iBuffalo controller prices have gone up

[edm203]

I've noticed that the popular iBuffalo SNES controllers have gone up significantly in price. Must be the effect of the NES Classic.

These are great controllers. 4 1/2 stars on Amazon with over 1K reviews. I bought 2 for about $8/ea, and now they are up to about $20. . . Wow!

[Evan1701]

@edm203 I bought two over the weekend for $14 a piece. I know I did my RetroPie build because of not being able to get an NES Classic (and I'm glad for it), so it's possible others have had my same idea.

[mrbwa1]

At that price, I would recommend the Logitech F310 as it has analog sticks and would be more compatible with a wider range of systems. Of course, it doesn't really look retro like the iBuffalo though.

[edm203]

The F310 is very nice, but my hands prefer the familiar SNES controllers. No Analog stick for more advance games, however.

@mrbwa1 said in iBuffalo controller prices have gone up:

At that price, I would recommend the Logitech F310 as it has analog sticks and would be more compatible with a wider range of systems. Of course, it doesn't really look retro like the iBuffalo though.

[herb_fargus]

@edm203 I've got both and I prefer the SNES controller as I grew up on that. Though ibuffalo has much better quality controllers than AliExpress that's for sure

[tekn0]

I agree. I think ibuffalo knows they have a hit on their hands so they are price gouging. Currently, they are sitting at $28.99!?!?!

[Capeman]

I read in multiple places that the iBuffalo gamepad snes style has been discontinued and thats why the prices are going up.

They seem to have released a new one, but it's not as wide spread on search results. Odd button layout, good for SF2 i would imagine.
https://www.amazon.com/iBUFFALO-gamepad-vibration-feature-BSGP1601BK/dp/B0031UCGLW

[StormJH1]

I've had controllers on my mind all day because of some issues a co-worker and I noticed with the iBuffalo. More on that in a minute...

I got my Pi 3 and joined this forum about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Got very quickly up to speed and researched what a good, solid wired controller would be. Saw tons of mentions for the iBuffalo Classic, so I got one for about $25 on Amazon. I thought that seemed a little high compared to other ones online, but everyone was saying it was one of the best ones, and it's cheaper than many of the Bluetooth options, so I figured it was fair.

In terms of "feel" and "quality", the iBuffalo is great. I was happy with how closely it seems to mimic a SNES controller, even though that's a system I never actually owned. And it "feels" retro while having enough button to handle most of the emulated systems I actually use with my Pi.

But my disappointment with it is growing a little bit. First, I learned that many people bought it for more like $13 and they've hiked the price up. Not losing sleep over that because, again, I still knew what it cost when I bought it and thought that was fair (if it was truly one of the better options).

Unfortunately, it has some performance quirks that I either didn't see, or disregarded when I researched it. People complain of random button inputs and problems getting long presses on the face buttons to register properly. I thought I was noticing the cursor jump in menus a bit, but nothing too much in gameplay. But my co-worker was playing a bunch of RBI Baseball, and noticed that he couldn't even swing properly. A full swing in RBI requires you to hold down the button, and this was getting interrupted pretty regularly - either due to a random control input, or something wonky with the turbo feature. We haven't figured out which yet. There's threads on this here and elsewhere, but while some people believe they have fixed it, others swear it's just a hardware issue and can't be avoided. Disappointing. Ironically, the $8 SNES knock-off from GameBound I bought just as a cheap "extra" seems to function perfectly.

I'm still investigating this, so I haven't given up hope yet - though I did order a Hori Pokken USB controller (intended originally for Wii U) that is reportedly a sneaky-good retro controller for RetroPie (and has a 10ft cord!). So, as much as I like the feel of the iBuffalo Classic, it may get relegated to the bench if I can't sort these issues out.

[edm203]

I was just about to start a new thread when I saw ur post, Storm. Yeah, mine does some random inputs, too. This doesn't affect some games.

