The M-Con PSP Go-Style iPhone Game Controller Moves One Step Closer to Reality

About six months ago, Josh King posted on the SBCGaming subreddit about a 3D printed iPhone game controller he’d created called the M-Con. The post was accompanied by a YouTube video walkthrough that lent credibility to the Sony PSP Go-like design, that connected to an iPhone using MagSafe-compatible magnets. Then a couple of months ago, the M-Con showed up again on the Retro Game Corps YouTube channel where Russ Crandall put the device through its paces and was impressed with the results

Now, King is back with an even more refined design and an established corporate backer to build and sell the M-Con. As Sean Hollister explains on The Verge, the backer is OhSnap, the maker of PopSocket alternatives. As Hollister explains, the M-Con:

[is] no taller or wider than an iPhone, so it should slide into a pocket. It’s got a MagSafe pattern of magnets to attach it to your magnetic ring device. You don’t have to remove it to use your phone like a phone, because the whole gamepad retracts underneath, a little like the slide-out keyboard phones (or PlayStation Phones) of old — and now, it’s mounted on a spring-loaded arm that pops out at the push of a button and also slightly angles your device towards your face.

Notably, the M-Con has gained Hall-effect thumbsticks and a pair of fold-out grips, too.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on this project for months. I’m surprised I’ve never seen another iPhone game controller like it, which is why I’ve been a little skeptical of its viability from the start. But with OhSnap onboard, the M-Con is looking more real than ever. According to Sean Hollister, the M-Con will be at CES in January. You can bet it will be one of the first booths I visit.