The best alternative PS3 controller you may never use in the United States: The Gioteck HF-1

The Gioteck HF-1 controller was recently brought to our attention here at ASGgaming. It is a Bluetooth third-party controller developed by Gioteck, a company based in Europe. The reason why we say you'll never use it pertains to our readers in the United States. In the UK however, the video game retailer GAME (The UK's version of GameStop), has had the controller available for pre-order for some time now, and it will be released in a few days. We thought we'd take a look at this promising new Playstation 3 controller and see what it has to offer.......

....And yes, it's got Bluetooth support!

[guru9535]

These controllers look great! I think you can buy them at GAME online and have them shipped here to the U.S. though.

[BubbleSystemSuck]

i moded my own PS2 DS3 controller... replaced the analog Stick, and put 2 360 controller sticks...

really improve my FPS experience.

[acky1]

Think I might buy this...basically just an xbox controller which is apparently better for some reason. Let's give it a try :)

[Corepred4]

offset joysticks= i hate it. i like the joysticks on my ds3 right where they are.

[PS360fanboy]

This should be what the Dual SHock 4 should aim for.
Those paralel analog sticks with round tops are a really bad idea...

[fanboybeater1]

Bluetooth makes this thing sound good, I've got one on pre-order right now at GAME. hopefully it will live up to its promises.

[kmr1977]

I wish it came in just black though. I'm not really feeling the black camo and red analog sticks.

[Call_me_Ishmael]

i think i had one of these,but my xbox fanboy cousin stole it for his ps3,lol

[GuruStarr78]

I don't believe it's even out yet. GAME states it will be released on November 5th......there is very little info on it online, outside of the press release and a few stories here and there.

[Call_me_Ishmael]

not the hf-1s though,sorry i was talking about giotecks
in general

[DXM1]

dualshock 3 please.

[gamerdude132]

@ fanboybeater

Can you find something else to do with your life than to get on to people because they have a different personal preference? kthxbai

[JuLiAn18D7]

Shut the hell up I decided to step in because your all ganging up on him for nothing! All he said was DS3 please!! That is NOT trolling. Basically he is saying in his opinion the DS3 is better WHICH HE IS ENTITLED TO! According to your definition BoyD*ckeater1 i mean fanboyeater.. you said trolling is "with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response" hmm.. your that damn attached to this immitation controller that he has provoked you to make an emotional response? hot damn!!! Anyway this argument is RETARDED. PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINIONS.

PS ITS A FREE F'ING COUNTRY. (USA)

[fight4love]

have to see a few reviews first. hope you can turn ps3 on and off with it.

[maniac76]

some people might get confused to which system they are playn lol. ill have a red or blue dual shock

[Lirky]

It uses the 360 controllers scheme. D-pad looks very weak.

[hennessey86]

when do you ever use the dpad these days. Unless your a streetfighter fan which im not i see no use for them anymore i even play pro evo on the analogue sticks now where as last gen i used the d pad but analogue sticks are so much better now even on the ds3 but for me the 360 pad is better because of the layout which is why im going to buy one of these for my ps3

[theonlylolking]

It looks like they copied the 360 shape which I like more than the PS3 but the PS3's analog sticks, d-pad, buttons, and bumper buttons are better. I do like the 360's triggers though.

[Statix]

The ability to switch R1/R2 with L1/L2 is SWEET!

This product really really interests me, as a hardcore FPS player. I'm extremely interested in the fact that this controller uses high-quality ALPS analog potentiometers (presumably similar to the ones used in the official DualShock 3). That has always been the achilles heel/disadvantage of using other, cheaper 3rd-party controllers--the poor quality of the analog sticks that have the huge amounts of deadzone rendering them useless for FPS titles.

Also, the fact that you can swap the R2/R1 button functions (i.e., you can now shoot with the TRIGGERS in Uncharted 2) is a HUGE PLUS. I absolutely hate how games like Uncharted and MAG force you to use the L1/L2 shoulder buttons to aim and fire.

Is this controller has awesome precise analog sticks AND Bluetooth functionality, then I'm sold. The only con is that it has a turbo function, which would make it prohibited for Gamebattles and MLG.

[PsYcHoToE1]

It's the flip switch I'm really interested in. Why devs still use L1 & R1 for FPS is just stupid, where the Dual Shock has two perfectly good triggers but yet they insist in not giving us the option to flip em. It's the reason why I can't play Singularity, there is not way to use the triggers!

[soundslike]

depends on the size of your hands and length of your fingers really

using the triggers would be fine for me except that it puts your thumbs in a slightly taxing position when using the sticks. the distance is just a little bit much between your pointers on the triggers and thumbs on the sticks

im jealous really that you find it so comfortable

[Esena]

Really? I couldn't stand the forced R2 trigger in Red Dead. Yuck!

At least give players an option...it really isn't that hard.

[fight4love]

heres a vid with it

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[GuruStarr78]

@fight4love:

Thanks for the video link, those are some great shots of the controller!

[PsYcHoToE1]

You have a good point, but they can still give us the option. I just feel more immersed when using actual triggers.

[RankFTW]

DS3 with Gioteck Real Triggers and FPS Freaks does me fine, think I'll give this a miss.

[Arkham]

Looks great, I saw it when it was first announced and will definitely consider getting one.

Too bad the left stick is in the wrong place. (HA! ;) )

[RankFTW]

Damn right it's in the wrong place.

[Double_O_Revan]

Bluetooth?
This is directly from the HF-1 page:
http://www.gioteck.com/word...

No USB Dongle

The HF-1 connects directly to your PS3™ via 2.4GHz wireless, which means there's no additional dongle taking up one of your USB ports.

That doesnt sound like it uses Bluetooth to me. Only mention of bluetooth is on the link page as this:
All these factors dictated the final shape and design of this Bluetooth® Beauty.

So which is it?

[PirateThom]

Bluetooth is 2.4GHz, isn't it?

[Bounkass]

It's a shame it has TURBO and the analog sticks on the wrong positions... Other than that, its nice!

[DFresh]

Please if you want the best alternative controller for the PS3 you buy the Frag FX Pro.

Here's a demonstration.
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Here's even the site where you can buy it from.
http://www.splitfish.com/in...
($90)

I own one on my PS3 and it's improved my game play tremendously and it brings me back to my PC roots before I become a console gamer on Playstation.

[soundslike]

whoa thats REALLY cool. and on top of that its basically a navigator but im guessing move might conflict with it

a bit overpriced though. :/

[DFresh]

Perhaps.
But look at it this way if you were originally a PC gamer and were used to playing shooters on PC you'll find yourself at home with the controls if you buy this controller.
This controller will definitely help you improve your aiming and help you learn to snipe better.
Drop shotting is also really easy to do.
Controls are adjustable.
The investment really is worth it.

[MRMagoo123]

If i wanted a shit 360 controller i would of bought a shit 360 why on earth would i want this ??? just my opinion but i have 2 thumbs that are mirror images of each other there isnt a long thumb and a short thumb on each of my hands i like the analog sticks where they are on my ps3 controller because i dont have freak fingers.IMO

[Garnett]

Look, they even fixed the Joysticks.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Lol! It's an Xbox 360 controller.