Knockoff video game peripherals have been around for nearly as long as video games themselves, and, while there shouldn’t be anything wrong with some healthy competition in the marketplace, everyone knows the pain of putting up with some crumby off-brand controller because there’s nothing else around to use.
Often branded as ‘little sibling’ controllers because kids would often force them on anyone but themselves, just about everyone can relate to losing a match of Crash Team Racing because the shoddy Mad Catz controller sputtered out at the last second, and who can say how many cheap victories have decided heated head-to-head home Smash tournaments brought on by less-than-reliable third-party equipment?
It might sound like a thing of the past, of course, but less-than-legitimate manufacturers are still pumping these things out en masse. In fact, in some ways, it's only getting worse, and it can be crushing to find out that an amazing eBay find was actually a Chinese knockoff, or that a coveted Switch Pro controller shorted out after two weeks because it was actually a convincing fake.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some controllers have gotten to be so rare at this point that they are worth fortunes. While everyone loves to talk about rare video games that can cost thousands, few pay much mind to gaming peripherals, and there are a few rare oddities out there which really can break the bank. With that in mind, here are twenty of the worst knockoff video game controllers (and ten that are worth a fortune).
30 Worst: Mad Catz GameCube Controllers
Gamers were struck with some bittersweet news in 2017 when it was announced that third-party peripheral developer Mad Catz was going under. They manufactured some of the most disliked gaming equipment of all time, and their GameCube controllers were absolutely no exception. Though they rarely failed right out of the package, it wasn’t long before the analog sticks would start to drift, the buttons refused to function, or the console just wouldn't recognize the controller at all. Seriously, these things were just plain terrible. Mad Catz actually made a comeback in 2018, though they have since shifted their focus to gaming keyboards, mice, and headphones.
29 Worst: Triax Turbo Touch 360
They may have been a little stiff and sharp, but the original NES controllers offered an input benchmark which wouldn’t be rivaled until Nintendo outdid themselves with the SNES layout. At the time, the d-pad felt like a major innovation, though very similar input methods were seen on the company’s old Game N’ Watch games. However, Triax, the makers of the Turbo Touch 360, felt that the d-pad wasn’t quite precise enough and replaced it with this horrible touch interface. Though it allowed for eight directions of input, that hardly mattered when the thing outright wouldn’t register any input most of the time.
28 Rare: Nuby Tech’s Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Controller
The pride and joy of every Resident Evil fan out there, this awful looking this was made to commemorate the release of the fourth mainline Resident Evil title, a game which would revitalize the series and become a fan favorite. This was by far the most elaborate GameCube controller ever made for commercial release, and it single-handedly helped to damage Nintendo’s otherwise very child-friendly appeal. These days, this is a relatively rare collector's item and can go for quite a sum on sites like eBay. While there are still a few floating around on the market, it won’t be long until these things become really rare.
27 Worst: PX-3600
There are a ton of knock-off consoles out there. So many, in fact, that they could easily outnumber the amount of legitimate systems ten to one. While they are all terrible in their own ways, the PX-3600 is particularly offensive. Meant to cash in on the success of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in the late 2000s, it’s hard to imagine someone confusing this for the real thing. The controller is especially awful, and it looks like what we might get if someone stuck the original Xbox 360 controller in a hydraulic press. Also, get a load of that d-pad—and we thought the 360’s was bad.
26 Worst: Intel’s Wireless Series Gamepad
Coming from a time in which semi-translucent colored plastic was the in thing, Intel’s Wireless Series gamepad is perhaps the ugliest controller mankind could possibly develop. This thing comes across as beyond unwieldy, and it’s tough to imagine getting invested in any game with a d-pad that misshapen. This was likely meant to be used as a flight stick or steering wheel, but, in trying to cram the functionality of a controller in with these other peripherals, Intel turned the entire thing into an unusable mess. Nowadays, Intel is perhaps most notable in the gaming world for their line of mid to high-end CPUs, and that’s a major improvement over this kind of thing.
