Nacon Wired Compact Controller Review
The Nacon Wired Compact Controller is a newly released product in the Australian market for the PlayStation 4. The controller, as the name suggests is a more compact version of a controller when compared to Sony’s main offering for the console or other Nacon products such as their Pro Controller. It’s more suitable possibly towards younger gamers with smaller hands, or those who don’t enjoy the larger build of the original Sony controller and prefer something a little more compact.
After unboxing the control and at first holding it in my hands, I had a definite feeling of comfort with it. The controller is designed in an ergonomic way, which did not feel uncomfortable even after a standard 3 or 4 hour play session for me. When holding the Nacon Wired Compact Controller with two hands, you can feel that even though it’s a little more compact than your standard controller, it feels a little thicker and the shell is a little softer which for made it a lot more comfortable to hold.
When comparing it to the original controller, the buttons on the D-Pad are a little different. The original has spaces between up, down, left and right whereas Nacon has a one button solution which delivers similar precision. The triangle, x, circle and square button on the Nacon controller is also a little bigger than that on the original control. I suppose it’s personal preference with this but I had no problem with either design. Both are nice and do their jobs well in their own way.
My favourite thing about the Nacon Wired Compact Controller is that the analog sticks don’t have any rubber on them. I don’t know about you, but with the original controllers, I have found that over time the rubber on the analog sticks seems to wear out and fall off. Sure you can get it fixed, but it’s so annoying. The one’s on the Nacon Wired Controller are only plastic, but it gets rid of the issue so it’s great in my eyes.
Being a wired controller, the decision to buy this over a wireless control is an important one. Although the Nacon Wired Controller does have a 3m cord length which is enough for me in my gaming setup by far, for others it may not be. It’s a big consideration because this is the main part which will make or break the practicality of the purchase. Some people just have large rooms and a wireless one is just the better option.
On the other hand, charging controllers or having them run out of battery on me while I’m gaming in a long session has been frustrating in the past. So having a wired controller eliminates this completely. You could play all day and all night with it plugged in and never have the “battery low” issue come up. Also as a gamer, sometimes I spend a long time away from my PS4 and maybe am gaming on PC or on Xbox One for a week or two, or I’m just busy. Often I’ve come to play my PS4 on a whim, only to find nothing is charged at all, which prevents me from gaming for a bit. With a wired solution, I don’t have to really worry about that.
I would like to mention though, that I do have at least one gripe with the Nacon Wired controller, it’s that when plugged in and even after using it at least once, if you turn off your console, you can’t turn it back on with the Nacon controller as you do with the original wireless ones. So you’ll have to turn on your console by hand before you sit down.
Night time gaming is a bit different with the Nacon Wired controller. There’s no light bar on the back that will stay on all the time, only a small light on the front. So if you’re watching a movie or something, you won’t have to worry about that annoying light bar that the standard controllers do have.
I spent about 15 hours testing the Nacon Wired controller and mostly on Gran Turismo Sport and Horizon: Zero Dawn. But I found the control to deliver a decent gaming experience. I don’t really have any complaints about it. It’s a different offering from the standard controller and it offers quite a bit of practicality at a lower price point. I personally will continue to game with the Nacon Wired Controller because it fits in well with my gaming setup and I don’t have to worry about charging it at all. It’s a nice new addition to my PlayStation experience and I’m happy with what it can do.
Update May 2018: I just wanted to add an update to this review as it’s been a few months of use for me with this controller. Everything is pretty great with it still and I did my whole God Of War playthrough with the controller with no problems. But I wanted to update this review because while playing Beyond: Two Souls which I got for free in this month’s PlayStation plus. I realised this controller doesn’t really work well for that game because it doesn’t have motion controls. So keep that in mind if you’re playing a lot of games that need motion controls, because this controller doesn’t do it. You will need to switch over to the OG PS4 one to do it. Just wanted to let you all know 🙂
Full Nacon Wired PS4 Controller Specs
- 3m long cable for wired control of the PlayStation®4 system
- 2 vibration motors
- SHARE, OPTIONS and PS buttons
- Touch pad
- LED player status indicator*
- 3,5mm stereo headset jack
- Soft touch finish or fully transparent casing Illuminated with LED* lighting
- PC** compatible (X-Input) The Wired Compact Controllers are the latest addition to NACON™’s range of Sony Interactive licensed products, joining the Revolution Pro Controller and more recent Revolution Pro Controller 2 – providing PS4™ gamers with even more ways to play.