Random: Amazon's Luna Controller Sure Does Look Familiar

Another big company getting into markets they know nothing about, making a fool of themselves

Move along

Familiar, but inferior.

Long live the Pro Controller!

So they both look like xbox controllers, who cares?

Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch Pro Controller? Who cares?

@PBandSmelly Another big company getting into markets they know nothing about, making a fool of themselves

I remember when Nintendo, Sega, Microsoft and Sony did that. What a failure, right?

At least they picked the best controller to copy.

So?

I could easily say the Switch Pro controller ripped off the Xbox 360 controller because of the aysmmetrical stick placement, or that the Wii Classic Controller Pro is a copy of the DualShock controllers because of their shape and analog stick placement.

@PBandSmelly Wasn't that literally Nintendo in the 70s, Sony in the 90s and Microsoft in the 2000s?

I think you underestimate these companies

At least they copied a good controller. stares at Google Stadia Controller

In reality, it doesn't matter too much. You can say the same thing with the Switch Pro Controller copying the Xbox One Controller, which is basically an improved Xbox 360 controller, which was copied by the Wii U Pro Controller.

Again, Sony used the same general Dualshock design for 3 generations, which was just the original PlayStation Controller (but with control sticks), which was basically a spiced up SNES controller.

You see, I don't think anybody cares about who copied who.

So amazon ripped off of nintendo who ripped off of xbox so amazon ripped off of xbox.

If it has Analog triggers it is a much better deal at $49

Waiting to see if I get my Invitation. Right now Shadow PC is the streaming service to beat for me.

See how this one works out.

The triggers look better. Hey, if they offer a trial through Prime I’d give it a go. Not a fan of Baldzos but Amazon is too ubiquitous to ignore.

It looks more like the Amazon Fire TV controller which came out before the Switch. Not sure the point of this article?

As long as it has no drift issues, it's the superior product!

i am so pissed at nintendo ...3 pro controllers, 6 joy cons (3 pairs) - all started drifting after 12+ months). mostly 1-2 months after warranty ran out. grrrrrrrr. i will never buy original nintendo hardware anymore - 8bitdo 4tw.

Cloud gaming... Yeah... Google stadia? Does it still exist lol.
Please nintendo, dont go that road 🤣

@Yorumi Judging from the Peach hentai article, Nintendo fans really put the ‘nut’ in nutjobs.

Is Bezos just spending some of his revenue on this pre-doomed travesty to get himself a fat tax deduction?

@PBandSmelly

I mean Amazon has done this in a lot of markets and has made a success with most of them. They might as well try with gaming.

@nessisonett I rarely ever buy from them. They're often a last resort for me, I keep getting packages where they lump more fragile items that need extra padding together with bulky and heavy items that smash the other items. It also doesn't help they send everything in oversized boxes so the items slosh all around inside. If you're buying something collectible or rare, don't buy from Amazon.

Talking about copying the controller did anyone hear the chime at the start at realizing they even stole that sound effect from Nintendo??

@TheFrenchiestFry
Nintendo had the asymmetrical sticks first.

Get Ready for ISP Throttles. Here's what they don't tell you.
1. You need pay for your own internet first
2. ISP bandwidth Throttle comes into effect
3. Limited to internet access w/o forget any online gaming.

So again no physical means your at the mercy of their TOS/EULA agreements to cancel or ban your access. Stradia already shown that without equal fair Internet access forget any Online streaming.

@Kienda I imagine the amazon one has a.working dpad and analogue triggers, making it the superior option.

Or maybe you just really like amiibo.

@lighteningbolt79 They might as well try with gaming.
This is a huge upfront commitment to keep this going and if you don't have the history you don't have the knowledge for it.

@SwitchForce

And Amazon can probably afford to keep it going.

"Where have we seen that design before?"

Literally any controller in the last 20 years, more or less, and more specifically from the XBox 360's onwards.
What a waste of an article, it mist be one of the stupidest things I've seen on this site. Your ability to scrape the barrel for useless articles never ceases to amaze me.

@Pod Wouldn't it be cheaper to not build the buildings, servers, cooling systems and software to run this? Also if this fails their stocks will no doubt take a hit. Not saying Amazon wouldn't try to use this as a tax write off if it failed but it seems the losses outweigh the benefits.

@Crono1973 remember when Atari, Nokia, Atari, Panasonic, Phillips, Ouya, 3DO, Amstrad, Bally, Apple, Nikko, Fujitsu, Gizmodo, Mattel, Pioneer, THQ, and Sega. All failed?