I just went on Amazon, and noticed the price from a US seller is now up to almost $30. WOW. At that point, I'd get an 8bitdo instead for almost the same money. I did notice that if you buy straight from Japan like I did, ibuffalos only cost about $16. They arrive like a month later, though.

[Dominus]

@edm203 @StormJH1 Do you guys have video previews playing when the random buttons happen in the menus? Someone told me before that it only happens when they are being used, just not sure why yet.

[Danorak1981]

I have an SFC30 because I prefer the SNES pad, and this feels identical. Before I knew about Retropie, I was using OpenEmu on my Mac, and bought a cheap SNES-style USB pad that was really poor quality. I managed to get hold of a genuine SNES pad in good condition which I gutted, swapped the innards over (few minor adjustments). So with about 30 mins work, I had a genuine SNES pad with he functionality of a USB.

I was lucky with the SNES pad, picked it up for about £4, the USB pad was on an offer on Hot UK Deals, £2.99. Not used an iBuffalo but have heard they're pretty good for what they are, plus the article I read that led me here used an iBuffalo in their review-seems the beginners/entry USB of choice.

[StormJH1]

@Dominus There may be a YouTube video somewhere, but I haven't seen one. The funny thing is I loaded it up last night to check this, and didn't really seem to have the problem. The easiest thing to try is just making sure you hold "Clear" and press each face button to make sure that turbo mode is disengaged. It may be a complete non-issue on some units, too. I just thought it should be mentioned because I purchased it thinking I was paying a slight premium to avoid these type of problems, and that didn't exactly turn out to be the case.

[Lyle_JP]

I've been pleased with the performance of the CirKa S91 controller, which is usually less expensive than the iBuffalo. Although I see that even it has gone to $18.95 on Amazon. Crazy. I bought 2 of them at a Fry's store for $14 each just a few months ago.

[CodeDrawer]

I didn't get buffalo controllers, but I got a sketchy SNES controllers from china for 20 CAD for two of them. I think you're right @edm203 the NES classic is driving up prices for retropie related gear. I only went to Rpie because I wanted a NES classic, but noticed that it was crazy expensive. But now I realized that there is so much more to ninty other then the nes classic. There is all the new games I can play!

[CodeDrawer]

Hey I found some very cheap controllers for 8$

https://www.amazon.ca/Controller-Super-Nintendo-SNES-Controllers/dp/B01LXNMPVI/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1494849545&sr=8-17&keywords=usb+snes+controller

Not too sure if they work, but someone should try.

[Capeman]

@CodeDrawer said in iBuffalo controller prices have gone up:

Hey I found some very cheap controllers for 8$

You get what you pay for

[mediamogul]

@CodeDrawer

someone should try.

I've tried cheap controllers in the past and found that they just don't hold up to regular play for very long before they fail. Occasionally you'll hear a success story about them, but considering that a million different companies have manufactured them over the years, there's bound to be a few that are decent. Regardless, it's a gamble and you'll usually end up spending more while trying to find a good bargain.

[StormJH1]

I happened upon a random Reddit post on the topic of RetroPie controllers, and somebody made the non-conventional recommendation of the Hori Pokken Controller, which is a wired Nintendo Wii U USB controller meant for Pokemon tournaments, but works with PC, RetroPie, etc:

PROS: Very well-built and feels durable; meant for intense usage for a specialized gaming tournament; has a 10-foot cable!!; great D-Pad and responsive buttons; has SNES-style layout with huge shoulder buttons; PlayStation-style grip handle favors those with larger hands; was instantly compatible with and recognized by RetroPie; sells for about $20, which is reasonable given the build quality, I think.

CONS: Takes some getting used to, particularly the orientation of your hands as forced by the grip handles; Start and Select buttons are small and in a weird place; might detract from the "retro-experience" because it feels quite different in your hand, despite the similar layout of the face buttons.

[CodeDrawer]

Cool, but I'd like to stick with a retro controller @StormJH1 Quick question, are the n64 remotes prices going up? The n64 is the next step for me, (as it says in my signature) and I don't want the prices to go up too much.