Amazon Fire Game Controller

Despite its tad high of a price, i decided to grab one along with the firetv. and now im pretty sure i'll pick up another so my wife and i can have at it to settle arguments.

I was always partial to the xbox styled controllers, never liked the playstation design. So this was perfectly natural to use.

Pros
-Feels quality
-takes AA batteries(i have tons of rechargables, some people may not like this)
-Sleeps to conserve energy, wakes up with a press.
-no wires(kinda implied for any game system in 2013+
-Pairs damn quick and easily

Cons
-it should be $5 cheaper. I know, 5 bucks isn't big, but i think many of those who see it as overpriced would have not thought so with a number like $35 instead of 40
-Has dead zone, see below

overall, if you're of those who hope amazon does make this into a half decent gaming machine, it's a no brainer. I don't think anyone should have the expectation that this will replace an xbox or PS, but it looks to be just what i want, a media box which also does a pretty good job at gaming

Vs Xbox/playstation
Something to think about: This system with 1 remote costs $140. A new xbox 360 4gb E costs only $40 more and is a more serious gaming machine that also has streaming abilities... But then again you'll need the $60ish xbox live service to get full functionality... but then again amazon prime is $99 to add some functionality to the firetv. I wonder now if that prime membership includes the use of online multiplayer games or if that's free...

++UPDATE:
OK, here's hoping amazon improves this, but the controller has a significant analog stick dead zone. What that means is that moving the analog stick a little bit doesn't do anything, you have to move it a lot. this means accurate and minute adjustments to aiming/movement are a lot trickier. taking off a star for this.

++UPDATE 2:
So, it seems you can use the xbox controller with the pc usb adapter, i just ordered one and am going to try it out. I am having a decent enough time with the amazon controller, but no matter what sensitivity settings i try, i can't get a pleasant aiming/movement experience out of it. If the Xbox controller works as faultlessly as others are reporting, i'm going to send back the amazon one and keep the xbox controller. it was only $45 for the controller plus usb adapter, and xbox controllers can be had for $35 each, so the price is pretty much the same but with the xbox controller you're getting something that's been refined.

++UPDATE 3:
The standard xbox wireless controller with PC usb adapter works perfectly. You can buy it as a kit for only a few dollars more than the amazon controller and still add up to 4 xbox controllers which each cost less than the amaazon one. It still doesn't feel quite as accurate as i'm used to, but that must either come down to how the games are made/processed, or i'm just that rusty. Either way, the amazon controller while very OK, i'd say grab the Xbox controllers Read more ›

This controller looks suspiciously similar to the similar offering from OnLive, but is a great accessory for the Amazon Fire HD nonetheless. It feels very much like an Xbox 360 controller yet has a much more functional d-pad. The price of the controller is slightly offset by the $10 in Amazon coins you'll receive with purchase.

Pairing with the Fire TV was quick and easy and there is no configuration necessary with the supported games. I tested this with the Fire TV version of Sonic CD and it worked well for retro gaming with fast response and a comfortable feel.

One thing to note, however, is that the Fire TV also works with other standard Bluetooth controllers. So this isn't a necessary purchase if you already have a bluetooth controller that works with other android devices. I tried pairing it up with my Mac and it took over mouse control, making the computer unusable until I removed the batteries from the controller (it was continually moving the mouse pointer to the lower corner of the screen).

If you have a Fire TV and want to play games this will provide the best experience. But there are other less expensive controllers that will perform adequately enough to make this one an optional purchase.

I am impressed with this controller. I almost didn't get it because I thought the price of $40 was too much for the amount of game playing I would be doing with the Fire TV, but I guess that is the cost of turning the Fire TV into a video game system. In retrospect, I am happy that I did get the controller, as I have enjoyed playing many games on my TV with it.

To connect it to your Fire TV, after you insert the included batteries, go to the "Settings" menu on the Fire TV, then select remotes, and click on the Add a Game Controller option. The TV then prompts you to press a button on the controller, and mine connected within a couple seconds.

It seems like the controller "goes to sleep" after a couple minutes of inactivity. To wake it up, you just press a button, and it connects again within a few seconds.

It feels good in my hands, and the buttons feel of decent quality. It is also nice that there are extra buttons on the controller that can be used to control the Fire TV for watching movies/shows. I now wish I had got 2 (or more) so I could play with others, and I will probably add another one soon.

The game that came with the purchase of my Fire TV and remote is a shooter game (Sev Zero)Sev Zero like a Halo-style game. It is pretty good (in my opinion, though I am not a video game aficionado, I definitely enjoyed it). The graphics were pretty good and the game and controller were very responsive. I will likely continue playing it for a while, though I can't say that I am addicted to it yet.

I then installed Asphalt Airborne 8, a racing game that was free at the time I installed it. Unfortunately, the game then advised me that it needed an additional 1,110MB ( 1 GB!!!) of data to play. So I clicked "Ok" and it began to download. It took a long time to download, but it is a good game with good graphics (at least, considering that this is a streaming TV box).

I was a little concerned about the advertised 55 hour battery life of the controller, but it has not been a problem as the batteries have lasted a long time. (It would have been nice to have the option to plug the controllers in via a USB plug of some sort for occasions where you run out of batteries in the middle of a game, now I will just need to make sure that I always have extra batteries around).

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Overall, I am happy that I bought this controller with the Fire TV. I rarely buy things the day they come out, but I am glad I did for this. I have enjoyed using it so far, and I can tell that it is something that will be getting a lot of use! Read more ›

The controller actually exceeded my expectations and it's good. It's definitely not PS3 or Xbox quality but it's much better than the OUYA controller or even some of the iPhone controllers which I've paid much more for. The controller itself was responsive both in the menus and the games that I tried out. The bottom back trigger buttons are kind of awkwardly positioned even though I have large hands. It didn't impact any of the games I played though.