The switch pro has been my favorite controller, so I'm not complaining. I don't like the D-pad, for both this and the series x controller, it doesn't look right to me.

Lol Amazon cloud gaming. No thanks.

But as for the controller, neither this or the procontroller are particularly unique.

Amazon launched Crucible out of closed beta back in May 2020, and then placeed the game back into closed beta in June 2020 when it was clear nobody was playing it. What a great first foray into the video game market 😂😂😂

Launching without any compelling exclusives and locking new 3rd party content behind their own publisher-specific subscription channels that has to be paid on top of the base subscription means Luna will probably flop, just not as badly as Stadia and their premium streaming service model crap.

@TheFrenchiestFry Nintendo had the analog placement on the Gamecube controller. The C stick was in the same spot

@Snatcher and xbox ripped off gamecube so moot point

@Tim_Vreeland funny how the Switch Pro is like the Wii U pro controller and guess which came first

@PBandSmelly

"Another big company getting into markets they know nothing about, making a fool of themselves"

Maybe but they have the cash to keep trying until they nail it and they will keep trying if they don't succeed.

The advent of subscription digital gaming is here like it or not and it is about to accelerate.

There’s only so many ways you can design a comfortable controller.

1) Writes "westman98 Cloud Gaming Controller" on a Post-it note
2) Attaches the Post-it note on top of a Switch Pro controller

I have just started my own game streaming service.

@PBandSmelly they tried already with fire tv and the similar looking controller. created amazon game studios and think made one game so far in bloody years. apart from one disaster pulled from beta. and brave new world that has been in development for ever,

Another streaming service huh? I imagine this will go the way of Google Stadia, and I got zero interest in it.

The dpad looks better.

Imagine a world where Amazon or Google cloud services actually work the way you expect them to without becoming a confusing mess that's always harder to navigate or really understand what's going on than anyone else.

Then again, if Sony's doing $70 a game.....this looks better.

@JayJ Don't write it off. Google has a disastrous history of launching services, abandoning them, not paying attention to them, and then dumping them. They rarely ever launch successful initiatives. Amazon on the other hand has such direct mass market reach they tend to just take over the industry they enter one day. Music has been going so-so, but look at their books, videos, music, Twitch (which they bought), etc. They will bundle it with FireTV/Fire -EVERY kid has a Fire...they will relentlessly throw it in everyone's face, and when kids say they want an XBox or Playstation for Cod, parents will say "but you already have a Kindle, just play on there." This will be successful. Very successful. But it won't dent the core market. I'm starting to see why Sony's trying to cash grab with price hikes and place console as "premium luxury goods." Though it'l backfire and make streaming look more appealing than ever.

@Yorumi NL's just aping PushSquare's success.

@Crono1973 When Nintendo and Sega did that no company had really had any major success in Japan. Once they got to cartridge based consoles they were the natural next step from earlier gaming products of theirs. Sony on the other hand had already invested in the project together with Nintendo, not to mention they had already made MSX computers and even published games for them in the 80s.

I'm not saying other companies can't have a go at it, but in all the cases you mentioned they all had previous experience and the market was very different.

@Uzukage except not. The Wii U controller has both sticks up top and a completely different shape to the controller. I own one. But that’s not the point I was making.

Look at the Fire TV controller. The plastic mold looks similar to the Luna controller. A lot more similar than it does to the Switch Pro controller. So why is this article saying the brand new Luna controller is taking its design from the Switch controller. It’s obvious it’s a continuation of the Fire Controller.

The Luna and the Fire both have the same mold. Concave sticks, raised dpad circle, Abxy placement. They follow each other in design language. The Switch controller has its own design language that is different and came out after the Fire controller. The Luna controller didn’t follow the Switch Pro at all. This article is a waste of space.

@eRaz0r how in the actual f... did you manage to do that.

I have two pro controllers, 4 joycons, since 2017. I play daily. And all kinds of games, also shooters with gyro and fighting games and tight platformers... all of them still work 100% fine?

are there differences between factories perhaps?...

I actually think THIS is the reason Microsoft bought Bethesda. And the reason they announced it last Monday. Now all three current big companies have a lot of exclusives. And Amazon and Google are left with the multi platform games that you can get elsewhere.

Microsoft has said he sees Amazon and Google as their competitors, not so much Sony, due to the upcoming streaming war.

