This $300 Gamepad Is More Than Meets the Eye

Ben Silverman

Play lots of games on both your PC and Android device? Wish you had a terrifying, transforming gamepad to pull double-duty? Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped peripheral maker Mad Catz from making one anyway.

Yanked out of Michael Bay’s sketchbook and unveiled at CES 2015, the L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller is a multipurpose gamepad. It’s got three sections: left and right “wings” and a central “brain.” Maybe it’s a robot. Hard to say. Here’s what it looks like folded up:

L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller
L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller

You can stick that in your pocket, but that’s not very useful. Unfold it a little and you get something that recalls a normal gamepad:

L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller
L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller

Ah, that’s more like it. The L.Y.N.X. packs dual analog sticks, a D-pad, a couple of buttons and bumpers, and even an integrated mouse sensor pad and voice search capabilities. Hook it up to a PC and you’re off and gaming.

Except we’re just getting started. If you have an Android phone, you can clip it in and voilà! Your gamepad just grew a phone head:

L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller with a phone attached
L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller with a phone attached

Unwieldy? Sure, but check you out, playing mobile games using a big-boy controller. You can even add a QWERTY keyboard for chatting with other Autobots gamers:

L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller
L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller

But perhaps you prefer to play on a larger tablet. This is a controller for ants! Useless. Or is it? <insert transformer sound>

L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller
L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller

Look at the L.Y.N.X. grow! Just add water! (Note: Under no circumstances should you ever add water to a gamepad.) Indeed, this thing breaks apart to become a gamepad/stand accommodating up to 7 inches’ worth of compatible tablet:

L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller
L.Y.N.X. 9 Mobile Hybrid Controller

Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? Presumably because no one has seen as many Michael Bay films as Darren Richardson, president and CEO of Mad Catz.

“Today, gaming is commonly format agnostic, with most of us playing games across a variety of platforms and locations. The L.Y.N.X. 9 is designed to offer a premium gaming experience in almost any situation,” he said.

It’s offered at a premium price, too: The L.Y.N.X. 9 will set you back $300. That’s more than a Nexus 7 tablet. Here’s hoping that price tag transforms a little by the time the controller rolls out in March.

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