8BitDo’s wireless controller with Hall effect sticks is just $40

Amazon’s latest batch of Lightning Deals includes an excellent controller — three colors of it, in fact. The 8BitDo Ultimate 2.4G wireless controller is $39.99 in its purple, white, or black color schemes until the deal expires in a handful of hours. Either one is a stellar choice for Steam Deck, Windows PC, as well as for use wirelessly with Apple and Android products. This 8BitDo controller costs a fraction of the modern gamepads made by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, yet is superior in one key area: Hall effect joysticks, which means in practice that these will not suffer from drifting joysticks that many of us have experienced on various controllers.

The Ultimate 2.4G borrows the Xbox layout, with asymmetrical sticks. It uses a rechargeable battery that gets power through a USB-C port, however each controller includes a dock that you can rest it on to charge via pogo pins. To connect the controller to your device, simply plug in the included 2.4 GHz adapter into the device’s USB-A port, and it’ll pair automatically. In the case of pairing up with your phone, this controller supports Bluetooth connectivity. 8BitDo makes a $69.99 controller called the Ultimate Bluetooth that’s virtually identical, except it offers compatibility with the Nintendo Switch.