What are they, Amazon, going to get, Blizzard-Activison? EA? Retro? A Japanese company or Ubisoft or THQ Nordic? All very unlikely to gather enough appeal for Amazon. They have to build something up from the ground themselves.. ‘doomed’ to fail I’d say.

Just a Nintendo rip off! Amazon even sneak a secret message on it too! If you push the right stick all the way to the left and take a peek under it you can clearly read “Now We own your soul”!

Lol Love how annoyed people get when Nintendo is credited for something. This looks very similar to the Switch Pro, which isn't a bad thing.

Might be interested in this if it can be connected to the Switch.

@Friendly no idea, i am from austria, a friend of mine got his switch 3 months ago (he's from the uk) - guess what? his L joy con started to drift 1 month ago! its a nintendo issue, not factory xD

I love the switch, switch replaced my xbox one as my primary system - BUT ... the control stick quality .... its more like a china ripoff - quality wise hahaha

@eRaz0r difficult to compare situations of course, but what kind of games do you play?

I always think it’s a bit fascinating I’m having so much luck, I guess. No problems. Yet others have multiple malfunctioning joy cons, such as yourself.

Always curious what might cause all that... but apart from that, this has never been an issue before the Switch, so yes, it’s also a Nintendo issue I guess. Made too fragile (although I like the slick design).

I don't find these angled/wing controllers comfortable or 'ergonomic' to hold for longer periods 🤔

Not much I can do about it since the design has been stuck for years, but I'd rather have straight edges. Let ME determine what angle my wrists are at, thanks, not forced into the angle of the controller mold.

@Friendly dead by daylight, mario, sonic, tetris, alien isolation, witcher 3 and 120+ more games. i treat my hardware like a baby

every dreamcast, mega drive, saturn or xbox controller, even from the og xbox from 2003, works like on day 1 still. only switch is giving me hard times ....

Lots of people making fun of Amazon's cloud gaming but Amazon owns Twitch so there is definitely some potential there.

@Siskan Every company in the game industry started somewhere.

Amazon must be cutting costs by ordering manufacturing from a similar source as whoever fabricates the Switch Pro controllers.

Not a big deal; it just looks a bit conspicuous being virtually the same plastic mold as Nintendo's.

Oh my... Poor Stadia...

Stadia 2: Employee Exploiting Boogaloo

@Friendly Amazon have partnered with Ubisoft. It sounds like there will be an additional subscription on top of the standard subscription to get the Ubi games.

EA has already partnered with Microsoft. I think it was announced about two weeks ago that the EA subscription service (EA Play I think it’s called) is now included in Game Pass for no additional cost.

@nkarafo because its annoying

Looks like a Switch Pro Controller made love with a 360 Gamepad...

The moment you release oh yeah stadia I guess still exists

The only controller which was never copied is the N64, because everyone except Nintendo know humans only have 2 hands.

Also this looks more like an Xbox controller with ABXY and the big button in the middle.

Its based off every single modern controller design out there

Looks like a pro controller with the buttons labelled as an Xbox controller in regards to placement of a b x y.
Kinda shows apart from labels it's now the standard layout aside from playstation which as a multiplatform owner I wish would move its sticks to the standard placement

Why not, the Switch pro controller itself is a shameless clone of the Xbox controer.

@earthinheritor It seems that sound effect isn’t actually part of the trailer itself, but was inserted by the channel that uploaded this version of the trailer. But if you go to 1:01, ‘Zebes’ and ‘Italian Plumber Musical’ are on billboards in Times Square.

So another stadia then aye?

@Yorumi in fairness to all the remakes, sometimes it's nice if you want to replay old favorites to have it bit feel more archaic then your grain remembers it. Though i think the big reason for the companies doing remakes is younger gamers that weren't around for classic games the first time. They're never going to enjoy clunky old design and graphics. Heck i was there for it and find it q struggle to get back into older games often enough. Movies can just be reprinted each time a generation comes if age. Games feel out of time.

Were old guys, relatively. A huge chunk of gamers didn't even EXIST when we were waiting for sequels of these classic games. Imagine being a gamer thinking bioshock is "the old retro games". So i can see remastering things from mario to prince of persia. Demons souls otoh is a stretch. And remastering Spiderman after two whole years ...... ........ ....... Now in (real) 4k!

@PBandSmelly If there's anybody I'd bet on being able to transition into this space, it's Amazon.

They were a book seller originally.

