CES 2023 was an opportunity for many manufacturers to present their new game controllers, from the most adaptive (the kit Project Leonardo of PlayStation) to the most connected (the controller dedicated to the Alienware Concept Nyx system). To stand out from the competition, Asus, via its ROG (Republic of Gamers) gaming branch, unveils the Raikiri Pro controller or lightning slayer pro for non-Japanese speakers. This pad, which is intended primarily for PCs, but can also be connected to Xbox One consoles as well as Series X and S, embeds a somewhat special component, a screen qualified as Oled by the manufacturer of 1.3 inches, with a resolution of 128 by 40 pixels and capable of displaying two levels of gray. And no, it’s not touch sensitive.
Various useful information during the game can be displayed such as the remaining autonomy, the activation (or deactivation) of the microphone, the name of the personalized profile used… Other messages and much more futile animations can also be generated via the in-house Armory Crate software, which is also used to configure the Raikiri Pro in its smallest cogs; stick response curve, trigger activation zone, key remapping… Note that if profiles can be saved, RoG has not yet specified how many. Keys placed on the front, just in front of the screen, allow you to switch from one to the other on the fly.
Laugh well who Raikiri(ra) the last…
The other strong point of the Raikiri Pro is its communication protocol… or rather its communication protocols. Indeed, it can connect wired (USB-C), via radio waves (2.4 Ghz) and Bluetooth. Note that these last two wireless connections are only valid for playing on PC. You will have to connect the Raikiri Pro to play on your Xbox.
The rest of the Asus RoG Raikiri Pro is much more traditional and we therefore find the two analog sticks, a directional cross and four action buttons. At the rear, the four triggers (whose stroke length can be varied for the lower pair) are assisted by two paddles and two buttons.
As is often the case for new products presented at CES, the price of the controller and the date of availability in our countries have not been communicated.