CRKD unveils NEO S, their new wireless controller that gives ‘state of the art’ a new meaning

CRKD, the company that brought us the Nitro Deck, announced their latest product, the NEO S Wireless Collectible Controller for Nintendo Switch, PC, Mobile, and Bluetooth-capable Smart TVs.

Not only do the controllers have state of the art hardware, but the art, itself, is collectible. With its sleek design inspired by both retro controllers and modern cell phones, it becomes the perfect canvas for inspiration to take flight.

The controller is debuting with nine distinct designs including 3 Special Editions designed by POPeART, a well-known game controller artist. Personally, I can’t decide if I love the SE Blossom art style or the gorgeous transparent designs more. 

NEO S Designs:

• Retro Gold Edition
• Classic Clear Edition
• Atomic Red Edition
• Emerald Green Edition
• Orange Zest Edition
• Electric Pink Edition
• Splatter Edition by POPeART
• Blossom Edition by POPeART
• Junkyard Edition by POPeART

You may be wondering where the collectibility comes in. If you choose to, you can register your NEO S in what CRKD is calling their True Collection System. For some, it may sound like an NFT, but it’s more like how FigPins do their systems. TCS allows you to use their app to link your controller. There, it will tell you the rarity and the number of your controller in a batch.

This is a purely optional function that has no monetary value. You can’t sell the score. The only way to transfer numbers is to unpair your controller and let someone else physically scan the controller. 

Now that we’ve touched on the cosmetic, let’s talk hardware because this little controller is packing quite the punch. 

It utilizes Hall Effect technology for the thumbstick and trigger buttons meaning that they are going to have a longer lifespan. This means they don’t wear down as fast and will help prevent the dreaded stick drift from killing the functionality of your controller.

Not only that, but this little controller has an internal gyroscope which means it is fully motion-compatible for the Switch games that allow it. For those of us that lean while playing and swear it works… well, sometimes it really does.

In addition to those, they’re offering the ability to tailor how much vibration shakes the controller. Personally, this is one of my favorite things. I hate that my usual options are ‘being shaken right down to my bones’ or having to turn off the vibration function completely. 

Now, let’s talk about the thumbstick. We talked about how they’ve combated stick drift, but they’ve also made the stick tops replaceable. Not only can you change the way your controller looks, but you can likely adjust the height for a more comfortable, tailored fit. They use the same stick top packs as the Nitro Deck, so you don’t have to buy anything special! And, finally, they’ve allowed the ability to turn off dead zones for the thumbstick, meaning you’ll always have the most seamless movement possible.

Who knew I’d have so much to say about thumbsticks? Moving on, one of the most interesting design features is the two programmable buttons on the back. In the future, they’re hoping to be able to program this by mobile, but for now, it’s programmable right from the controller, and it’s fairly easy.

Let’s say you’re playing a fighting game that has moves 6 button presses long. It can be a pain to execute this move perfectly, but if you hit the program button on the back of the controller for 3 seconds, a purple light will turn on in the front. While the light is active, you press the button combination for the move and then tap the back button you want tied to it. Voila! Any time you press that back button, it will now execute that move with just one tap.

Not only can you program those buttons for ease of play, but you can disable the back buttons too. Or, you can designate a turbo button that will help you spam something as long as it’s pressed. Honestly, I’m fairly impressed with the customizable options for this controller.

Lastly, the NEO S has a 3.5 mm headphone jack that will feed audio to the item plugged in while in wired mode for the Switch. So, you can play normally and no one else in the room has to be bothered.

I’m pretty excited about these controllers, I think that as long as they feel good in the hand, they’re going to be a fantastic controller option. Nobody look while I drool over the transparent options. 

Pre-orders are open for the NEO S wireless controller, but orders aren’t expected to start shipping until April. These controllers run at $49.99 regardless of whether it’s Special Edition art or not.

For more information about CRKD and to pre-order the NEO S Wireless Collectible Controller, please visit: https://go.crkd.gg/neos. If you’re all set in the controller department, then maybe you’d be interested in the new Year of the Dragon collab that GUNNAR did with tokidoki.