More On: CES 2013 MOGA Pro

For mobile gamers out there, PowerA had the MOGA which was a great little Bluetooth controller to make gaming more comfortable on tablets and phones. Well, at CES 2013, they were showing off their next iteration MOGA and I’m lining up to get one when it comes out.

 

The MOGA Pro is a more traditional sized controller for those that want to hold something familiar in the hand. It’s modeled after an Xbox 360 controller’s layout with the placement of the analog sticks, D-Pad, triggers, and shoulder buttons. The standard size controller felt just right in the hand and all the buttons and triggers on the pre-production model had that optimum feel. The sticks had the appropriate resistance and the triggers’ springs were solid.
 

 

MOGA features an integrated clip that pops out from the middle of the controller. It adjusts to the size of your phone and it had no problems holding my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with the case on. That’s about the largest it’s going to accommodate though and I would think that it’s about the largest size phone that would be comfortable to hold. The clip held the phone very tightly and I didn’t once think it had a chance of falling out.

 

For usage with tablets, a folding stand is included that compacts nicely. You can, of course, use your current case stand if you have one like I do, but the inclusion of a folding stand is nice of PowerA.

 

One of the strengths of the MOGA is the free software called Pivot that helps ease of pairing with a device as well as easily finding games that are MOGA friendly. You don’t have to hunt around in the Google Play store to see what games are compatible right off the bat and you have the option of grabbing that game from multiple sources, in case you have a preference. The ease of pairing can be bypassed by those that are more advanced and want the MOGA Pro as a straight HID device. A switch on front can determine the mode it will be in, which is a nice touch.

 

Holding the MOGA Pro in the hand with a Galaxy Note 2 attached, it felt comfortable and responsive. I hate playing games using the touchscreen when a controller is an option and the MOGA Pro is a solid option. Just going through one of the demo games felt natural with the MOGA Pro and I was sitting there fighting the on screen controls that I tend to do. I can definitely see this as a product I would use on a constant basis when playing my emulators on the phone.

 

There’s no pricing announced yet for the MOGA Pro, but I think a lot of mobile gamers who are more hard core gamers will enjoy this product. It feels like a standard controller, is lightweight, and has solid buttons and sticks for extended gaming periods.