GameSir’s Clip-on Controller: A New Entertainment Gadget for Mobile Gaming

GameSir Reveals a New Mobile Gaming Gadget at TGS

Over the past weekend at the Tokyo Game Show, GameSir demonstrated a new controller that turns your smartphone into a Game Boy. Unlike the company’s GameSir G8 Plus that offers similar functionality by clamping on to the top and bottom of a phone turned sideways recreating the ergonomics of the Nintendo Switch, this new controller is much smaller and keeps the phone vertical.

GameSir didn’t make any formal announcements of what the accessory is called, what it will cost, compatibility, or when it will be released. However, the accessory is visible in the background of a photo GameSir shared of its TGS booth on X, better photos were shared by the X account, @Yoshivesmovie, after getting the chance to go hands-on with the controller.

• The C-shaped accessory slides onto the bottom of a smartphone.
• Features include a D-pad, Start and Select buttons, four action buttons styled after the Game Boy’s.
• Additional face buttons and shoulder buttons on the back ensure versatility for gaming.

It’s not known how the controller will connect to a smartphone, but the photos seem to show a cutout on the bottom that may keep a phone’s charging port accessible. If the accessory isn’t relying on a USB-C connection, it will probably use Bluetooth, which also means it will have its own rechargeable battery. Having yet another accessory to remember to charge isn’t ideal, but the ergonomics look much better than the recently announced Retro Handheld Console Case for the Xiaomi 17 series smartphones, which only works with the camera bump screen on the back of the phone.