Genki puts a screen on its $279 Manta controller so the app can stay home

Why it matters

Manta turns controller configuration into embedded software, testing whether enthusiasts will pay $279 to escape companion apps and tune every input on-device.

Eddie Tsai on X

Eddie Tsai (@ehDTsai), a co-founder of gaming-accessory maker Genki, launched the Manta controller on Kickstarter on August 21st, putting a 2.9-inch settings screen where most gamepads leave empty plastic. Early backers can reserve the controller for $189, while Genki expects to charge $279 at retail, The Verge reported.

Manta is Genki's first controller designed from the ground up. The Los Angeles brand previously worked with 8BitDo on the PocketPro, but the new controller carries Tsai's own, considerably less conventional bet: players will accept a thicker gamepad and a premium price if it lets them configure nearly every input without opening a phone or desktop utility.

Tsai has spent years learning how to turn crowdfunded prototypes into hardware. He launched Tsaiclip, a mustache-shaped tie clip, through Kickstarter in 2011, an experience that pulled him into product development, according to his profile on Kickstarter's Community Advisory Council. He returned to the platform with Genki's first Nintendo Switch accessory in 2018. Manta is Genki's ninth crowdfunded device.

The controller is its own settings app

Manta's screen is primarily a control panel, rather than a second display for games. A dedicated Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller runs the MantaOS interface, where players can build profiles for different consoles, games and users. Settings include button remapping, thumbstick response curves, dead zones, haptic intensity and macros assembled from recorded input sequences.

That setup moves configuration onto the hardware itself. A player switching from a racing game to a shooter can change the sticks, triggers and button sensitivity directly on the controller, without finding the correct companion app or reconnecting to another device.

Genki has also made the physical controls adjustable. The TMR thumbsticks use magnetic sensing intended to resist drift, while their tension can be changed without replacing the sticks. Six extra inputs sit across the shoulders and rear of the controller.

The face buttons are analog, allowing users to choose how far each one travels before registering a press. Genki's three-position triggers include long and short travel settings, plus an intermediate mode that Genki claims is suited to rapid repeated presses. Linear magnetic motors in the grips provide haptic feedback.

Manta carries a user-replaceable 2,600mAh battery and connects through Bluetooth, an included 2.4GHz dongle or USB-C. Genki also added a button that changes the controller into a keyboard-and-mouse interface for navigating a PC from the couch. Nintendo Life reported advertised polling rates of up to 8,000Hz over a wired connection and 1,000Hz wirelessly, figures that have yet to be independently tested.

A strange silhouette is part of Tsai's bet

Manta's controls sit unusually high because the screen occupies most of the controller's center. The result resembles a wide, modernized Dreamcast controller and breaks from the familiar Xbox and Nintendo Pro Controller shapes copied throughout the accessory market.

The unusual layout makes Genki's sales pitch harder. A familiar shell requires little explanation at retail. Manta gives up that familiarity to create room for software, turning the controller's center into a persistent interface instead of outsourcing those controls to a companion app.

The design also creates an obvious test for Genki. A controller can offer extensive adjustments and still fail if the grips become uncomfortable, the interface slows down profile changes or the extra weight becomes tiring. Manta's settings screen needs to save more effort than the larger body creates.

The premium controller gets another premium tier

Screen-equipped controllers already exist. Anbernic's RG G01 uses a smaller display for configuration and includes a heart-rate sensor, according to Engadget. The 8BitDo Ultimate 2 offers TMR sticks, profiles, macros and switchable trigger modes without building a screen into the controller.

Manta's combination is broader: onboard profiles, configurable analog face buttons, adjustable stick tension, three trigger positions and an interface that remains with the hardware. Genki is effectively selling a small embedded computer alongside the inputs.

That also gives Genki a continuing software obligation. MantaOS has to manage profiles, connections, diagnostics and input editing reliably enough that the screen feels useful after the novelty wears off. Nintendo Life reported that Genki plans an open developer hub called Genki Forge, with hardware documentation, reference applications and tools for loading community-built software onto the controller. A developer community could expand what the screen does, although that depends on Manta selling in enough volume to attract sustained attention.

Crowdfunding gives Tsai a way to measure that demand before committing to full retail production. The $189 early price is $90 below Genki's expected retail figure, compensating backers for ordering before independent reviews can establish Manta's comfort, battery life, latency and software stability.

Tsai's wager is straightforward: enthusiasts already tune their sticks, triggers, macros and profiles, and enough of them will pay to keep those controls inside the gamepad. At $189, Manta can appeal to early adopters who treat controllers like mechanical keyboards. At $279, the screen and MantaOS will have to earn their place every time the player picks it up.