There's a bargain on a gamepad for your PC or Nintendo Switch games console that you won't want to miss. This 8BitDo Ultimate 2 game controller is $57.99 right now, a 17% discount that nets you a flagship pad with precision TMR joysticks and an integrated charging dock.

● Check out this deal at Amazon

There are a couple of variants of this game controller on sale, but specs-wise, they're pretty identical, with just a few differences in color and button design. Right now, this version is the cheapest, and it'll work great with any Windows PC out of the box. It's wireless, with 2.4GHz (available with the supplied dongle) and Bluetooth connectivity, but you can hook it up to your machine using USB if you prefer.

While Windows-compatible, this variant of the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 is also a Nintendo Switch controller at heart. It features built-in vibration and, for Switch users, motion control functionality that you can use in-game. Nintendo Switch 2 compatibility is offered, too, although that requires a quick firmware update to get things running smoothly.

The 8BitDo Ultimate 2 features linear Hall Effect triggers, along with non-linear tactile triggers, with quick-switch sliders to let you choose between the two, depending on which you prefer. It's also the first 8BitDo controller to use TMR joysticks with higher sensitivity and greater precision.

This 8BitDo controller is fully customizable, too, thanks to its Ultimate V2 software, which lets you remap buttons, adjust stick and trigger precision, adjust vibration settings, and set up your preferred RGB lighting. You can also assign macros with long presses to certain keys.

A wireless controller means charging, but you don't need to swap out the batteries, as it comes with a charging dock. This looks good, works as a practical stand, and has a light to keep you updated on the charging process.

The $57.99 sale price for this 8BitDo Ultimate 2 game controller isn't the lowest we've seen, but it's still a good price with a decent discount for a gamepad that you can use across your devices. While it's rated for PC and Nintendo Switch, it'll work with your laptop for mobile gaming, and there's no reason why you couldn't use it with another handheld (with some setup) like the Steam Deck, too.

Commodore has brought back the “Totally Accurate Controller” joystick, better known by C64 and Amiga aficionados from the 80s as the TAC-2. In an email to Tom’s Hardware, a Commodore exec explained that used TAC-2s are becoming rare. “Secondhand units in decent shape go for $100 or more,” it was noted, so the decision was made to remake these controllers that have been out of production for more than 40 years. Commodore has sprinkled some worthwhile new and improved features on the TAC-2, too, pricing the new model at $49.99.

• See the new Commodore TAC-2 Joystick

In addition to the observed shortage/skyrocketing pricing of used TAC-2 units on marketplaces like eBay, Commodore surveyed its fans before deciding to remake the TAC-2. Apparently, it was one of the top two suggestions from fans. The other one was “something called an ‘Amiga,’ whatever that is,” teased Commodore in its official press release. Amiga talks are ongoing, so a revamped 16-bit home computer isn’t ready yet.

The original TAC-2 controller was released in 1983 by a firm called Suncom and earned a reputation for durability, backed by manufacturer claims that units had been tested for 3 million moves without failure. It also earned a reputation for accuracy, and fire buttons on its left and right front corners made the TAC-2 a great choice for both right-handed and sinistral folk.

After securing exclusive trademark rights, Commodore has set out to not just remake but meaningfully enhance the TAC-2 for 2026. Starting from the outside, there’s the chicken-lips logo integration… That’s not all though, as Commodore has also decided to reissue the TAC-2 in five colorways. These include three options that mirror the C64 Ultimate, providing BASIC Beige, Starlight, and Founders (gold) color options. It has added LEDs in the clicky fire buttons of these models, too, which is new. Two further color options are C= White (like the C64C) and Knight Black, and “for purists,” these eschew the LEDs.

Beyond the cosmetics, it is good to hear Commodore has actually strengthened the assembly at the heart of this joystick. Apparently the original design used an automobile TR-418 tire valve assembly, but as these are “made with weaker, thinner copper today,” Commodore has fabricated its own steel shaft, boasting “we think ours is even stronger.”

