Evil Shift Interview

Interview with Adam Coe, founder and CEO at Evil Controllers

A staple I do in all interviews in order to start things off is to ask that you elaborate a bit about your product and company that people might not know?

Adam: Evil Controllers immediately revolutionized the gaming peripheral industry as the first custom controller company. Ten years later, the company is still pioneering, creating high-quality products eSports gamers need to be competitive. Beyond customization of controllers, Evil Controllers’ Accessible Gaming Division provides disabled gamers with controller customization, enabling anyone to play video games despite physical limitations. Based in Tempe, AZ, Evil Controllers has produced hundreds of thousands of completely customized controllers for both local and global customers.

Could you briefly go over the Evil Shift, what it aims to provide and what platforms are supported?

Adam: The Evil Shift is customizable for Xbox One, Xbox One X, PS4 (and all work on PC).

* The Evil Shift Controller paddles are comfortable and more than just ergonomic. The team at Evil Controllers understands that placing paddles where your fingers would naturally rest is an Ideal location to alleviate fatigue and improve game play vs. having to “reach” over the outer paddles to access the inner. With the Evil Shift Controller, all four paddles can easily be pressed at the same time, limiting latency and increasing the smoothness of game play.

* There is no limitation in button remapping with the Evil Shift Controller and no tools are required. The Evil Shift is completely customizable without compromising quality. With the Evil Shift Controller, rewriting or reassigning button profiles is simplified, quickly done within seconds. Gamers can reassign buttons on the fly, allowing quick recall of what buttons do. The Evil Shift Controller offers the most savable profiles of any other eSports controller on the market.
Evil Shift Interview
* Evil Controllers is devoted to solving the problems of the eSports gamer. With the Evil Shift Controller, the team at Evil Controllers proves their commitment to the eSports gamer with unequalled quality and workmanship, a focus on customization and the needed features that prove the Evil Controllers team understands the needs of the eSports gamer.

* The Evil Controllers team is focused on solving eSports players’ biggest pain points with the Evil Shift Controller, including the best trigger sensitivity in the industry and significant resistance reduction. The Evil Shift Controller’s hairpin triggers reduce the tension of the trigger by over 50%. The Evil Shift Controller gives no hard feedback from metal to plastic contact, thus increasing feedback after each trigger pull; the lighter response means a lighter pull is required to fire and fast rebound to top, so that gamers can pull faster.

* The Evil Shift Controller features a variety of advances and advantages that the competition can’t reach. The Evil Shift Controller’s sensitive buttons give players that satisfying mouse-like click, increasing reaction time, with gamers noticing an immediate difference in gameplay. With no trigger stops, players have no limit to game play when using the Evil Shift Controller. Players using the Evil Shift Controller feel zero limitation in trigger pull.

* The Evil Shift Controller is visually appealing without sacrificing any durability or grip. Evil Controllers knows that eSports gamers need a durable grip that still looks sleek.

There’s a focus on providing a professional, yet fun design with the Evil Shift. What were some of the initial key goals when working on the controller?

Adam: The initial goal was to create a controller that is durable, functional, and ergonomic. Addressing the need for a competitive controller, but also understanding casual gamers needs as well. This is an eSports inspired design, but fundamentally we found the controller makes any game more enjoyable.

I understand there are now many more customization options for the Evil Shift, could you briefly describe what’s available to be tweaked?

Adam: The Evil Shift features cosmetic customization, while also providing customization to your Evil Sticks. Allowing you to pick between 3 height sizes(11mm, 15mm, 18mm), gamers can pick the preferred thumb-stick for sensitivity and comfort.

Many gamers love customized options for something they use all the time, when did the team decide they wanted to increase customization and do you feel the options cover all aspects of what one might desire?

Adam: Initially our focus was designing for the eSports concept, but quickly we found gamers wanting to stand out more than just gameplay. This lead to our Controller Creator which allows you to customize nearly every aspect of the Evil Shift. We even have the ability to add your gamertag or logo to the controller to finalize the customization.
Evil Shift Customization
I see there are many faceplate designs, could you go over some favorites and perhaps give some insight into the choices for what’s available?

Adam: We offer a range of faceplate designs, from our top selling Sticker Bomb to the classic Camouflage. The designs are all hand made in Evils Facility, custom painted and hydro dipped. We offer three types of finishes, gloss, matte, and soft touch. We recommend the gloss finish to make your design pop, but if sweat is your enemy the matte finish is a must have.

Do you personally have any one aspect of the Evil Shift you think is really cool to tweak with the customization options?

Adam: I personally love our Evil ID in the Controller Creator. This process is very hands on and unique to the industry. You can type what you want to see on the controller, change the font, and even change the color. We also offer pre-made logos and can even custom make any logos!

With the Evil Shift having some extra enhancements, could you briefly go over what sort of edge this controller can provide over one’s competition?

Adam: The immediate edge is having 4 usable paddles strategically placed on the underside. Each paddle can be pressed from any angle or position without having to reach for them. Our Hairpin Triggers and Sensitive Buttons simply execute faster than any standard button. Our customizable Evil Sticks have a convex shape with a large surface area, designed to keep your thumb centered. Lastly, we've designed the Evil Shift specifically for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 controllers. Rather than deviating from the design tested and approved by millions of gamers, we've simply improved the existing first party controller.

Lastly I would like to leave a spot for you to say something or go over anything I might have missed during the interview?

Adam: Evil Controllers is a leader in able-gaming advancements, allowing gamers with a variety of disabilities to enjoy gaming.

* Evil Controllers is dedicated to recreating controllers at any length needed to meet the needs of customers, through technology, ingenuity and creativity. For the very demanding projects, the founder and CEO, Adam Coe, does the work himself to ensure perfection. Evil Controllers is the only company that offers complete controller customization.

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Read our Evil Shift Review

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner