Buffalo iBuffalo USB Gamepad for PC BSGP1601BK

TL/DR mode:Pros:-Good build quality-Good price-Tons of buttons for emulators.-Can do both PSX/SNES and Genesis/Saturn games in native layouts.Cons:-Crowded layout-No analog triggers-No XinputI grabbed this because I got one of iBuffalo's Super Famicom controllers (Buffalo Classic USB Gamepad for PC) last year and loved it. Here's my first impressions from this one.Physically, it's only slightly smaller than a Dualshock 4 controller, but it feels significantly smaller in your hands. The build quality is great. It's lighter than the DS4 (probably owing to the lack of battery), but there's no flex or creaking when you hold it. The entire non-button surface of the controller is rubberized. It feels strange--especially when the pad is cold--but it's easy enough to get used to. I imagine people who suffer from sweaty hands would have an easier time gripping this than many others. Speaking of grip, the indents in the back make it feel very natural to hold if you only have your index fingers on the shoulder buttons,but it feels a little bit awkward if you prefer to have both index and middle fingers on the controller's shoulders.The D-Pad is nice; it has a little bit more diagonal bias than a Dualshock 4 or the iBuffalo Super Famicom controller, but it's manageable. I'd prefer it be a little bit larger, but i can still hold cardinals and move left to right without a sweep, which puts this miles ahead of most third party controllers. The analog sticks are stiffer than the Dualshock 4 or Xbox 360 controllers, but they have a pleasant springiness to them and the push-buttons aren't too sensitive. They also have a noticeable cardinal bias; that is if you move one of them upwards, you'll have to move it more to the side than you'd expect before it begins to register a diagonal. This is nice in some games, but in ones that already do this through software it's distracting. Additionally, the analog sticks both map to a square, so there's a bit of a dead zone near the top of each of the cardinals.As far as the buttons, there's a lot of them; you get four more than an Xbox 360 controller. In addition to the six face buttons, the analog sticks do have L3 and R3 buttons, and there is what works out to be a second select and start button. (The Macro, Turbo and Mode buttons have their features implemented entirely through hardware, so they aren't remappable).The face buttons feel rather cramped, you have six buttons in an area barely larger than what the DS4 puts four in. They are noticeably stiffer than those of the iBuffalo SNES controller (which was my chief complaint about that). This does mean that the narrow space is less of an issue; I'm able to hit diagonals (such as X-B and Z-B) without much trouble. The stiffness is enough to make button mashing without using a claw grip a lot harder. (Though there's hardware turbo to compensate I suppose!).The shoulder buttons are significantly softer than the face buttons, however they have an odd tilt to them--you have to press them on the middle to the inside edge, and they tilt inward a bit. It feels stranger on L2 and R2, which look like they should tilt backward as on PS2 and 3 controllers, but they tilt inwards. It's also worth noting that L2 and R2 are not analog, which makes this controller not so great for racing games. (I can't recall anything else I've ever played that I'd need that for though!)The crowding is the worst when it comes to the control button area though; The select and start buttons are tiny, and it's hard to hit the top select and start buttons without getting the bottom ones as well, so be cautious about mapping those to emulator control functions. The Mode toggle switches between Analog Sticks on X-Y and RX-RY with the D-Pad on hat switch, and D-Pad on X-Y with analog sticks disabled. It will light up red or green to indicate the mode. The turbo button will also light up when a button is auto-firing.It's a Japanese import, so there are unfortunately no international instructions. Because of this I haven't been able to test out the Macro functionality, however the Turbo is pretty simple. Hold down the turbo button, and then any other button you press will have its repeat toggled. Fortunately, the Windows-only driver installation is in your system language (Despite the box noting it only supports Japanese OSes) though if you don't want rumble, you don't need to install them--they don't provide profiling support or any other advanced features. It's worth noting that the drivers also don't provide any Xinput emulation. If you want to play a newer Xbox-controller-only with this you'll need to look to x360ce or a similar solution.Additionally, the rumble is surprisingly intense for a light controller like this, it easily matches the 360's controller in that department. If that's too much for you, however, the drivers do have an option to disable it.

I wanted a controller to use for playing Sega Genesis emulated games, so I preferred to have a controller with 6 buttons for my right thumb like the old Sega controllers. The build quality seems pretty decent for the price. Like other reviewers have noted, buttons 1 through 6 are space very closely together. It can be managed but time will tell if this gets to annoyingOther observations after unboxing and initial tests- the MODE button lights up red when plugged in. Not distracting at all. Just wanted to mention that as I didn't see it mentioned in the product description- plug and play compatibility with Windows 10. The controller comes with an installation disc, but you don't need it- had 4 shoulder buttons. I figured it did, but could not tell from the product pictures- all packaging and instructions are in Chinese, but that doesn't matter- I do wish the controller grips were a little "fuller". I'm used to Xbox 360 controllersOverall, if you don't need or don't care about having 6 face buttons, there are more comfortable controllers available for the same priceI gave it 4 starts because it fits all my needs. If the buttons were spaced a little farther apart, I would have given 5 starts

The controller is a bit small, but would be perfect for a child. I also wouldn't recommend it for any gaming that requires quick succession of button presses as they're spaced pretty close together and the six grouped buttons feel a little too mushy.

The way this controller acts as a usb controller is bad. It seems if this unit is connected while the computer powers on, regardless which usb port I used on my computer, my computer always think this as a usb bootable disk(wth...) I have another usb controller from logitech and it never acts like this(have had logitech for over 2yrs.) The 2 "analog" sticks are just plain 4 buttons mapped to each stick.This just tells me you get what you pay for. Please steer clear of this "buffalo" brand usb controller. Also the 2nd button gets stuck 50% of the time when the button is pressed.The goods:>the controller feels nice with textured body.Overall, 1/5 stars////***update as of 8/6/2017***After a few months of usage, the buttons and functionality of this gamepad starts to act awkwardly in most games. It seems like each button's register press overlaps other buttons and keys get stuck etc. ****Warning, do not buy this gamepad from Buffalo brand" ****My 3 yr old 25 dollar logitech usb gamepad still works flawless til this day. Will get the logitech gamepad as replacement.

After having this pad for 4 years, I can now say I regret ever buying this. At the time it was OK but there are now so many better choices not only for 6-button face layout but all PC gamepads in general that I wouldn't even consider this anymore. I have since replaced this with the Retro-Bit Sega Genesis pad and the difference is huge! The D-pad and buttons on that are noticeably superior and control is much smoother. Now I don't even use this one as it feels clunky in comparison. I still think the other Buffalo Classic Gamepad (SNES style) is an excellent pad for retro gaming but this PS style pad is not of the same caliber. It doesn't replicate the feel of a PS controller very well and the six button layout is way too crammed like they tried to squeeze the 2 extra buttons into a space that should only fit 4. The only good feature that still stands out is the shape of the controller fits perfectly in your hands and is very durable. The buttons and controls aren't on the same level though unfortunately. As a PS style pad with analog sticks this is pretty generic non-Xinput quality so there are still better options even for non-retro gaming. It is at least a functional gamepad though but for what you actually get, I feel it should cost less.