Ion iCade Core Arcade Game Controller for iPad and iPad2 (ICG05)

I was sent this last year, and thought it was time to post a quick review. At $19, this is a great way to play games on an iOS device. It won't work with an OUYA due to requiring a 6-digit pin code, but it fires right up with an iPad with no pairing required. Works great! Update: See the response below for a link to a message board note on steps that may let this pair and work on Android/OUYA, though I have yet to get it to work.

I bought the Midway Arcade game pack, and trying to control things with the on-screen controls is terrible. This controller works great; pretty much just like the old arcade games. A couple issues that keep it from getting 5-stars: - Listed on the company's "Legacy" page, which I assume means it's no longer a supported product. - Only particular games work with it, so it's not as universally usable as I'd hoped. One thing to note, if you have the 12.9" iPad Pro, it won't fit in this in landscape mode. You can still use it (the connection is via Bluetooth), but you'll need to prop it up with something else.

Works excellent for the games that support it. Have tested it with Vectrex, Metal Slug 3, Plasma Sky, and Velocispider and they all rock with this controller. I looked around and decided on this iCade Core controller because it's cheaper than the regular iCade AND more portable. There is a slot on the top where you can run your charging cable so the iPad can be on charge while playing. Got this to take on road trips and to parties. I can even use it with my phone if I want :) I have an iPad Air wrapped in Otterbox Defender and the iPad Air + case fit perfectly snug into the iPad slot on the top. I either use it the expected way or I use the Otterbox Defender shield stand that comes with my case to hold the iPad upright on a table and use the controller in my lap. Both ways work fine. Note, when this controller 1st came out it was crazy expensive and supported 100+ App Store games. The 4 I have above still work with it, but I noticed others that used to work with it aren't available at the App Store anymore, so do your research on each game you consider for this and know that this controller DOES NOT WORK WITH ALL GAMES. The app developer has to code the game/app to work with this controller, so very few games do when you compare them to all the tons of games available. Check out ION's website to verify compatibility, but I found several games they still list as compatible that don't exist anymore on the app store, so be careful and do your research. That said, I see many clueless people leaving some negative reviews on the games I have mentioned above and they simply don't understand that this 4 games and others are meant to be used with an iCade Controller, not tilt or touch, etc.

I was really excited to play retro games when by iCade arrived. It's really great for retro gaming, however there are few quality apps that are compatible with the iCade that aren't vertical shooters. Disappointed with the available apps, I eventually jailbroke my iPad and installed retro console emulators on my iPad. Playing emulated retro games with the iCade was fun and made the purchase totally worth while. However, my Ipad was really unstable with the jailbreak, and I was forced to revert to stock iOS. Now my iCade is a novelty that collects dust most of the time. That being said, I can only recommend the iCade to those with a jailbroken iPad.

I bought this after some reviewers reported being able to use this with their Android devices, but apparently it will not pair with any devices running recent versions of android os (ICS or higher). Why any bluetooth device would refuse to pair with any Android device is beyond me considering the fact that Bluetooth is supposed to be a STANDARD that shouldn't rely on being compatible with a particular device. Sigh. Considering the fact that android devices are now massively outselling ios devices, you'd think the manufacturer would be working overtime to release an android-compatible version of this device, but you'd be wrong. People are stupid.

