If you research the interwebz you’ll discover that Evil Controllers has been around since the mid to late 2000’s. Their first product that helped them really break into the gaming industry were custom thumbsticks for the Xbox 360 controller. I remember posting news releases about their products when I worked for another online gaming site, but I had never tried them as I was somewhat a skeptic. Well, I don’t know exactly when, but over the past few years I have had a pair or their Evil Sticks on my Xbox 360 controller and found that it definitely doesn’t hurt. Since that time they have continued to make waves as they have delved into the world of custom controllers, not only in function, but in design as well.
I have kept eye on Evil Controllers as they have started to design some really funky looking controllers. What is great about their designs is that they are not ‘skins’ or simple stickers, but they are actually painted controllers. When the Xbox One and PS4 were released I wanted to do something kind of cool to commemorate not only my jump to the next generation of gaming, but to have something more personal when it comes to the standard controllers offered by Microsoft or Sony. This is where Evil Controllers come in.
Evil Controllers allows you to not only buy pre-designed custom painted controllers, but you can also design your own, as long as you own the rights to the logos you want on your controller. If you can show written permission from the owner of logos you wish to use you can do that too, but that would take a heck of a lot of work to do so. Given that I am part owner of our website, I thought it would be neat to create a COG Xbox One controller (I’ll do a PS4 one later).
It was as simple as contacting Evil Controllers and then working with a representative of their design team. When passing along ideas and logos you can actually pay a $15.00 fee and they will create a “prototype” design that you can approve or ask for changes. If you decide to have a controller made this $15.00 is applied towards the final cost of your controller, so not all is lost. If you don’t get them to make a controller, then the money just stays with Evil Controllers.
Now I am sure you’re wondering how I can review or give impressions of the final product, as I did not have them alter the controller for such things as rapid fire or any other special game features as they just painted it. Although this is a good point, what I do want to talk about the quality of the final product. I have to say that it is second to none. When I got controller shipped to me and I opened the box I honestly couldn’t believe how great it looked. It was far above my expectations. I could even smell that it had been recently painted. As the pictures show, my controller is a glossy red with black logos. That leads me to an important point. Evil Controllers is limited in their colour selection for actual logo painting and if your logo has multiple colours in it there is a good chance it will be too complex for them to paint on the controller, so keep it simple.
When I took a long look at the quality and finish of the painted controller I have to say that I was more them impressed. The original seams and ridges are very prevalent and even the ‘Xbox’ logo on cover for the battery compartment shows up very well. Nothing is globbed with paint. You can tell time went into prepping and completing the paint job. The battery compartment cover fits just like those on a non-painted original Xbox One controller so there are no issues there. Evil Controllers even changed the LED light behind the Xbox One logo that lights up and now it is red…too cool. If I noted anything, it was when I plugged in my headset adapter. The coat of paint adds just enough thickness that the adapter took a bit more push then usual to snap in, and when I took it off you can see the slightest of surface scratches where it rubbed on the controller. It was a minor issue though. The glossiness of the paint also attracts fingerprints, but that can be cleaned a nice soft cloth, so keep one handy.
I do have to note that when I first received my controller the left trigger had an issue. A quick call to their customer service line had me returning the controller for a quick fix, and once they fixed and tested it they sent it right back. Overall it was about a week and a half turn over. Given I live in Canada I had to pay for shipping but they credited the credit card that I bought the controller on. If you live in the U.S. they can send you a shipping label to ship it back to them. Their customer service is great and I was happy with how everything played out.
Overall I am very impressed by Evil Controllers’ work. Their custom painted controllers look great and are done with a quality that reflects professional work. My only concern though is the price. My controller retails for $149.00 before shipping (and for those wondering, yes I bought it). And if you live in Canada get ready to pay some duties on it. If you have the extra money, I don’t have a problem recommending that you look into getting an Evil Controller with pre-made design, or if you can, have one done with logo’s you have the rights too. That being said, the price may be too steep if you’re on a budget, but the quality you pay for is very, very good so take a look on their site (www.evilcontrollers.com) and see if anything catches your fancy for a price that you can handle as there are always some good deals to be found.
Take a look at the gallery below for some pictures and close-ups to see the quality and graphics of the controller.
