Gadgetory

- Today we're taking a look at a controller that is a little more interesting. This is the Emio Switch pad. Now if you've never heard of Emio before, or maybe you have, it's a brand that makes a lot of interesting looking Xbox, PlayStation, switch controllers that aren't very good. Usually you'll find them if you're on Amazon just looking for cheap alternatives, to use different systems. But their designs are often pretty crazy looking and in some cases just look like weird Frankenstein creations are putting different controllers together. And the reviews on them aren't always the best. But there's a reason why I want to take a look at this one in particular. Now this design is obviously made for the switch in mind and as a controller it's again nothing very spectacular. The grip is actually pretty decent on it. It's got a decent shape and I like the kinda rubber texture it has, it's very grippy. The triggers are different tensions and one of them feels like I'm not really pushing it down all the way. The front shoulders are a little clicky. And all the other buttons are sub-par. And in fact this controller in particular won't even connect to a switch wirelessly anymore. It did at one point but after the infamous 5.0 update which made a lot of third party controllers no longer work, this is one them. Now normally there would be firmware available to fix this however Emio has actually taken their website down with that firmware and anywhere you look that links to it, doesn't any more. Thankfully, it can still work as a wired controller for us to try out. So this isn't by any means an amazing controller. So Kevin, why are you reviewing it? I'll tell you, audience. Because there's one unique feature that is really intriguing to me and I'm starting to wonder why I haven't seen it on more pro controllers. You can swap out the buttons. Now when I say you can change the buttons on this controller, I don't just mean, oh there's different colors, there's symbols. Although that is kind of part of it. You can remove this entire module right here and replace it with other designs that are based on previous Nintendo controllers. And it's pretty simple to do. First you have to rip off this faceplate which can be a little annoying. There it is. You pop this out. Then you can put another design like Super Nintendo. Or you can even lose some buttons and do NES. And what's really neat about this one too is that each of these also has a matching faceplate. So we get this NES right here, pop that in, and we have a little Frankenstein controller with only an A and a B. Speaking of customization, if you want an easy way to personalize your switch, check out skins from today's sponsor, dbrand. They have a whole line that are totally safe to use on the switch, on the joy cons and on the dock. They come in a variety of colors just like these purple ones that are very reminiscent of the GameCube. If you wanna check them out, check out the link down below. What's really interesting about this isn't just the ability to swap out for different colors or style changes to things like NES but it's actually got options that end up feeling like way different button set-ups. For instance you can swap over to something like the N64 which adds the full C set-up which in case these ones just act like X and Y while the other ones up here act like R2 and L2. And I think the most interesting one to choose from is you can even use a GameCube style setup where you have the curved X and Y. This actually opens up a really whole new level of interesting creativity that I'm kinda sad isn't available on any other controller option out there. Because one of the things that's really cool about different button setups like the GameCube one is that for certain games this ends up being a better way to arrange the buttons. Instead of each one being equally spaced and the same size, you can have the game where A plays a big deal and everything keys off of that. So you have the A in the center, you can roll over to B, you can roll over to the X and Y. It's a different setup that depending on the game that you're playing, can end up being way more comfortable. I mean imagine having an actual switch pro controller that you could swap out the buttons for. So if you're playing say, Smash Bros., and you wanna have that kind of A, B, X, Y setup, you can do that. This is one of those ideas that you know when I finally see it here in this form I have to wonder why don't we have that yet in more controllers? Because so many pro controllers emphasize things like being able to swap out different D-Pads, to different stick heads. And a lot of them have programmable buttons that are in addition to the ones normally placed on a controller. But why not have the option to change the very way this thing is laid out? I think part of the reason why we haven't seen a feature like this sooner is because in general we've gotten very comfortable with the traditional simple four button layout. I mean it's the way that Xbox has used for all their systems, PlayStation has used for all their systems. As far as current major systems go, Nintendo is the only one that's experimented with this at all and even they've switched over to this format for all their modern systems. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the only button style out there that works. I mean there's a reason why there are third party controllers still that do well because they offer some kind of interesting alternative to the norm. For instance, once Super Smash Brothers came to the switch, we saw a bunch of GameCube style controllers come out. People were finding ways to use GameCube controllers on the switch. People were really seeing new third party ones that use that same kinda button layout because it's a very popular design for that specific game. And even for fighting games, if you're not using a fight stick but instead you wanna use a fighting style pad a lot of those use six button setups because it works better for the concept of which buttons are tied to which attack. Again the standard four style button setup will work for these, it's just not always the best. And when it comes down to expensive pro controllers whose whole focus is trying to give you the best most focused experience possible for your game play, it's kinda weird this isn't a part that's been experimented with a lot yet. I mean even with the ASTRO C40 that had just came out and the whole focus is in the idea of modularity, you can switch the D-Pad and the sticks, you can change different stick designs. But the buttons, even though they're under the same faceplate, are not changeable. That's still locked in the same place, no matter how you set up your controller, that's always going to be a fixed part of it. Part of why I focus on this so much is because we're getting soon to the end of the current generation of the system. The switch is gonna continue being a strong contender but PlayStation 4 and Xbox 4 are starting to hit that phase where we're gonna see a new version come out probably within the next year or two. And so while those new controllers, those systems, are likely going to be the same kinda standard setup we're getting used to right now, it just makes me wonder, when it comes to third party options and pro controllers, what's the next thing that's gonna reinvent that? Because we've already got plenty that change our sticks, plenty that switch between wire to wireless, plenty that give all kinds of other adjustments. What's that next new edge? And this might be it.