Now they likely have the best, or at least one of the best, cloud-server infrastructures in the world, the best online marketplace for physical goods, one of the best supply chain and logistics networks of anyone in the US, and some of the best AI and predictive analytics in the world.

If latency and network stability really is the biggest issue with getting streaming working, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon was one of the first to figure it out.

@Roibeard64 it sure does. And i for one am a big fan.

@Crono1973 Yes, but whether it's putting out arcade games, pong clone systems and lcd games for a piece of the domestic market in the 70s/80s or a proper home console building upon that foundation when the market was emerging and hardly saturated, it's still vastly different.

@StevenG ??? 😂 yeah. The switch pro controller is like an Xbox controller. It is NOTHING like an Xbox controller. The Xbox controller is utter garbage and not even remotely the same shape. Otherwise when I held a Pro controller, it wouldn’t feel like the best pad ever made. Then when I held and Xbox pad, it wouldn’t feel like an utter pile of cheap crap that needs slinging in the bin before it breaks yet again in under 3 months

@Sakaixx no it isn’t .

@Snatcher no they didn’t

@Crono1973 eh?

@TheFrenchiestFry but you’d be completely wrong. That and the Xbox controllers are the worst and cheapest first party pads ever made by anyone ever

More competition is not typically a bad thing. Don't have high hopes for any fourth company entering the ring, barely room for three of them which is why Nintendo ism't even trying to be in direct competition.

@Shinobi1Kenobi You can count on a xbox hatter to give a good advice on if a xbox controller is good or not.

@Snatcher yep. Pretty much. So much delusion and system warrior blood in the guy.

Yeah, I’m good with not giving Amazon a $1 of my gaming money.

Controller is 100% a rip off. I understand there is only so much you can do with a controller design but this is no effort to differentiate it at all.

And people forget to credit Nintendo for starting the idea of off-set analog stick layout as opposed to Sony's parallel.

Then again, I suppose the same can be said for D-Pads.

@MrBlacky no, the Xbox did. To be fair, they just took a Dreamcast controller and threw and extra stick on it.

IT'S RIPPING OFF THE DREAMCAST CONTROLLER

@RPGamer
That was the point I was trying to make, I should have elaborated lol. Yes Amazon is the most powerfuk company probably in the world, I highly highly doubt they know enough about the gaming audience and the norms to understand how to handle it properly, or even compete at all

@Snatcher why am I a hater? I have 3 XBox One consoles in my house. I hate the pad because it is appalling. I’ve had around 8 of them break in exactly the same way in less than 2 years. They feel cheap and nasty, rigid hollow nasty plastic and gives that annoying overly loud “tap tap tap” every time the sticks hit the pad casing

@Sakaixx sorry. You’re also wrong. I hate the lad because I pay it and have used it so much. I hate it as a failed consumer after spending so much time and money on the console

@RPGamer no it wasn’t.

@Trajan
Really? I could've sworn, I saw pictures of a prototype Gamecube controller before the Xbox controller. 🤔

The pro controller is damn near perfection for me, so comfortable to use for long periods, that I'm surprised it's taken THIS long for someone to copy it's basic design!

@Shinobi1Kenobi Dude you just answered your own question.

@Snatcher how did I answer my own question? Calling me a hater would imply I am irrationally being negative about something on a baseless premise. I don’t rate the Xbox controller because it is factually and objectively a pile of crap through extensive direct experience with it. The ONLY people who rate the Xbox controller are Xbox and Xbox fanboys.

@Trajan just..... wow.

@Shinobi1Kenobi lmfao the fact that you're replying to absolutely everyone who upset you and on top of that saying the Xbox controllers aren't good says everything I need to know about you

@Shinobi1Kenobi You are nuts. They are almost identical. The stick layout just for starters.

@Shinobi1Kenobi ??????? your kidding right?

@TheFrenchiestFry that I’m totally correct? Good observations

@StevenG what are identical?

@Snatcher nope. It’s true

@Shinobi1Kenobi For one the stick layout. Go get them and compare. They are basically the same controller. I have them at my house right now.

@Shinobi1Kenobi I'd substitute correct for insecure but whatever floats your boat

Give them a break. There's only so much you can do with the design of a controller if you're not Nintendo.

@Tourtus
I dunno. I think the wins even in a failure scenario might outweight the costs. Right now, this is the sort of thing you can tell investors you're doing, that sounds like a smart thing to do, which keeps them complacent.

It's the reasonable bad investment.
Might earn them some technologies that may be applicable elsewhere. Certainly forces their streaming tech to improve.

