Cameron Faulkner (he/him) is Polygon’s commerce editor. He began writing about tech and gaming in 2013, and migrated from The Verge in 2023.The Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck may get most of the attention in the gaming handheld space, but let’s not forget about the noble mobile, aka the smartphone. It takes but one accessory to turn your phone into a proper handheld with analog sticks, buttons, and triggers. The best one around is Backbone’s One mobile controller, and it’s 30% off for October Prime Day.Backbone One mobile gaming controller$70$10030% off$70Forget touch controls or a phone clip; snap this on your iPhone or Android phone to turn it into a premium handheld device, whether you’re streaming Xbox or PS5 titles, playing Genshin Impact. A PlayStation version is also available.Read More$70 at AmazonMultiple varieties of the Backbone One controller are $69.99 (was $99.99), including the latest USB-C versions in black or in a PlayStation DualSense-themed white that can plug into the latest iPhones and Android models. (For those who have an iPhone 14 or earlier, controllers that use a Lightning connector are available for the same price.) The Backbone One stretches to secure itself around the edges of your phone, turning it into a fetching handheld. It has a passthrough charging port to let you keep your phone charged, as well as a 3.5mm audio port in case you use wired headphones. What a novel concept, 3.5mm on smartphone!Related:The best October Prime Day dealsThe best gaming deals of October Prime DayFor PlayStation owners, the Backbone One allows for PS Remote Play on iOS and Android — note that only the PlayStation edition lets Android users access it — letting your phone effectively serve as a PlayStation Portal sans adaptive triggers and rumble. Not a PlayStation gamer? You can stream Xbox Game Pass games, stream titles from your PC via Steam Link, and/or play other native mobile games that have controller support like Call of Duty Mobile.The PlayStation edition is the only model that lets Android and iPhone use PS Remote Play with the controls. Cameron Faulkner/The VergeLooking for more deals? Check out all of Polygon’s favorite October Prime Day 2024 deals right here, and subscribe to our newsletter below to get great deals delivered to your inbox every week.
Related Posts
Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida has asked fans to not create any “offensive or inappropriate” mods for the game prior to its PC release later today. That means you, yes you reading this right now, have been asked not to create anything vulgar or naughty. It doesn’t matter how handsome Clive is!This plea stems from a PC Gamer interview, in which Yoshida refused to name any specifics as to avoid goading cheeky modders into creating exactly what he and Square Enix wouldn’t want to see. However, it doesn’t take a mind reader to know the kind of stuff he’s talking about. No cocks, fellas. It’ll probably make Yoshida very sad to see a naked Clive pop up on his Twitter feed.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings This may seem like an odd thing to specif…
Read moreThe final results for the winner of the Pokemon TCG Illustration Contest 2024 are in, and I’m in love with the winning piece.Earlier this year, The Pokemon Company held a competition for fans of the series to submit some art that if it won, would be made into an official Pokemon Trading Card Game card (oh the winner gets $5000 too, which is nice). The results of the competition have finally been announced, and the winner is an artist by the name of Kazuki Minami, who drew maybe the best Pikachu card I’ve ever seen. You can see it at the end of a video that shows a bunch of the other submissions, or just look at the top of this page, but for those of you that don’t want to do either of those things, it’s a lovingly rendered piece showing Pikachu yawning and scratching its head with its foot…
Read moreRoboCop might have struggled to get another big-screen installment off the ground for years, but the IP is far from dead. Last year, RoboCop: Rogue City wowed us with a pretty freakin’ solid AA experience, and now Amazon plans to make good use of the IP after acquiring MGM’s entire library.Via Variety, we’ve learned that Amazon is rapidly moving forward with a RoboCop TV series to be helmed by Peter Ocko, who has written for shows like Dinosaurs, Black Sails, and The Office over the years.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings On top of Ocko – who’s locked to serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner – James Wan, the prolific horror and action blockbuster director now eyeing a Creature from the Black Lagoon reboot, is set to executive produce u…
Read moreYou. You there! Be afraid. Be very AFRAID.Xbox has just announced another batch of Game Pass arrivals – the titles which’ll be hitting the service during the first bit of October – and included is a game so utterly cursed that it can be used to create your own sitcom fanfiction.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings Yep, MLB The Show 24, a game I used eariler this year to stage what scientists have since come to refer to in hushed tones as ‘The UberCostanza experiment’ will be available on Game Pass Standard (console) from October 2. You’ve been warned. Forget about using it to re-create the ninth inning magic Francisco Lindor unleashed for the New York Mets the other day. You’ll be suckered into creating a team of Seinfeld chracter clones who somehow e…