Just like the original, the TAC-2 connects using a 9-pin controller port so will work with your original retro gaming hardware, including the C64 Ultimate. Commodore reminds those eyeing this stick that USB adaptors are easily sourced via various outlets, so you can use joysticks like the TAC-2 with modern PCs and devices. This joystick measures 101 x 101 x 114mm, weighs about 300g, and the supplied cable is 2 meters in length.

You can purchase a new TAC-2 for $49.99, or $64 for a limited Founders Edition with gold PVD accents. Pre-orders are open, and shipping will commence on October 20, 2026.

Valve's second-gen Steam Controller has been a major hit with the community thanks to the company's open approach to its hardware. Modders have already used the haptic motors inside to move it across a desk and charge automatically, while others have built their own open-source pucks. Now, a new project from Pixel1011, called "Steam Haptics Player," can turn these motors into a stereo speaker capable of playing music both wired and wirelessly.

For context, the Steam Controller doesn't have a speaker; there are two linear actuators under each trackpad that vibrate to provide haptic feedback. Previous projects have leveraged these components to make the controller vibrate in a certain way. Since vibrations are the basis of sound, Valve itself built a secret easter egg into the controller that randomly makes it do a Wilhelm scream when dropped from certain heights.

Pixel 1011 discovered that the haptic motors inside can be targeted with low-level HID (Human Interface Device) feature commands using HIDAPI. As such, Steam Haptics Player takes an audio file, downsamples it through FFmpeg, splits it into chunks of a PCM stream, and sends those packets directly to the controller, bypassing high-level software like Steam Input. The controller's firmware then feeds this raw data to the motors, at which point they vibrate to produce sound.

Because of the DIY nature of this process, bandwidth is an issue, especially wirelessly, since the puck isn't designed to carry audio data over its radio signal. This means the audio has to be compressed, and there's a limit to the overall quality the motors can transmit — 8-bit 8kHz (μ-law) over the puck and 16-bit 8kHz PCM over a wire.

Still, the 16-bit audio is enough to produce a surprisingly loud and balanced result that can deceive you as if it's coming from a speaker. The video at the start features Pixel1011 playing the song "Want You Gone" from the end credits of Portal 2, and you can hear the quality for yourself. There's a genuine low-end that you would never expect from a jerry-rigged setup like this, even if it's sitting on top of a towel on a flat surface to give it its best chance.

The wireless audio quality is rough in comparison; it crackles and pops and even cuts off in between because of the bandwidth limitations. Pixel1011 is using 8-bit mu-law companding here, which actually offers dynamic range similar to 14-bit audio while keeping the byte footprint of an 8-bit stream. Even through this compression, the puck is struggling, but the fact that this is even possible is still very impressive, and perhaps there's room for improvement down the line.

You can try Steam Haptics Player yourself on your own second-gen Steam Controller with pretty much any audio file in any format. Just download the archive from the GitHub repo, install FFmpeg (for transcoding, if you don't have it already), and run the program via a PowerShell window in the original directory. Detailed steps are on the linked GitHub page, but we don't know how this affects the controller's battery life. Just don't go all out with your Spotify playlist on these haptic motors.

You can't beat a no-guilt purchase, and today's deal is a superb saving if you're looking to pick up a decent controller at an incredibly good price. The GameSir Tegenaria Lite wired PC controller is just $9.99 at Walmart. This bargain offer knocks a hefty 50% off the $19.99 list price. With looks that harken back to the retro days of the PlayStation One era, this symmetrical layout controller (especially the gray version) offers you the chance to play your games with a hint of nostalgia, while keeping up to date with the latest technology.

● Check out this deal at Walmart

GameSir's Tegenaria Lite controller is a wired controller that is compatible with PC, Switch, Switch2, Android, and iOS devices. The controller connects via a built-in two-meter USB-A-attached cable and features a responsive 1000Hz polling rate.

The thumbsticks use the latest hall-effect magnetic sensor tech that makes the controls super responsive and accurate, and also does away with the dreaded stick-drift. Inside the handles of the controller are dual rumble motors that provide both strong and subtle vibrations, enhancing the haptic feedback you experience during in-game actions; feel every bump in the road, every bullet fired, and more.

On the rear of the Tegenaria are two mappable back buttons and a customizable Turbo function for automated repeated button presses in games that might otherwise strain your fingers.