@StevenG you mean the two sticks on the original Xbox pad that were copied off the Nintendo GameCube pad?

There really is only two types of stock layout that two stock can be, so aside from the the 50/50 of where the stock could physically actually reside on a pad? What else? There’s around 100% more technology inside a pro controller over an Xbox pad
And the build quality is better AND it physically different in every feasible way, it’s not even the same shape in the slightest. Have you held both of them at any point yourself? The point of the article is that the Amazon pad is almost a soap block copy of a pro controller

@TheFrenchiestFry no, it’s only correct. That’s the only option I’m afraid. You clearly LOVE Xbox despite all its failings. Like the guy who’s wife put on 6 stone but only YOU still (can and have to) see the beauty in her 😂

@Snatcher an Xbox hatter? What are you? 12?

@Shiiva totally agree with you. It’s literally the most perfect shape, weighted, quality built controller of any generation. And it’s for a console that’s 50% mobile, it’s mad.

@Sakaixx 😂 shhhhhhhh. people might realise you’re a yes man with nothing to real to say.

@Shinobi1Kenobi Dude your acting like 5 You are bashing comments into the wall then you responded to my comment twice like tf.

@TheFrenchiestFry dude shinobi is starting to drive me crazy.

@Snatcher ? I’m losing track of your nonsensical fanboying and whining. Pick a narrative and stick to it. You just keep making noise like a directionless puppy

@Snatcher why does french fry care? Do you need help to make a response now? Not really sure how my objective opinion that is polarising to your blind fanboy positive is so baffling to you.

@Shinobi1Kenobi If you want to know I don't own a xbox at all so get you facts right before you call me a fanboy.

@Shinobi1Kenobi And I was talking to fenchfry because I agreed with what he was saying and your acting really toxic not just to me but the everybody in the comments. Not onlyy that you have been replying to every one in the comments why? because they don't agree with/don't like you.

@Snatcher at this point he is just trying to troll hence why I dont bother replying his message. Just ignore the guy

@Snatcher you’re something more bizarre then. You act like a fanboy when you don’t even own the format 😂

@Snatcher yes. When I feel people don’t like me. It hurts. It cuts me deep. What you think matters so much to me.......

I replied to each comment made by people I disagreed with. Is that not allowed? If anything all your comments are off topic as this article is about the comparison of the Amazon controller to the Nintendo pro controller. Making baseless comments on the pro controller resemble an Xbox pad is off topic and just outright wrong.

If anything, you and the couple of others are blatantly trolling about XBox controller on a Nintendo website.

The fact your totally incorrect just makes it more amusing.

@Shinobi1Kenobi I own them both, they are the same general shape, same feel, same 4 way pad. Is the pro controller nicer? Sure it costs more too.

@Sakaixx Ya i'm done with this guy.

@Shinobi1Kenobi Oh and what gives you the right yo say a pro controller does not look like the xbox controller a lot of use thinks it look like one and @StevenG here just said all that you need to know.

@Snatcher what gives me the right? To make a comment? 😂 WOW.

It just doesn’t look like an Xbox controller at all and isn’t even remotely the same shape. When you get home of each pad, the pro is ergonomic and solid. The Xbox one is hollow, cheap and very round, like holding a cheap plastic toy burger

@StevenG they just aren’t the same shape at all. They don’t remotely feel the same in way of shape, size, texture, weight, anything really.

@StevenG the pro controller is also same price and cheaper typically. Around £54.99.

Xbox pads are typically £59.99.

I own both, and the PS4 and every other controller ever made. Or is your opinion more valid because you own an Xbox and switch? Or were you just assuming i only had a Switch and randomly hating on Xbox?

Sorry I forgot your blind. (Look dude This is probably the last comment i'm going to reply to)

@Snatcher definitely not blind. You are clueless though.

@Shinobi1Kenobi No one pays list price for xbox stuff. You have every controller ever made? Really? Cool, can I see your controller for your colecovision?

@StevenG wow. You really won that discussion by mentioning ancient obscure retro consoles that nobody plays on. Shane this conversation Was exclusively about Sega, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Except... the Luna controller is based on the Amazon Gamepad which went on in sale in... 2015! So perhaps the question should be - doesn’t the Switch controller look familiar? https://twitter.com/thelunacast/status/1313027772080680960?s=21

I wonder if it will work with the switch... Amazon have a returns service second to none so if it were to drift for example you could be guaranteed your money back