget controller, but for $79, there's really no reason for Apple TV gamers to consider this one. Only get it if you want an iPhone controller with a great grip first, and only occasionally want to use it with the Apple TV.
The MOGA Rebel
The MOGA Rebel is like the Contour, but worse in almost every way. It's cheaply built, the components aren't up to the standard of the competition, it has software issues that remain unaddressed months after launch. Not a good controller.
If you already have one of these, it will work well enough with the Apple TV. And it isn't so terrible that you should run out and replace it. But I can't think of a single reason why anyone should buy one of these controllers – for every conceivable purpose, at least one of the other MFi controllers is better.
The SteelSeries Stratus XL
The SteelSeries Stratus XL is a deeply flawed controller. It had a great industrial design and build quality, but the components themselves were poorly made. The d-pad was mushy and oversized, the analog sticks were small and slippery, the buttons were cheap and placed too close together, and the triggers were overly sensitive to the point that they registered unintended taps.
The Nimbus fixed every problem with the Stratus XL, and improved the overall design in the process. And it does so at a lower price – $49 for the Nimbus, compared to $69 for the Stratus XL. There is zero reason to spend more for a worse controller. Don't buy the Stratus XL.
The SteelSeries Stratus
By any metric, the original Stratus is a terrible controller. Bad d-pad, face buttons, bad shoulder buttons, bad analog sticks – bad everything.
The Stratus' only saving grace is its size. You can stick it in your pocket or throw it in a small backpack flap for quick transportation. Useful for iPad gamers perhaps, but useless for the Apple TV.
If you want a controller for gamers with small hands, get the Mad Catz Micro C.T.R.L.i instead of this. The Stratus retails for $69, and it isn't worth even 1/3 of this price.
Wrap-up
Hopefully this guide should make your decision about which MFi controller to get a little bit easier. The vast majority of Apple TV gamers are going to get the Nimbus anyways. That's okay. It's a great controller. For the vast majority of gamers, the Nimbus is the best choice. I highly recommend it.
If you're a hardcore Xbox gamer, you might prefer the C.T.R.L.i with it's staggered layout and 360-inspired design. The addition of a high-quality iPhone grip makes it the best option for those looking for a universal controller to use with Apple TV and iPhone. The sale price of $48 makes it comparably priced to the Nimbus – definitely worth a look!
The Micro C.T.R.L.i is a great controller for gamers with smaller hands. It may be lesser in size, but it loses nothing in quality, featuring the same killer build quality of the C.T.R.L.i, and picking up a much improved d-pad as a bonus. The only downside is the iPhone clip – it's cheap, and I don't recommend using it. But for a pure Apple TV controller, the Micro C.T.R.L.i is a great option, and it's $49 price tag puts it on equal footing to the Nimbus and C.T.R.L.i pads.
The Horipad is not something I'd recommend to most gamers. For retro gamers, however, it's a tough option to beat. A killer d-pad, real shoulder buttons, and top-notch build quality justify its $79 price tag. It's not the controller most people should get, but a certain contingent of retro gamers are going to absolutely love it.
These 4 controllers stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. The Nimbus is probably the one you should buy, but I'd recommend any of my other three favorites to the right person.
I had issues with SteelSeries' previous controllers. The original Stratus was a bit of a mess. The Stratus XL was much better, but suffered from a couple of fatal design flaws that kept me from recommending it in my review. However, the delta of improvement between these products was huge, and it was obvious SteelSeries was trying to do better.
Assuming SteelSeries learned their lessons from the Stratus controllers, the Nimbus could potentially be an amazing product. The d-pad looks great, the build quality appears to be premium, the price is certainly reasonable. I'm optimistic about this one, despite the previous devices.
The Nimbus is on sale now, and will work with all MFi-controller-compatible iPhones and iPads in addition to the new Apple TV. Similarly, all existing MFi controllers will work with the new Apple TV.
If you’ve been wanting to grab a SteelSeries Stratus XL, nows as good a time as any: Apple has quietly dropped the price to $49.99. At the same time, they seemed to have removed the regular Stratus from their online store.
I reviewed the Stratus XL, and while I found it to be much improved over its predecessor, I didn’t particularly like it. It wasn’t anywhere close to being worth $79.99 – it seems Apple now agrees with me on that point.
For what it’s worth, I’d still take one of the Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i pads over the Stratus XL any day. The full-size C.T.R.L.i may be $10 more, but it is a far better controller. Even the Micro C.T.R.L.i doesn’t suffer from the same crippling trigger sensitivity issues that plague the Stratus XL.
But if the Stratus XL is the controller you’ve been lusting after, now is a great opportunity. No telling how long Apple will keep this controller in stock – the regular Stratus is gone – so better act fast.