The thumbsticks are the only switches that use Hall Effect sensors; the triggers and buttons on the Tegenaria use a cushioned membrane switch instead.

You can grab either the gray or the white version of the GameSir Tegenaria Lite for the identical $9.99 price tag. This is the perfect backup controller, or even a small gift.

Valve's new Steam Controller lacks native XInput support, but you can still emulate it as long as Steam is running in the background. An enthusiast named Safijari has just engineered a more seamless solution, creating his own DIY "OpenPuck" that lets the Steam Controller emulate other gamepads on the fly. It can emulate Xbox, PlayStation, and even Nintendo layouts, and do so away from your PC.

OpenPuck serves as open-source firmware for a microcontroller, allowing you to easily flash and convert that dev board into a DIY Steam Controller puck. The firmware intercepts raw data from the Steam Controller and translates it on-device, enabling fully-fledged, real-time emulation without the need for Steam Input.

There are other options out there, but the creator used a Pro Micro NRF52480 from Amazon that has the appropriate Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz radios. Once primed in DFU mode, all you need to do is plug the board into your computer via USB-C, drag and drop the Arduino sketch onto it, and the microcontroller turns into an OpenPuck right away. You can 3D print a case to make the assembly look more polished, too.

The sketch is available on the project's GitHub page. Once you've flashed your controller, head to the configurator to manage the puck. It's a simple website that uses the WebUSB API to manage the controller, allowing you to switch between the different modes, which include Switch Pro, Xbox, DualSense (PS5), and DualShock 4 (PS4). The project description claims the puck only has a 1ms latency.

The Switch mode works natively on a Switch console with gyro and haptics support, but you can also emulate a Hori Pad that disables those extra features. The PlayStation modes only work on PC, but there's a special DualShock 3 mode that can work natively on a PlayStation 3 console as well, with gyro and haptics (Sixaxis). Of course, the default Steam Controller mode is also there.

You can switch between some of these different controller modes by pressing all four back buttons together and hitting either A, B, X, or Y, but the PlayStation modes require you to use the web configurator. Once everything is set up, however, the Steam Controller runs just like an official Switch, Xbox, or PlayStation controller without Steam even being open in the background.

There's even a bonus "ReversePuck" sub-project that allows a Steam Deck to act as an external controller, supporting all of the Steam Controller's features (except grip). If you flash a second NRF52840 Pro Micro and plug it into a Steam Deck, you can stream the Steam Deck's built-in controls across the room over 2.4GHz to your OpenPuck-equipped PC, giving you access to essentially another Steam Controller.

Peripheral maker 8Bitdo makes some seriously good controllers, and for very respectable prices in comparison to the competition. You can currently pick up their popular Pro 2 Wireless Controller for just $37.19, a saving of $22.80 (38%) from its $59.99 list price. You do, however, have to be an Amazon Prime member to get this discount. Not only is this an all-time low price for this controller, but it also comes with a convenient travel case to help protect the controller when you take it on the go. Perfect for pairing with a Nintendo Switch when traveling or going on holiday.

● Check out this deal on Amazon

One of the reasons you can pick up the 8Bitdo Pro 2 wireless on the cheap is that there is a newer version of the controller available from 8Bitdo - the Pro 3. Don't let that put you off, though. The Pro 2 features stick-drift-free hall-effect joysticks for accurate gaming and up to 20 hours of continuous play over Bluetooth. There are also many other great features, such as 6-axis gyro, somatosensory, and motion control functions, 4-way mode switching between devices, and amazing compatibility with various devices. Upgrade to the latest firmware, and you can use the controller with the Nintendo Switch 2. It's also great for the Steam Deck and is easily recognized when using Steam on the PC.

You can also use 8Bitdo's Ultimate Software to fully configure your Pro 2 controller to your personal tastes. Adjust the level of rumble your controller generates, create macros for your favorite games, adjust trigger sensitivity, alter joystick zones, and fully map every button on the controller.

The controller comes paired with a protective travel case and a USB-C cable for charging and to also continue playing should the battery run dry. Don't forget, you have to be an Amazon Prime member to get this deal.

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