PDP REALMz Wired Xbox Controller Licensed for Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10/11 PC, LED Lighting Collectible Sonic Superstars, Programmable Buttons/Triggers, PC Control Hub App: Sonic Speed

Sonic looks awesome
This is a great controller, it feels comfortable and it looks spectacular. If you grew up playing sonic this has to be in your collection.

Beautiful controller, albeit a bit pricey [Xbox variant]
To preface: any photos of mine that contain weird blemishes are at the fault of my camera being worn out. I apologize!So…. PDP. I have a LONG history with them. Their original Rock Candy line on the Xbox 360 wasn’t that bad! Sure, it was third party & wasn’t on-par with an original, but what were you expecting buying something so cheap?Despite the negative things people have to say about PDP, which is fair, I actually had a pretty good usage time with my pink Rock Candy 360 controller. I kept it around as a backup for years, but it was my main controller on my 360 for when I’d want to play games that didn’t make it to the Xbox One, and X|S.In fact, the one I had was faulty, as it was second-hand! But it worked JUST enough to give me the final sendoff to Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and completed it for the first time.Why do I bring this up?…because when I found put PDP still existed, and were making Sonic controllers? I had to get at least One of them! the fact that original Rock Candy still functioned despite all the issues it had (surprisingly drift wasnt a part of that!) was enough to convince me. It’s been over a decade since I last bought PDP.I chose the Xbox version, as it looks the coolest in my opinion, and don’t play my Switch enough to warrant a Switch variant. (although the Switch versions have with a wireless variant, something the Xbox version does not.)THE CONTROLLERS APPEARANCE:The controller looks GREAT in person.for starters, the color choices are great! I feel they fit Sonic’s vibe and energy way more than some of the other branded Sonic controllers I’ve come across.The plastic is translucent, something I very much loved with electronics as a kid, & wish to see a return to.The sticker to the left (placed underneath the plastic) is very pretty, as well. it has Japanese lettering, which reads “Sonic the Hedgehog”! I know people are sick of the Green Hill aesthetic, and I do understand that, and agree! But the use of blue and whites reminds me more of the white space from Sonic Generations, which even if unintentional, is a really nice touch.Another cool thing I noticed is that the board inside of the controller is blue, and has Sonic visuals etched all over it! That’s SUCH a cute detail, and makes it look great.Even the figure inside is highly detailed, which I tried to show with pictures. the paintjob DEFINITELY isn’t perfect, but the sculpt is genuinely very well made – even his shoes’ soles are detailed!it has two additional triggers on the back. I’m not really in the “know” of newer controllers, so I’m not too sure what it’s used for, but it can be mapped to other keypresses/buttons.. so that gives you two extra buttons to play with!It also lights up. and I mean REALLY lights up, in good ol’ Rock Candy / PDP fashion. VERY bright, and I can’t seem to figure out how to disable the lights, haha. the ABXY combo does nothing for me, but it might have proprietary software, not sure.SETUP:setup is pretty much as painless as it could have possibly been. plug in the USB-C end into the controller, and put the other end on your device (I used computer).It worked right then and there with no driver update. Nice!GAMEPLAY & FEEL:So far, I’ve tested this with a few games: Sonic Adventure (the PC version, albeit modded to alleviate bugs), Sonic Adventure 2, Jet Set Radio, and Lunistice.So far, the controller feels very tight, and not in a bad way! It feels like I have a great sense of control, and in fact, the joysticks feel amazing to use just by touch alone, they feel so incredibly smooth just to move the joysticks.Buttons are responsive, and it works great in my opinion. You may want to adjust sensitivity within your games if the joysticks aren’t up to standard if needed, though.the D-pad is not the greatest. Its perfectly serviceable, but I wouldn’t recommend sidescrolling games on it.Thankfully, it is not mushy, but I can already tell this isn’t gonna be a 2D game controller, which is fine by me, as I don’t use these types of controllers for those games!FINAL THOUGHTSoverall, this controller is a solid addition to the collection, especially if you like Sonic, or have a family member who may be interested! Definitely look into other reviews rather than taking my sole word for it, as everyone’s experience may vary, but I quite like it, personally.It’s a little bit pricey for a wired controller, at least the Xbox variant is, so I’m docking a star for that. Even the Switch wireless controllers retail for less, but oh well. Still a cool controller regardless!Other than a few nitpicks, it ain’t half bad! 4.5/5 stars! 🙂

Power plug
I game pretty heavy but my gaming area is very neat. The controller maybe lasted a month before the usbc plug has issues and controller just disconnects. Used my old controller on same wire to see if it’s the wire. Nope it’s the controller. Really bummed, it’s a nice controller but could tell out the box it’s a little light on hardware. Oh well , it’ll look cool on the shelf

Great collectors item for Sonic Fans – wall/shelf piece only
This is a beautiful controller for Sonic Fans. It looks great on my wall. But I would never use it to play a game. The entire thing is smooth – no grip/texture anywhere. Your fingers would slip right off the triggers – they are flat and weirdly angled. The hand grips are strangely bulbous and smooth as well, feels very strange to hold. The sticks are standard enough but once again, smooth and slippery. I get the feeling this was never meant to be played with. I wiped my fingerprints off and put it back on the wall for display where it belongs

The backlights are very strong (I don’t know if they can be turned off or not). Also, slow response from both bumper keys. Last, the controller is fat (difficult to grab).