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I purchased this controller specifically for my girlfriend who has made complaints about thumb cramping when using a standard sized controller, so covering the size reduction first it really is quite a bit smaller. When you read 15% you may think that isn't much, but you'll see in the pictures it's quite a difference! She says it's alleviated the strain, so as far as that goes, better than expected results. The ergonomics and button placement (note the much flatter bumpers and triggers, and position of Back and Start being above the Guide button) are different from a normal layout, but feel nature after a single 30 minute play session.
All of the buttons articulate well, with the face buttons not feeling as "squishy" as a first party controller, and the triggers having a shorter travel range yet still feeling tactile despite that. The joysticks have excellent unobstructed and uniform feedback in their movement, and the joystick button (clicking the sticks down, L3 and R3) always work as intended regardless of the stick positioning. This is perhaps due to the complete absence of a dust-cover, as you'll see in my pictures... which is cause for concern when thinking about the longevity of this device... but no way to know about that for now.
The finish is a nice flat powder finish, contrary to the high-gloss seen in the manufacturer photos was very happy to find this out. The little rubber grips added to the side, and the texture on the rear are nice touches for ergonomics and grip. Definitely noticeable in the feel of the unit in hand, not just superficial.
The turbo functionality seems to work as intended.... excluding the input you are most likely to want it for, the triggers. I was able to get the turbo function to apply to the bumpers and face buttons with no problems, but no such luck for the triggers no matter what I tried despite the fact that the included manual states you should be able. Not a major concern, as I wasn't even aware of this feature when I made the purchase, but good to know info. (MadCatz, was this a purposeful revision made to the device and the manual wasn't updated to reflect this or is my unit not working as intended?)
Overall, very pleased with this controller. Build quality easily surpassed expectations just be mindful of the uncovered joystick bases. Would definitely suggest this to anyone looking for a smaller form of 360 controller.
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Good controler for smaller hands. my granny(75) had a hard time running when play call of duty or mw3 now she can run like the younger folks.now she gets 6 or 7 kills in a game then here regular 2 in a game she no longer on the bottom of the board.Best Deals for X360 Gamepad Pro Micro Controller - White
I am an adult and like the feel of this controller. The size is a preference thing, but I do have "smaller" adult hands. Younger players (kids under 10) I have given this to find the controller easy enough to handle. The rubberized portions also help the grip on the controller compared to a standard XBox controller. I also like the "triggers" on this a bit more than the regular one. What I feel to be the "extra curve" on them seems to help get more precision in the throttling of various racing games.I was disappointed when the left thumbstick popped straight off the metal rod that it was sitting on within the first 48 hours of ownership. I suppose I could super glue it on, but I'm sure it was just a factory mistake.
Overall, I would recommend this controller to someone else who either feels the standard XBox controller is "a touch too bulky" or someone buying a controller for young players. I personally prefer this sized controller over the standard sized controller.
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UPDATE after three months of ownership:
* After a few weeks of use the right thumb stick "broke"...the connecting portion under the thumb contact pad actually cracked during use. I have since super glued BOTH thumb sticks on carefully while not upsidedown in order to not let the super glue go down into the controller. I wish someone would have told me right off the bat to use a little super glue to seal the thumbsticks right when I received the controller. I recommend doing this!
* Also the "A" button is starting to stick a little. If I'm using it repeatedly, sometimes it doesn't come back up and drags against the hole it goes down into. Which causes problems during gaming.
...so, I dropped the stars from Four to Three. I hope this controller does not continue to degrade over the next few weeks. It only gets used an average of about two hours a week anyways.
Honest reviews on X360 Gamepad Pro Micro Controller - White
It is a perfect joystick for little hands like for kids!It's really annoying that it's not sell in France.
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I'm a gamer in my mid 20's and am very specific about my console accessories. For a while, I have used the official wired XBOX 360 controller and the Air Flo controller for the 360. While they were ok, they certainly felt a little too big for my hands (especially the Microsoft wired controller). It was clear I ought to be looking for a smaller 360 controller.As far as I know, there are only 2 controllers officially licensed by Microsoft: this controller and the Power A Mini Pro Ex. I have owned the Power A Mini Pro Ex at one point and while it was an amazing controller for its size, my main gripes were that the bumpers were way too hard to press than what I'm accustomed to as were the main XYAB buttons (although not as hard as the bumpers).
The MadCatz controller feels a tad smaller than the Power A controller (even for me, I'm surprised this was advertised as 15% because this feels like way more than 15%) and has flat bumpers (which aren't too hard to press and feel great) as well as comfortable buttons with a nice rubbery grip on the top half of the controller. The sticks feel responsive but time will tell if they last long. The joysticks remind me of the N64 joystick where it's a long thin stem into the controller.
My biggest complaint about the MadCatz controller is the exposed motherboard as some other reviews will mention and which you'll find a picture of. Fortunately, I'm careful when it comes to dust and dirt but I still can't help but feel paranoid about stuff getting in there.
My takeaway is that if you're looking for a mini controller for the 360, both the Power A and MadCatz controllers are good choices to consider. However, the softer buttons on the MadCatz and the rubbery grip has won me over.
UPDATE 8-30-12: I forgot to tack on one other important issue. Whenever you have to fully pull the left and right triggers, sometimes the ends of the triggers may touch your other fingers tht are holding the controller. I believe this is because the actual distance they used to pull the triggers but for some people this may not be a problem.
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