The 9 Best PC Game Controllers For emulation (2023 reviews)

The exlene pc game controller for emulation's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. It brings back your youth memories with the usb snes / nes controller. It has a better-than-expected d-pad. The d-pad and buttons all feel great and are very similar to original SNES controllers. It can be used on snes with multi tap mode running for some nba jam awesomeness with buddies.

It is a standard remote like any game system that you might have already used, like Playstation or XBox. The abxy buttons are smaller than a real snes controller buttons so they are a little harder to push. They are very lightweight which will take some getting used to.

Why We Like This:

A great inexpensive controller in the retro style
You have full range of direction in your movements
Nice cord length, controls are solid
Nice feel of the controller and a long cable too

Best For TV Box: SAFFUN PC Game Controller For emulation

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Best part: saffun pc game controller for emulation costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. It is a great way to set up an old laptop into the ultimate emulation machine. It's just a controller, if whatever you are using to run the games and has map options like that, you can set them up. There is a pinhole sync button next to the usb plug. It can you configure the buttons to specific keys. The new controller configuration doesn’t pop up because you have roms already installed on your system. The screen never blanks and the computer never sleeps while they are plugged in. It's light and comfortable to hold, the buttons feel great, and it's super easy to set up.

Why We Like This:

Great for big screen gaming when far away wireless
Buttons are responsive and have good feedback
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For COD: MSI PC Game Controller For emulation

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It emulates a Xbox 360 wired controller in the default mode. It comes with advanced analog sticks, the force gc series controllers provide flawless smooth movement. The shoulder buttons and triggers have deep grooves with rough edges that dig into your fingers and there are hard rubber grips on the side that aren't *quite* set into the controller leaving this edge that will rub your palms raw. The weight and sturdiness of the triggers, buttons, sticks and D-pad gives it a premium quality feel for a thirty six dollar product.

Two of the four lights between the d-pad and the l stick will flicker rapidly which gives you enough time to pause a game and plug it into your gaming system. It can be used as a wireless or wired controller with included cable. The controller feels comfortable and the buttons are very responsive. It’s very responsive and nice and chunky even for larger hands.

Why We Like This:

Built in battery, quick charge time
Works with everything, pc, xbox, ps3-4, and android
Great controller, love it and easy to use
Sturdier, faster, more sustainable purchase and it still works with fine instruments

Best With Xbox Game App: Logitech G PC Game Controller For emulation

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The logitech g pc game controller for emulation is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily purpose. The PlayStation-style positioning of the D-Pad is great for classic games. It is easy to configure button layouts and analog stick sensitivities. The grip feels nice and it looks great and it has a switch between xinput or directinput so you can play as an xbox controller or program the keys for a Computer game. There is a mode button that lets you switch the left analog sitck with the dpad, so you can control movement with the dpad and menus or w/e else with analog at the touch of a button, and the dpad movement control works very well.

Most new games will be X Input based, and with those, it automatically detects the controller and the experience is 100% console accurate. The analog sticks and shoulder buttons have excellent accuracy. It is perfect for any computer operating system.

Why We Like This:

Buttons feel solid, analog sticks work great, switching modes is a nice feature
A must have for any pc game, emulator, simulator, etc
Pretty solid pad with a nice, old-school dualshock design

Best For Steam Game: Rii PC Game Controller For emulation

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If you are searching for a satisfactory controller for your daily usage, you cannot go wrong with the rii pc game controller for emulation. It is perfect for nes and sega games on the rerropie. It is designed for playing classic old school snes games and retro games on computer or laptop. The directional cross is very stiff so it's really hard to do rotation moves like you need for a street fighter.

The Game Controller Button Flexible, when playing the game is very powerful, especially smooth, transmission speed is also very fast, experience when playing the game of fun, for parents, they like it, and they like it. It is also easy to play games. The handle is easy to use. It is especially suitable for teenagers who love to play games. They are just fine for casual playing.

Why We Like This:

A must-have for raspberry pi emulation enthusiasts
Feels pretty good and looks nice
Some decent usb controllers for casual emulator usage
Sturdy buttons, no need to install, windows 10 and 7 will pick it up

Best With Fire TV: miadore PC Game Controller For emulation

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If you want nothing less than best desirable controller, then miadore pc game controller for emulation is the one you should definitely consider, as it manages to bring a lot to the table. These controllers are great, and are very responsive. It works on all NES emulators, just make sure you set up the controller before you select a game or it won't read its use. It feels great, is very responsive with no input lag and is also quite durable.

These are designed to work on PCs, macs, raspberry pi, etc. They work great with all the NES games. The buttons feel a little mushy but they are responsive and accurate. It is great to hold and the buttons click nicely without any stickiness.

Why We Like This:

Buttons are firm, input is good
Looks and feels like an authentic nintendo handle
Great controller that brings back nostalgic memories

Best For younger players: 8bitdo PC Game Controller For emulation

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The 8bitdo pc game controller for emulation's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. You can connect and charge with USB-C if you are in a pinch, but letting the controller rest on the dock is aesthetically pleasing and a big quality of life feature. It comes with its charging dock, with its adapter, it's wireless instead of bluetooth and it even has it's own software where you can program every button you wish. The charging dock is a USB-C port on its top for charging or plug and play.

The Paddle button rest naturally under the middle finger and there's enough resistance so that you don't accidentally press it. This light turns off when the controller is fully charged. The controller has a USB-C port on its top for charging or plug and play. The charging dock is excellent and keeps the wireless dongle connected and the pad always charged.

Why We Like This:

Feels great, looks great, even has a few paddles on the back
Definitely compact but roughly similar in size to an xbox controller
New and hot release

Best With Those Games: Hyperkin PC Game Controller For emulation

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If you want nothing less than best convenient controller, then hyperkin pc game controller for emulation is the one you should definitely consider. In addition to these 6 mappable buttons, the trooper ii features a 4 way joystick to replicate the feel of the original atari 2600 controller. It is ideal for emulation on windows, macos, linux, and raspberry pi. The Chamfered corners grips provide increased comfort to hold in your hands for long gaming sessions. There are also 2 buttons on the back plate labeled Select and Start which are very convenient and configurable.

The joystick play registers as digital and is very responsive. It works flawlessly with emulators like Stella. It only has one button, which greatly limited its usefulness, and they are very fragile even though they had a very satisfying click. There are also 2 buttons on the back plate that can be configured as shoulder buttons.

Why We Like This:

A simple joystick that offers good value for retro gaming
Built with all the bells and whistle‘s
Good brand reputation

Best For Playing Classic old school SNES Games: Kiwitata PC Game Controller For emulation

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The kiwitata pc game controller for emulation gives the top-tier controller a run for their money by offering flagship specs at a much more affordable price. You can download most snes game emulator to play these classic retro games, such as street fighter, zelda, mortal kombat 2, super metroid, super mario world, super mario kart, bring you real retro feel. It works well with mac osx and snes9x once controllers are configured in the emulator. It works well with any emulator you wish to download and use, such as virtuanes, sens9x, zsens, sensgt, uosnesw, retroarch, nesemu and jnes etc. The conductive rubber pads provide a good amount of travel and the buttons are not flimsy or mushy.

It is compatible with windows PC, mac, raspberry pi and retro-bit super retro-cade console with USB port.

Why We Like This: