Nyko 80610 AirFlo PC Game Controller

by Nyko

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000TNJWM
• Item model number: 80610
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 22, 2003

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!, December 26, 2004

By 

Pyanfar Chanur (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Nyko 80610 AirFlo PC Game Controller (Personal Computers)

I bought this controller because I needed something to be able to play console-style games on the PC and frankly, this was the only choice in the store at the time. I'd looked over Belkin's, and it just seemed too cumbersome in my hands. I'd read that Thrustmaster's had weak sticks and a tendency to break.

I've been impressed with the Nyko Airflo ever since I took it out of the package. On any of my Windows XP Pro machines, I just plug in the controller and it works out of the box. No drivers, no configuration, no calibration mess. For Windows 98 users, you can download driver files to support it, but I haven't tried them.

I've been playing Silent Hill 2 and 3, Metal Gear Solid, and a handful of emulated games, and the controller has just naturally worked every time. The Airflo has fans in the handles that blow cool air directly onto your palms. A switch controls two different speeds for the fans, or you can turn them off. I didn't buy this for the fans, but having used them I'm really grateful for it - I'm surprised how well they cool your hands. I'd been concerned that my hands might block the intake, but it's tucked up under the middle, so no worries there. The rubber grips are pretty solid to hold, and although I don't intentionally bang the analog sticks, I have accidentally knocked them around and been surprised they didn't snap right off, but instead kept working.

I've got relatively large hands, so this controller is about the right size for me, and I recommend it to anyone looking to get the "Playstation feel" to their gaming.

One thing to note: some of the older (or just lamer) games I've seen don't support the Nyko. For instance, Sonic Adventure DX for the PC says it'll only work with an analog stick. It's a poorly-built game, and no matter how I fiddle with it, it won't even see the analog sticks on the Nyko. Ditto for games like South Park Rally and Sonic R.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not an avid gamer, but I like it a lot, November 16, 2004

By 

KTB "KTB" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nyko 80610 AirFlo PC Game Controller (Personal Computers)

I don't play a lot of games and almost none on the PC. Call me sentimental, I still pick up my Nintendo64 every now and then. At any rate, I bought the Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup game and loved it muchly, but my fingers got tired using the keyboard for it. So I went out and picked up this controller to use. It was a completely random choice (as I said, I'm not a gamer, so I didn't know what to look for) based more on price than anything else. I discovered that it was the best choice I could have made.

The controller works perfectly with the game and I was able to program all the buttons and analog sticks and everything. Made playing so much easier and better. I don't use the air flow thing so much because I don't have the sweaty hands problem, but I like that it has a bigger grippy area so it fills my hand more. I've been playing with it for several months now and it hasn't broken or gone wonky on me. Very sturdy, works as it should, and helped me win the World Cup :)

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than average, but with glitches..., December 7, 2003

By 

QuantumDesign (houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nyko 80610 AirFlo PC Game Controller (Personal Computers)

This controller is excellent in comfort and ease of use. The fan really helps, although for a real idea of how much it helps you will have to play the same game for an hour with the Nyko controller, and then for an hour with a different controller. The form factor follows the Playstation 2 controller design, which is really the best controller out there (much as the designers of other game systems may wail and gnash their teeth, lol.) However, there are a few improvements over the base PS2 design here. First, the analog thumbsticks' tips are textured with raised ridges, making them much less slippery than the PS2 equivalent, and the handgrips have "cleats" of soft rubberized plastic to give both better grip, and add a bit of "give" to it. It is a VERY comfortable controller to use.
It does have a couple of drawbacks. Other reviews I've read online indicate that a problem I ran into was not limited to me, but seems to be general, which is that after a few weeks of use, the controller "forgets" its calibration and will cause *ahem* unintended results *ahem* in-game. Sadly, there is A) no way to prevent this, and B) no way to tell it has happened until you're in-game and your character (for example) runs in place in a corner and cannot be moved.
This sounds more serious than it is; all you need to do is go to Control Panel -> Game Controllers and recalibrate it, but this IS a hassle some users might want to avoid. If this is no big deal to you, this is an excellent controller, and much more comfortable than its competitors.
Especially if you're playing Final Fantasy XI on PC.