I still believed 'cheap' controllers were a last resort until I picked up this amazing 8BitDo pad, now at its lowest price ever for Amazon Prime Day

I recently learned that I've been very wrong about controllers for some time now. When I played local multiplayer games growing up, I reached for the "good" controllers—the first-party ones made for the console—and passed the cheaper third-party ones off to anyone else.

That habit persisted when I got into PC gaming. The only choice in my mind was a Microsoft or Sony pad that started at $60 (though now they're more like $70). Then last week, desperate for an affordable controller for my newly-docked Steam Deck, I took a shot on the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C Wireless ($29.99). Holy smokes, when did third-party controllers get this good?

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A while ago, it turned out. 8BitDo has been making quality pads for years, but recently they've upgraded their entry-level wireless controllers with features that even Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo can't match, like Hall effect sticks and triggers resistant to drift.

The deal above is actually the upgraded version of my controller: the Ultimate 2.4G. It's largely the same pad I'm using every day—comfy offset thumbsticks, big face buttons, analog triggers, clicky d-pad—but it comes with a wireless charging dock with a neat trick. The dock plugs in with USB, but you can also plug the controller's 2.4G dongle into a special compartment within the dock, letting it serve as both charger and wireless receiver.

At $35, this is the lowest price the Ultimate 2.4G goes for on Amazon. With the hefty discount, it's only five bucks more than my dockless Ultimate 2C Wireless pad.

One caveat worth mentioning: The docked version highlighted above does not support Bluetooth, meaning this isn't the best option for travel. If you want Bluetooth and a dock, there's also the confusingly-named Ultimate 2 Wireless ($59.99), an upgrade of the 2.4G edition with Bluetooth and Switch support. Our own Nick Evanson reviewed the Ultimate 2 Wireless last month and loved it, though he noted its Switch Pro Controller shape and PlayStation-style sticks aren't his favorite.

Bluetooth support has its advantages (my 2C Wireless controller will only wake my Steam Deck from sleep when in Bluetooth mode), but you're always gonna get the best polling rates and reliability from the 2.4G dongle, so it's not a significant sacrifice for the hefty discount.

It's also worth considering that 8BitDo's biggest rival in the budget controller space, GameSir, also has some great deals going. Our own James Bentley wrote about his favorite controller going on sale for $20. I've yet to use a GameSir pad myself, but I think 8BitDo's cleaner aesthetic wins the day for me.

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