What’s the best game controller without thumb controls?

AThe gaming world is growing ever more accessible. Even Microsoft – which usually tends to decide what you want without asking, then force it on you like a rogue grandma with a pocket full of hairy sweets – has dipped its toe in the game with the Xbox Adaptive Controller (£75). It’s completely customisable, so you can wire in whatever sensors work for your mobility, and it’s flexible enough that third-party sensors also work without any trouble. Collecting enough sensors, though, is not a cheap exercise.

GaGu presumes, though, that you just have a problem with thumbsticks. Depending on your game, there are a number of other options that are worth trying. If you’re on a PC then mouse and keyboard is a no-brainer, since you already have those, and Microsoft (them again) are working on adding support for Xbox One as well. If you’re not playing something that requires analogue input, you could opt for an arcade stick like the MayFlash Arcade Fight Stick, which is £50 and enables you to stick it to the Incompatibility Man since it’s compatible with just about every console or computer.

If you can’t manage a joystick, it is possible to fashion yourself a controller from just arcade buttons. Sanwa and Seimitsu parts, basically the only brands you should buy, are readily available online, and easy to wire up to a dismantled joypad if you’re not as dangerous with a soldering iron as GaGu.

Alternatively, you could invest in importing a Smash Box ($199, or about £160 before shipping and duty) which has all the appropriate controls already wired together. It is, GaGu is told, ‘tournament legal’, so you won’t get thrown out of your mate’s living room for using performanceenhancing controllers.