25 Rare: NES Arkanoid Controller
Despite its primitive nature, the NES had its fair share of weird add-ons and peripherals. Those who were around at the time will remember such failures as the Power Glove and the Rock n’ Roller. However, the Arkanoid Controller worked relatively well and had a definite—albeit finite—use. Meant to be played with the console’s port of the popular arcade title Arkanoid—better known as Breakout these days—this would have been a worthwhile purchase back in the mid to late 1980s. Nowadays, like many rare retro items, it’s fairly valuable and can be tough to come across. Though it pales in comparison to certain rare games on the console, it has gone for upwards of $100 in the past.
24 Worst: CTA Digital Wii Bowling Ball
When the Wii was popular, everyone wanted to jump aboard that bandwagon. As consumers lined up outside of Circuit Cities and Targets the world over in the hopes of getting their hands on one, off-brand retailers were rushing to see how they could market their lame plastic garbage to that same audience. Enter the CTA Digital Wii Bowling Ball. While leagues more competent than some of its competitors—this thing actually had a Wii controller built into it—it was still a huge, round Wii controller that could more or less only be used to play one fifth of Wii Sports. Why would that have been worth spending money on?
23 Worst: Mad Catz Original Xbox Lynx Wireless Controller
Ah, Mad Catz, the disappointments never end. While wireless controllers have been around since the Atari days, they didn’t really hit the mainstream until the introduction of the GameCube’s Wavebird in the early 2000s. While that was an awesome, groundbreaking controller, the Mad Catz Lynx Wireless was not. Not only was it vastly less functional than any of its counterparts, Mad Catz actually opted to retain the bad design of the original Xbox’s first controller. They quite literally took one of the least liked video game controllers of all time and somehow made it bulkier and less functional. Congratulations are in order—that’s quite an achievement.
22 Rare: Steel Battalion Original Xbox Controller
Before FromSoft struck it big with the niche yet somehow broadly appealing Dark Souls series and its line of spiritual successors, they made a name for themselves with a line of intricate combat sims known as Steel Battalion. The kicker with these games was that, rather than simply play them on a regular controller, they came with massive, desk-hogging control panels meant to emulate what one might find on a real military vehicle. Obnoxious as this was, the Steel Battalion games held a definite appeal among some gamers, and these things are fairly rare and sought after in 2019 (despite the fact that the original Xbox really isn’t).
21 Worst: Mini Polystation 3 Controller
The Mini Polystation (or Mini Polyztation, as it reads on the actual console) has to be seen to be believed. What was essentially hardware that would have been out of date in the late ’80s, this thing ran off-brand rom hacks of 8-bit games and tried to sell itself as a PlayStation 3. By far the worst part about this thing was its controller. Though whoever put this together clearly tried to emulate Sony’s Dualshock 3 design, they failed hilariously. Rather than the console’s iconic right-hand side face buttons, we have a single, round ‘A’ button. Similarly, the right analog stick has been replaced with a simple ‘b’ button—and this thing was supposed to pass itself off as a seventh gen console?
20 Worst: Fake Switch Pro Controllers
Switch Pro controllers are in pretty high demand these days, and, in typical Nintendo fashion, retailers are having a tough time keeping first party editions in stock. As a result, off-brand retailers are stepping in to more or less scam the clueless or desperate by selling these duplicates for half the cost. On the outset, these things appear to be alright—in fact, at first glance, they may as well be the same thing. However, they may differ greatly in terms of longevity. While a typical Switch Pro controller could go for years without showing any faults, these knockoffs tend to break down in months if not weeks. While that isn’t always the case, buyers nonetheless beware.
19 Rare: HORI Digital GameCube Controller
For one reason or another, the GameCube controller remains one of the most popular controller designs of all time. Though it hasn’t sunk its hooks into everyone—least of which non-Nintendo fans—it bests even the almighty Xbox 360 controller in the minds of some. Even better, for some reason, is HORI’s Digital GameCube Controller. This thing saw extremely limited release in the United States, and officially-sanctioned American versions of this product can cost quite a bit of money. Meant to replicate the compact form factor of an SNES controller while maintaining the layout of the original GameCube’s input device, HORI seems to have found the best of both worlds.
18 Worst: WiWi Controllers
When it comes to clone consoles, Nintendo’s Wii definitely had it the worst. There were countless renditions of the thing, all poised to take the money of unwitting grandparents who really didn’t have much of a grasp on this whole ‘video game’ thing. This is obviously less than a poor man’s imitation of Nintendo’s seventh generation console, and it looks like it would struggle to run a GameBoy Advanced game. The worst aspect, though, has to be the controller. That looks like something someone who has only ever heard a description of the Wii controller would come up with. What’s worse, it doesn’t have any motion support at all, which totally negates the purpose of cloning the Wii in the first place.
