There was a time when PC gaming was largely defined by its use of a keyboard and mouse instead of a gamepad. While some titles remain exclusively driven by this combo, many PC games nowadays support both input methods. The rise of handheld gaming PCs, patterned after the Nintendo Switch’s successful design, further narrowed that gap but also magnified one of video gaming’s ugliest warts: non-uniform controller layouts.
You already have the great divide between Xbox and PlayStation, but throw in variants like the Nintendo Switch and unconventional arcade controls and you’ve got quite a mess for gamers whose preferences transcend these superficial boundaries. Since there is no one controller to rule them all, the next best thing would be to let the player decide which design to use, a dream that is finally becoming reality in the AYANEO 3 handheld gaming PC.
Designer: AYANEO
Depending on who you ask, the Xbox or PlayStation controller layout might be more ergonomic than the other, though it mostly boils down to getting used to what the console makers force upon their users. At the same time, some PC games don’t even play well with controllers, which is why Valve implemented unusual trackpads on its Steam Deck handheld. Throw in the flipped position of ABXY face buttons on the Nintendo Switch and the somewhat standard six-button system of arcade fighting games, and you basically have four or five configurations available.
AYANEO’s solution is a modular system it calls Magic Modules, offering a way for users of its upcoming handheld device to swap out controls as they wish, depending on the game they’re playing. You might not have a keyboard available for typing, but a touchpad and buttons emulating the mouse will probably do for most PC titles. Want to mash buttons for Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat? There’s also a Magic Module for that, though you’ll have to make do with a cramped button layout nonetheless.
Not only can you mix and match modules, you can even turn them upside down so that you have two analog sticks at the bottom like a PS DUALSHOCK controller and switch to a normal Xbox layout afterward. It seems that you can also remove the button caps to switch them around, though that’s probably more cumbersome to do than simply removing controller modules.
Amazing as these all may sound to gamers, the real test of the design will happen when the AYANEO 3 is out in the wild. The risk of implementing a modular system is that it might affect the stability, reliability, and durability of the device. Of course, AYANEO is promising the moon, so we’ll have to see whether it can actually deliver this Holy Grail of video gaming.