Looks like some of these deals are expiring – the Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i is showing a much more modest discount. These deals have a way of coming back, though, so it’s worth bookmarking them if you’re interested.
If you’ve been waiting for your favorite MFi controllers to go on sale, now might be the time to buy. Amazon is offering steep discounts on several controllers, new and old.
The black SteelSeries Stratus is available for $43 refurbished, or $65 new. The white Stratus is available for $60 new, with no refurbished option. These are all significant discounts from the usual $80 asking price – a price that these controllers don’t deserve.
If you’re still rocking an iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, or iPod Touch, there are a couple of other options available. The Logitech PowerShell – originally $99 – is currently available for $10 new – a full 90% off the original price. If you want an extended layout controller, the Moga Ace Power is currently available for $32, which is a big drop from the original $100 price tag.
More interestingly, the excellent Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i is available for $40 right now, down from it’s usual $60 price. I wrote an extensive review of this controller, and I thought it was a great deal at $60. For $40, it’s a no-brainer.
Great news for Skylanders fans: the tablet starter pack edition of Skylanderâs Trap Team is currently available for $19.99 â a somewhat huge 70% discount from itâs usual $69.99 price!
Skylanders Trap Team is a pretty significant development in the world of iOS gaming. It is, to my knowledge, the first major console game to have a full-featured iOS version released simultaneously with the major console editions. This is NOT a stripped-down mobile port, a re-release of old retro code, or any of the other things iOS gamers are used to. This is a full, complete iOS gaming experiencce – the real deal.
The game itself is available as a free download, and is fully compatible with MFi controllers. Much of the Skylanders experience, however, involves syncing up collectable toys to the game and using those toys to unlock new characters with new abilities. This tablet starter edition provides a great way to get into the game, and includes multiple character figures and the base station used to enter them into the game.
Also included: a special bluetooth controller. Sadly, this is NOT an MFi controller, and is incompatible with anything other than Skylanders. Still, as Skylanders supports multiple controllers for co-op multiplayer, having an extra one in the box nicely complements the MFi controller you already have.
I have no clue how long this sale on the Tablet edition will be lasting, but I took this opportunity to order one.
Disney Infinity Toy Box is a hugely ambitious iOS game. Weighing in at a whopping 3.8 gigs, and featuring incredibly polished and smooth Metal-powered graphics, this feels much closer to a console game to a mobile experience. Support for console-style Extended controllers makes for a gaming experience that is almost indistinguishable from a major console release.
For the collectors among us, the entire Disney Infinity experience is based heavily on connecting “interactive” toy figures to the apps, and bringing those figures into the games. Kids love this stuff, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see MFi controllers selling quite quickly to parents looking to get their kids off the family TV.
The number of figures available is massive – just check Disney Interactive’s Amazon page – and all of these figures are useable on iOS and console, with progress being shared between them.
The app itself is a free download, so if you have a modern device and 4.4 gigs of disk space, give it a download; it’s one of the showpieces of the iOS platform.
First person shooter fans, The long, long, LONG wait is over: Modern Combat 5, Gameloft’s Modern Warfare “inspired” shooter, was just updated for MFi controllers!
Modern Combat 5 was originally released 8 months ago, with a promise that controller support would be added shortly to the first update. That obviously didn’t happen – Gameloft updated Modern Combat 5 multiple times, added pay-to-win elements, and ultimately made it free-to-play before adding controller support.
Premium game fans might be justfiably sad that they’ll never get a chance to play the original, non-freemium version of Modern Combat 5 with controllers. Still, in my opinion, this game plays so much better with a controller than it does with touch that it makes up for any questionable business model decisions.
Apparently the developers renamed this app from Limelight to Moonlight. I edited this piece to reflect that change.
Great news for fans of premium gaming: pretty soon, youâll be able to play a massive catalog of high-end PC games on iOS!
First, before those of you with experience playing streamed games grab your pitchforks, there is something big to point out here: streaming gaming has come a long way in the past few years. Just recently, streaming meant low frame rates, high latency, reduced resolution, and high system requirements. AirPlay was the perfect example of this, being almost unplayable with all but a handful of games whoâs designs worked in spite of high latency.
Skyrim at 60fps at Ultra settings on a first-gen mini!
Starting last year with iOS 8, things changed. Iâve chronicled some of the ways iOS 8 was a game changing update for AirPlay, but suffice it to say, Apple managed to get high quality, relatively low latency1, 60fps gameplay out of the A6 chip. Seriously; the vast majority of games are now perfectly playable over AirPlay. The benefits of a wired HDMI connection are minimal for all but the most graphically demanding games.
