Retro Fighters Announces Wireless PlayStation Controller Kickstarter!
204In this episode, we have news from the folks at Retro Fighters, they announced the Defender Wireless PlayStation 1 & PlayStation 2 Controller on Kickstarter.
Retro Fighters continues to impress us with continual updates, new products, and more that are simply amazing. From their original Brawler64, the Striker DC, and BrawlerGen, they produce exceptional controllers for retro consoles that simply perform. On July 20, 2021, they announced their next project, the 2.4Ghz wireless Defender controller, designed to work with the Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2.
To this point, Retro Fighters has focused their attention on Sega and Nintendo, so the Defender is a new addition to their controller portfolio. Nearly a year in development, the Defender is designed with premium features that should appeal to both the casual and hard core PlayStation fan.
Feature Highlights:
- 4 color variants
- 2.4GHz Wireless technology
- 30-foot range
- Pressure sensitive buttons
- Turbo
- Auto input function
- Integrated vibration feedback
- Compatible with all PS1 and PS2 models
Like many of their more recent releases, Retro Fighters will offer the Defender in 4 different colors. Those colors are Classic Grey, Transparent Green, Transparent Blue, and Black. Easily connect your Retro Fighters PS Wireless Controller using the wireless dongle. Connection is as easy as plugging in the dongle and pressing any button on your gamepad.
At this point, the Retro Fighters team already has produced 100% working prototype samples. The molds, internal components and designs are ready to enter the final testing phase and roll into initial production. As with previous Retro Fighters Kickstarters, they are offering several benefits and funding levels to reward backers. If they reach $120k in backing, they will add a USB dongle for compatibility with the PlayStation Classic Edition, and if they hit their $200K stretch goal, Backers will have the opportunity to vote for an additional color option.
At the time of this video's upload, the Kickstarter has just been launched. In August of 2021, the development team plans on completing their final tests, and roll into building components and PCBs in September or October. From here, the final assembly will take place from November to December, with an estimated ship date to backers in January 2022. This is a very aggressive timeline, but this is also a very talented and dedicated team working behind the scenes to make this a reality.
I, for one, cannot wait for the Defender to start shipping and I fully intend to back the Kickstarter, if I haven't already by the upload date of this video. The design looks to be heavily inspired by the Wireless Brawler64, and that is a tremendous thing in my books. I love the fact that we're getting multiple colors, and the fact that wireless rumble has been built right into the Defender itself. I would personally like to see the dongles match the color of the controllers, and that is still something we may see. One thing we won't see is cross compatibility with the Wireless Brawler64 Dongles & Controllers, as Retro Fighters has already confirmed this with me. It is extremely exciting that, come 2022, we'll be getting new stock of exceptionally designed controllers for the original PlayStation & PlayStation 2, and I hope you're as excited as I am.
#RetroFighters #WirelessPlayStationController #DefenderController
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