Funciona perfecto con mi tablet Android BQ Edison 2. SENSACIONES: A falta de probar mas, funciona perfecta con el emulador Mamedroid. Nada que con jugar con los mandos de pantalla, el ICADE va finisimo!!!! Es otra dimension de juego! JUGABILIDAD: Lo compre mas como para adorno en la estanteria mas que para jugar... pues me gustaba mucho jugar cuando era un crio y una de verdad no me cabe en casa, pensando que como Joystick seria un poco birriosillo.... y me equivoque de pleno!!!! Es un vicio y la jugabilidad fantastica!!!! Realmente es recordar con mucha fidelidad cuando tirabamos 25 pesetas a la maquina!!!!! Con la tablet que ademas es 10.1" se apoya fabulosa. De verdad gratamente sorprendido. Muy pero que muy contento con el resultado. CONSTRUCCION; La construccion es muy buena, nada de "plastico chino" y la ergonomia de los botones excelente. Si bien pensaba que por fotos seria excesivamente pequeño, la medida es la justa, no ocupa espacio para ser "un trasto" cabe en cualquier cajon, y es grande para jugar comodamente. CONECTIVIDAD: Hay que conectarlo a traves del bluetooth, nunca habia conectado nada anteriormente por esta via, y aunque me intimidaba un poco, es facil, son 4 pasos: 1) Primero habilitas el bluetooth de tu tablet o movil desde ajustes. Te buscara dispositivos. 2) Una vez le has puesto las pilas al mando, aprietas los botones inferiores y un blanco para que lo encuentre la tablet o movil.y veras que te aparece el ICADE. Pero todavia no los has sincronizado, lo ha encontrado, pero como cualquier cacharro que conectes por bluetooth, hat qye entrarle un numero de seguridad para que sincronice y funcione. 3) La tablet o movil te pedira que le entres un numero, por ejemplo 53465...Anotalo, porque al menos en mi tablet el numero desaparece a los pocos segundos. 4) Con el mando ICADE entra el numero. "cagoento", si no tiene teclado!!!! Tranquilo, es facil, cada mando es un numero...Esta marcado al lado de los pulsadores y botones del mando.... Veras que la palanca del mando rojo moviendo arriba es el 1, abajo 2, izquierda 3 y derecha 4 . y los botones rojos 5, 6, negros 7-8-9-0... y blancos Enter. Una vez entrado veras que te pone sincronizado o algo similar, no lo recuerdo. Ya solo te queda en el mamedroid decirle en las opciones que la entrada de mandos es externa y ya cogera el ICAD automaticamente. No lo he probado con el PC, pero siendo blutooth debe funcionar igualmente. RESUMEN: De verdad vale la pena si te gustan los Arcade... NO TE PUEDE FALTAR! Mi cerebro se ha regenerado con los Asteroides!!!!

Works okay. Reaction time is slow. The joystick response is quite poor. Probably would not have bought had I known what the performance was like.

J’avais acheté cet Icade Core pour faire fonctionner Mame sur ma tablette Android et il est impossible d’appairer cet appareil en Bluetooth autre que sur un IPad. J’ai fait le tour du net pour trouver une solution. J’ai contacté le constructeur qui m’a indiqué que ça marche que sur IPad alors qu’ils ont indiqué la portabilité de leur appareil sur d’autres OS il y a 2 ans. Bref très déçu et obligé de le mettre en vente sur le bon coin alors qu’il n’a jamais servi.... Dommage car le produit à l’aire super

It's amazing how something can take you back in time so effectively. This joystick does just that. With 'Gridlee' installed on my non jail broken ipad min, I was able to play all of the classic arcade games I used to in my youth. The joystick pairs easily, is robust, and plays just like they used to. For any 40-something's out there with a retro itch to scratch, I would strongly recommend this. It's also very cheap now compared to its launch price.

L'iCade Core è robusto e ben costruito, e posso dire che in pratica fa rivivere l'esperienza della sala giochi sul proprio iPad. Ci sono moltissimi giochi compatibili, tra cui i classici arcade Atari (come il preferito della mia adolescenza, Battle Zone — ma anche Tempest, Asteroid, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Crystal Castles,...) e poi Defender, Joust, Gauntlet, eccetera (tutti identici all'originale «da bar»), e giochi più recenti come Temple Run e AirAttack HD. Viene riconosciuto immediatamente dall'iPad come dispositivo Bluetooth, e la configurazione è inesistente (è preimpostata in tutti i giochi compatibili). Non ha interruttori: si spegne da solo quando non lo si usa per un certo tempo, e si riaccende premendo un qualsiasi pulsante o muovendo il joystick. Durante il gioco l'iCade è piuttosto stabile e, a meno che non si abbia uno stile di gioco particolarmente furioso, rimane fermo in posizione. È efficacissimo con tutti i classici che utilizzavano il joystick in origine (come Defender — per cui l'iCade sembra nato apposta), meno con quelli che usavano altri tipi di controller (come Tempest).