With that in mind, there are a few apps on the horizon that aim to take the opposite approach. What if instead of beaming what your phone sees to the TV, you beam a high-performance game console or gaming PC to your phone? Itâs the same technology either way, and although phones have come a long way in performance, a killer gaming PC can still utterly destroy the graphics of the highest end devices available2. Several apps are coming soon that aim to do just that – beam the games straight off a high end gaming PC on to the iPhone or iPad, and do it with low latency and high performance.
Portal is PERFECT for iOS
Enter Moonlight
The first streaming app Iâm going to look at is also the one with the highest performance, and serves as a great example of streaming PC gaming at itâs best: Moonlight.
Moonlight is an open-source implementation of NVIDIAâs GameStream technology. GameStream was designed by Nvidia to allow owners of the Shield handheld console (and later Shield tablet) to stream games from their gaming PCs to their Shield devices. While the Shields havenât quite set the world on storm3, The streaming technology Nvidia developed for them is actually quite excellent.
Moonlight brings that technology to iOS. Owners of GameStream compatible Nvidia graphics cards4 can stream games directly from their PC to their iPhones and iPads, just like they would be able to do with the Shields. Moonlight even allows you to control the action with an MFi controller, and does the necessary work of converting the signal so your computer thinks itâs connected to an Xbox 360 pad!
Steam is literally at your fingertips
Gameplay Quality
Once you get Moonlight set up, get your PC configured correctly, and run a compatible game, the quality of the experience is nothing short of phenomenal. In scenes with minimal complexity or motion, visual quality is virtually indistinguishable from native gameplay. Compressions artifacts pop up in fast-motion scenes, but they arenât obtrusive enough to impact gameplay; youâll always be able to see whatâs happening on screen.
More important than how it looks is how it feels, and this is where Moonlight really shines. No matter how much crazy complex action is happening on screen, Limelight always maintains a perfect 60fps frame rate. Doesnât matter which game, doesnât matter which iOS device you use – even a first-generation iPad Mini gets perfectly fluid 60fps gameplay. Not even AirPlay can claim this – only the iPhone 5 and above run above 30fps on the Apple TV.
Perhaps the most critical issue is latency – how quickly game responds to your movements, and how long it takes the image created by the computer to beam itself to the iOS hardware. Again, Moonlight comes out looking great here. You wouldnât want to enter a pro gaming tournament with it any time soon, but for all but the most reaction-time-demanding games, Moonlight is perfectly playable. Latency is comparable to using AirPlay with an A8-powered device â youâll notice it if you really look for it, but you probably wonât feel it while youâre playing. In this instance, Lightning-connected controllers fare a bit better than bluetooth ones5, but both are enjoyable.
Play the same on the small screen as you do on the big
Caveats
Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing Moonlight is the hardware required to use it. Obviously you need a gaming PC – this is a local streaming affair, one device to another, and you have to supply both devices. More specific than that, though, you need a gaming PC with very specific hardware: relatively solid specs across the board, and one of a small list of very-recent Nvidia graphics cards. In fact, before writing this article, I had to grab a new graphics card, because my powerhouse Radeon obviously doesnât apply here.
Assuming your hardware is up to par, youâll also need a high-performance wireless network, preferably with the 5GHz band. My AirPort Extreme with 802.11ac worked fine, but only with the PC plugged in directly – using the PC over Wifi caused significant audio latency and dropped frames. Even then, the signal degrades the further you get from the router. Iâm able to get full coverage in my 1-bedroom apartment, but more expansive setups are going to require well-placed network equipment. Moonlight doesnât appear to do any form of internet streaming at this time, either – you need to be on the same network as your PC, and probably not too far away.
Lastly, Moonlight is very much in beta right now. There are occasional crashes, the interface is confusing, and it often goes into a crash loop that requires the entire app be reinstalled. But with all that said, itâs still shocking to me just how well it works when it is working. You can play for hours, and not feel like youâre missing out on anything due to streaming.
This kept me up in bed until 4 am
Final Thoughts
Moonlight is perhaps the least ambitious form of streaming out there. You need to supply all the hardware yourself, and it only works over a short-range wireless network. Even so, Moonlight is remarkable in just how well it works. Shocking, actually. It may not do as much as other streaming services, and it may require an expensive and specialized hardware setup, but consider me sold. Streaming PC gaming is here, for real, and it feels better than I could have imagined.
Moonlight is currently in beta testing, and is scheduled to be submitted to the App Store for distribution in the near future. If all goes as planned (and if Apple doesnât ban it from sale), expect to be downloading Moonlight – and perhaps buying a new graphics card to go with it – later this year.