17 Worst: SpaceTech SpaceOrb 360
SpaceTech’s heart was at least in the right place when they made this controller; anyone who’s tried to play a multiplayer FPS title on the PC with a controller will have realized how inferior that method is when compared to a mouse and keyboard. As a result, it’s almost impossible to remain competitive in most games with just a controller. Enter the Spaceorb 360. In some ways a predecessor to Valve’s Steam controller, this was supposed to allow those who preferred controllers to play FPS titles on PC without sacrificing playability. Needless to say, it was a bit of a flop, though a few dedicated supporters still remain.
16 Rare: NES Double Player Wireless Controller
Wireless controllers aren’t really anything new, but, when the NES big, they were practically unheard of. The concept and technology actually dates all the way back to the days of the Atari 2600, but peripherals of this sort wouldn’t see widespread success until much later. The NES Double Player Wireless Controllers were a bold new step into the future and offered players a sense of freedom from their consoles. That said, the cables on regular NES controllers were fairly long, to begin with, which sort of negated the need for much innovation. Nonetheless, they could make for a cool collector's piece.
15 Worst: i-Dong
Yes, that’s actually what this thing is called. Shamelessly trying to rip off Microsoft’s Kinect—a controller marred by limited functionality to begin with—the i-Dong is similar to the aforementioned product in appearance only. It uses IR light—the same technology utilized by most TV remotes—to track a user’s movements, and that works about as a well as anyone would expect. The one saving grace is the neat magenta lighting flickering on either side of the thing, it’s got a much cooler appearance than the slightly creepy, mutli-eyed monster that was the Kinect. This one also won’t follow users as they walk around the room, which is an added bonus.
14 Worst: PS4 Controller Wireless Joystick Bluetooth Gamepad
With a name that sounds like someone was trying to maximize the amount of hits they would get on Amazon’s search engine, this PS4 controller wannabe is immediately suspicious. While it does more or less look like a regular old Dualshock controller, there’s a mysterious lack of Sony branding anywhere on the thing. What’s more, Sony’s iconic (and most likely copyrighted) face buttons are strangely absent, replaced instead with buttons that look like they’re trying to convey the same thing without getting into any legal trouble. At around $40, this probably isn’t worth the gamble—better to go with a used PS4 controller.
13 Rare: Nuby Tech Zelda Controller
Commissioned by Nintendo in 2005 to commemorate the release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nuby Tech developed these above-and-beyond GameCube controllers which couldn't be more perfect physical manifestations of the brand. Featuring a leather grip and some stellar theming, this would have been the must-have controller for Zelda fans had the thing actually come out. Unfortunately, the only copies known to exist are nonfunctional prototypes, though they still command outrageous prices on eBay. In 2012, one sold for a sky-high $2,500!
12 Worst: Heckia’s Fake Wii Zapper
How could there possibly be a fake Wii Zapper? It’s just a hunk of plastic to begin with, why would anyone want to rip that off? Well, when there’s a will, there’s a way, and some organization named Heckia is responsible for this terrible take on Nintendo’s already fairly lazy peripheral. Intended as an homage to the NES light gun, the Wii Zapper wasn’t innovative in the slightest. However, these people didn’t bother to add anything to the formula at all, they just copied Nintendo wholesale and hoped nobody would notice. Consumers won’t even get a copy of Link’s Crossbow Training alongside this, which is the real shame.
11 Worst: Hyperkin’s Hyperclick
Hyperkin deserves to be commended for their appreciation for retro gaming. Though a lot of their products are hit or miss, they do appear to have a genuine interest in keeping the spirit of old school gaming alive with their line of consoles which have the ability to play NES, SNES, and GameBoy cartridges. That said, their Hyperclick, which was intended as an alternative to the SNES mouse, falls a little flat. Though it works well enough, it’s hard to imagine anyone really being in the market for an off-brand Mario Paint peripheral. There may be a few dedicated souls out there eager to play the original game on original hardware, but that demographic has to be shockingly small.