Android gaming has been growing for the better part of two years now, with the arrival of some console quality games and even more open compatibility for support of Bluetooth and HID gamepads on a varied selection of handsets, as well as games that support that traditional style of controls to play games. In light of this we have seen a large growth in the market with Android game compatible gamepads and controllers. There are already plenty of options, among the most popular being the line of MOGA gamepads as well as the Phonejoy game controller, all of which we have reviewed. On January 6th at CES 2015 Mad Catz, a longtime brand well known for their place in gaming peripherals has announced a new upcoming gamepad for Android games called the L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller, a literal shapeshifter unit that can alter its configuration to meet the needs of the Android gamer holding it.
It all sounds very cool, especially to those of us who grew up in the age of the original Transformers cartoons, but all that “cool” comes at a hefty price, one that many people who play games on Android might find hard to swallow, as one of these will cost you $300. Now, I only say that people might find this a bit hard to swallow because many people have openly shown their disdain for other high priced gamepads like the Phonejoy, which at most was around $100 with all the included accessories. If $100 is too much, Mad Catz’s $300 L.Y.N.X. gamepad is on a whole other level. Despite its high cost though, it actually looks kind of cool and Mad Catz makes some pretty great gaming peripherals, they should anyhow since they’ve been in the game(pun intended)for more than a decade.
The L.Y.N.X. 9 is capable of being used to connect up and play your Android games no matter the device, whether it be a smartphone or a tablet it can change up to accommodate both big and small devices alike. It can also be used to connect up to PC’s and play games on that platform as well, similar to the way you can use Microsoft’s Xbox 360 controller. It also has other pretty sweet features like a built-in mic for in-game voice chat and you can affix a QWERTY keyboard attachment to it(again, just like with the Xbox 360 controller)so you can type during gaming sessions where the game supports a chat feature. There’s also a companion application to help you configure the buttons for each supported game.
For the high cost price, it does seem to offer a lot, and it has an estimated 30 hours of battery life so you can game all day and night for a few days at least before it needs to juice back up. Is the price worth all you get though? That’s a question only each individual person can answer for themselves. When it comes down to it, there are probably better things you could spend $300+ on, the L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller is certainly a beast though, and we wouldn’t mind trying one out. Any Android/PC gamers out there willing to shell out near the price of a PS4 to buy one of these babies? If you’re interested, Mad Catz is expected to launch the controller come March, so there won’t be too long of a wait, plenty of time to decide if you want one, although you can pre-order them now if you’ve made up your mind to pick it up.