Read moreIt’s been a little over one day now since the launch of Vessel of Hatred, the first paid expansion to Diablo 4. The launch was several hours late, thanks to the discovery of some last-minute bugs, but it now appears there’s more to complain about here than we initially realised.One problem, in particular, has been driving a lot of players up the wall. No matter how they bought the expansion, the game sometimes decides they do not own it, and either kicks them out of the session, or doesn’t allow them to start.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings This is a fairly typical license validation issue, and in this case, it was limited to consoles. Still, it’s a problem PlayStation and Xbox players really didn’t need to deal with.…
Read moreVariousThere are so many ways to be a Dungeons & Dragons fan these days. The tabletop RPG mainstay has been synonymous with pen-and-paper adventuring for 50 years now, and 2024 marks a major reworking of its core rulebooks to make the game more approachable. Anyone who’s played even just a couple of sessions knows how easy it can be to covet a friend’s set of custom dice, appreciate the care a Dungeon Master has taken in setting the right ambience for a crafted campaign, or even obsess over their choice of pen and notebook — after all, it’s what you’ll be spending a large chunk of time staring into as you ponder your character’s next heroic action.But what’s amazing is that you can be a huge D&D fan without ever touching a character sheet. D&D and the Forgotten R…
Read moreTraveller’s TalesAlice Jovanée (she/her) is a commerce writer, and she has been writing about gaming and tech since 2005. Prior to Polygon, she worked at publications such as The Verge.Regardless of how you feel about the current season of Rings of Power, if you’re looking for another way to satiate your Tolkien love you’ll definitely want to check out the current catalog of free games available to Amazon Prime members. Earlier this month, both Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition, and Lego The Lord of the Rings were made available to Amazon Prime members for free through Sept. 30. However, you can now also pick up Lego The Hobbit for free through Oct. 23. Just head to the corresponding Prime Gaming page and you’ll be presented with a code that you can redeem on GOG.com fo…
Read moreNintendo of AmericaCameron Faulkner (he/him) is Polygon’s commerce editor. He began writing about tech and gaming in 2013, and migrated from The Verge in 2023.One of the best unofficial October Prime Day deals has come early at Woot, where you can get a new Nintendo Switch OLED with either white or neon blue/red Joy-Con for $299.99 ($50 off). It’s not typical for this console to receive any kind of discount, so we’re usually skeptical that there’s something amiss when one pops up, like an iffy warranty, or that it isn’t the U.S. version, which includes a different power adapter. However, there are no strings attached; you’re just getting a great deal.Nintendo Switch OLED$300$35014% off$300Nintendo’s hybrid console still has plenty of staying power, especially with this year�…
Read morePaizoAlice Jovanée (she/her) is a commerce writer, and she has been writing about gaming and tech since 2005. Prior to Polygon, she worked at publications such as The Verge.While everyone is busy poring over their new $49.99 Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook, I’ll be over here, sitting on a fat, figurative (it’s digital) stack of Pathfinder Second Edition content that costs $15 less. Pathfinder is our favorite alternative to D&D, and right now, you can pick up a bundle that features over 50 rulebooks, adventures, and other extra content for just $35 from Humble.Pathfinder Bundle of the Dead$35$35$35 at HumbleIn addition to boasting the basics, like the Beginner Box, Bestiary, and Gamemastery guide, this bundle includes a generous helping of content from the Lost Omens campa…
Read moreDOTS RPGAlice Jovanée (she/her) is a commerce writer, and she has been writing about gaming and tech since 2005. Prior to Polygon, she worked at publications such as The Verge.The aptly named $10 TTRPGS for Accessible Gaming Charity Bundle is a collection of over 300 eccentric tabletop RPGs from over 900 itch.io creators. All proceeds from this bundle will benefit the DOTS RPG project, a non-profit foundation that works to produce more accessible gaming aids like rulebooks, HP markers, and dice. This massive bundle is a great way to explore the work of independent creators and support a project that’s easy to feel good about.itch.io accessible TTRPG bundle$10$10$10 at itch.ioAdmittedly, we could spend the next several months rolling dice and not even touch a fraction of the titles this…
Read more