Young kids and Apple TV Game controllers

[jamie0610]

Hi, some Dad help needed!

We have an Apple TV and love it. The kids are wanting to get into some basic games as their first encounter. The Apple Remote obviously isn’t a great controller but PS5/XBox controller are way too big for their small hands and complex.

I’d like to find a controller that’s basic. Think back to our childhood of a NES/Genesis/MegaDrive kind of an idea.

This is the only controller I’ve found but I’m not convinced it will work:

miadore 2.4G Wireless Controller Rechargeable USB Gamepad Joystick with USB Receiver/Charging Cable for SNES Games,Support PC Windows Mac and Raspberry Pi

miadore 2.4G Wireless Controller Rechargeable USB Gamepad Joystick with USB Receiver/Charging Cable for SNES Games,Support PC Windows Mac and Raspberry Pi

amzn.eu

Any success stories fellow parents/gamers can share?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Kids grow fast and when they are visiting friends, odds are high they will be handed "grown up" controllers to play games there. So my suggestion is to NOT think small but think about the future: it will come much faster than it may seem right now.

Apple particularly recommends the Playstation and Xbox controllers and if you do searches for "Best game controllers for AppleTV" you'll quickly discover brands other than those that also tend to get good reviews. Generally all of them will cost more than the few dollars for the one you mention... but not necessarily that much more.

If cost is the majority of the driver (perhaps fueled by fears of drops & damage), consider used/refurbed and/or just generally cheaper-priced versions offered on sites like Ebay or similar. The one you mention seems to have dirt-cheap pricing which would give me pause for any longevity or just quality and compatibility. Reviews seem iffy. Proceed with caution. Headlines of some reviews:

• "1 out of 2 works"
• "Cheap knock-off"
• "Pretty good but poorly soldered"
• "You get what you pay for"

Game controllers tend to take a beating. They need to be built well & tough to last. Cheapest come with an idea of just replacing one when it fails... but cheapest also means regular failures are likely. It doesn't take that many replacement purchases to quickly add up to a basic Playstation or Xbox controller, likely to be built better and last much longer.

If size is the main driver, note that little hands grow fast... and little hands tend to learn to play piano and most musical instruments on regular-sized instruments. In learning to use "big" controllers, they are also able to easily play with the same controllers when exposed to game consoles at their friend's homes.

 

[Pakaku]

Joy-cons in sideways mode might be an option if they can be paired separately. 8bitdo makes some small controllers like the Lite (https://www.8bitdo.com/lite2/), just make sure to check the bottom of the page to make sure it says iOS/AppleTV is supported if you plan to look elsewhere on the site

 

[Juicy Box]

My daughter plays a lot of games on the ATV, we have the Steelseries Nimbus (think that is the name). She is 8, but her hands are tiny for an 8 year old, she takes after her mother. Her mother is tiny (4'9") and has tiny, child-like hands.

My daughter seems to be able to play with the Nimbus pretty well.

That said, depending on the game I would stick with one of the modern console controllers, as a lot of the games are designed based on the playstation and xbox controllers. I was trying to play the tvOS AA Castlevania game, but it seemed like I couldn't fully play due to the game being designed for PS controllers.