There’s been a great deal of speculation and chatter about game controllers ever since Apple launched the updated MFi ("Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad") program alongside the introduction of iOS 7 last year. Mobile gaming has taken off in a big way over the last twelve months, meaning that having the ability to interact with powerful games directly on one of Apple’s devices through an officially supported controller was always going to ring the excitement bells of a lot of iOS users. In an effort to capitalize on that excitement, SteelSeries have introduced the first wireless gamepad controller ever to be supported by iOS 7.
The company behind the innovative product are well known in the gaming peripherals world. They find themselves in the position of being one of the world leaders in their particular field, leaving them perfectly placed to introduce the SteelSeries Stratus Wireless Gaming Controller with confidence that it will be received well by the consumers that already use and own their existing products.
The wireless offering has been specifically designed for console-esque gameplay on the supported iOS hardware and looks likely to be even more effective if the game is streamed to a high-definition television set through Apple’s AirPlay.
The Stratus Wireless Gaming Controller, amongst others, is one of the few devices on the market that is hoping to take advantage of the embedded controller support that shipped with iOS 7 last fall. In terms of physical layout, the Stratus doesn’t pack in any huge surprises as it’s molded into a familiar console style form factor. The device features a pressure sensitive multi-directional pad, 4 pressure sensitive action buttons as well as 4 shoulder based buttons that are, you guessed it, pressure sensitive.
In addition to the aforementioned controls, the Stratus also has dual analog controls and a dedicated pairing button to instantly connect to available iOS devices.
Mobile gamers who find it difficult to drag themselves away from the adrenaline of Need for Speed or the latest sword slashing Infinity Blade offering will be pleased to know that the controller should offer approximately ten hours of battery life. After that power is depleted, there will be a two hour charging wait before being up and running again. The device is available as an immediate pre-order for $99.99. You can order it from: Steelseries.com
With MFi game controllers slowly making their way into consumers’ hands, with the Logitech PowerShell and MOGA Ace Power to be the first to jump into the action, do you think this will change the mobile gaming scene for good?
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