As $70-$100 controllers are only getting more and more impressive, you might be wondering what the pro controller market can do to make you spend that extra $100 or so. It turns out the answer might be to shove a screen on it. Ain't that always the way?

That's what you will find on the Genki Manta, a new controller live on Kickstarter. It uses Manta OS, which is Genki's own operating system, and if you're wondering why a controller would even need an operating system, Genki notes that this allows on-the-fly fine-tuning without the need for any extra devices. You can customise its tri-stage triggers, adjust dead zones, change haptic feedback, and more via the onboard screen and OS.

And the controller is pretty impressive even outside the whole 'OS and built-in screen' thing. You get up to 8,000 Hz polling while wired (though only 1,000 Hz via 2.4 GHz wireless), a range of over 10 meters, 150 hours of battery via Bluetooth LE 6, as well as TMR joysticks and Hall effect triggers. The 16 MB of internal storage can be used to load apps onto Manta OS, and expandable storage might be offered as a stretch goal, according to Genki.

Normally I'm pretty cynical about Kickstarter projects, but the LA-based Human Things and its range of Genki products have been successful on Kickstarter for some time. In fact, I got a Genki dock a couple of years ago and was impressed with the performance. That's not to say the Genki Manta will necessarily be the same quality, but the company has a history of successful kickstarters.

Genki says the Manta is "Beyond the Pro Controller" on its Kickstarter, and it has many of the features one would expect from a pro controller, like four paddles on the bottom and two extra buttons next to the bumpers. Naturally, all of these are remappable via the controller's software.

One thing that does intrigue me about the screen and OS combo is that the controller can swap to keyboard and mouse controls. It even has a toggle on the pad to swap between controller and keyboard mode. It's not yet clear if the display is a touch screen, or how Genki anticipates players using the controller to navigate a mouse.

Whether or not it can balance the screen and extra buttons in its 280-290 g (around the weight of the Xbox Series X controller) frame will be anyone's guess, and naturally that software will have to be very smooth to be worth the effort. I am, however, quite intrigued by the controller, and I'm still deciding if it's curiosity or morbid curiosity.

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We don't yet have an estimated shipping date (assuming the Kickstarter is successful), but we do have a price point: $189 for the Super Early Bird pricer and $279 for the retail price. That is a lot of money, and our pick for the best high-end controller right now, the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC, is $200 at retail. The Wolverine also offers TMR thumbsticks and Hall effect triggers, though you are getting a superior 8,000 Hz polling via wireless, and we can guarantee the build quality of the Wolverine, as we've actually had it in our hands.

This is all before mentioning that you can get a controller for $70 (like the Gamesir G7 Pro) that competes with pro controllers in build quality and the featureset department. Even the more expensive Gamesir G7 Pro 8K (at $80) is a decent choice if you really want 8,000 Hz polling.

This is to say that, even with its own OS and a 2.79-inch screen, the Genki Manta has its work cut out for it. It's a big swing for a first controller, but we'll have to get our hands on it to see if it's actually worth that hefty asking price.

James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.