Review of Compatible Amazon Fire TV (And Fire TV Stick) Controllers:
1) Amazon Fire Game Controller - $39.99 Amazon Prime
Pros: The most buttons- 8 game buttons + 2 analog sticks that can be buttons as well + standard back / home / menu buttons same as original Fire TV remote + dedicated "Game Circle" button + media Rewind / Play-Pause / Fast Forward button + Dpad. All in all there are 21 things to click if you include each direction of the Dpad plus the two analog sticks. Good size and feels well made. My favorite controller for playing general games. 2 AA batteries included. NEW: Has voice control as well.
Cons: Lacks touchpad
2) OUYA Wireless Controller - ~$35 Amazon Prime
Pros: Built in trackpad automatically usable as a mouse in apps that need a mouse (or touchpad) to use. This vastly increases the apps that can be used after being sideloaded onto a Fire TV- many apps are just not designed to work correctly with an AFTV Remote, there is no other way to select or click something that needs clicking. With the OUYA controller it's easy and doesn't require a separate mouse. Also about the same size and weight as the Amazon Fire Controller. Has 8 dedicated buttons, two analogs sticks that can each be clicked, and the standard d-pad, Also has "on" button that is used to pair the device.
Cons: Lacks home/back/menu buttons and dedicated media buttons. Personally did not like the feel of the Dpad which is somewhat raised. Documentation doesn't mention how to change batteries (2 AA required, not included.) (You need to separate the brushed aluminum covers from the back, each side removes individually.)
3) NES30 Wireless Gamepad - ~$40 Amazon Prime
Pros: Looks and feels much like the original NES controller although modified with additional buttons. This is not the same as the cheap $5 Chinese knock-off controllers. (4 buttons + left and right trigger + start and select) = 8 buttons in all plus the Dpad. Great for playing emulated games. USB rechargeable battery. Best controller for playing old NES games.
Cons: At least with the firmware that ships with it the "Start" button is unusable in games as it gets translated to the menu button on the standard AFTV remote, so if you remap the button in an emulator you loose access to the menu button on both remotes. This means you need to use one of the other buttons as Start- fine for playing original NES games but gets tricky if you play a game that needs all the buttons.
1) Amazon Fire Game Controller - $39.99 Amazon Prime
Pros: The most buttons- 8 game buttons + 2 analog sticks that can be buttons as well + standard back / home / menu buttons same as original Fire TV remote + dedicated "Game Circle" button + media Rewind / Play-Pause / Fast Forward button + Dpad. All in all there are 21 things to click if you include each direction of the Dpad plus the two analog sticks. Good size and feels well made. My favorite controller for playing general games. 2 AA batteries included. NEW: Has voice control as well.
Cons: Lacks touchpad
2) OUYA Wireless Controller - ~$35 Amazon Prime
Pros: Built in trackpad automatically usable as a mouse in apps that need a mouse (or touchpad) to use. This vastly increases the apps that can be used after being sideloaded onto a Fire TV- many apps are just not designed to work correctly with an AFTV Remote, there is no other way to select or click something that needs clicking. With the OUYA controller it's easy and doesn't require a separate mouse. Also about the same size and weight as the Amazon Fire Controller. Has 8 dedicated buttons, two analogs sticks that can each be clicked, and the standard d-pad, Also has "on" button that is used to pair the device.
Cons: Lacks home/back/menu buttons and dedicated media buttons. Personally did not like the feel of the Dpad which is somewhat raised. Documentation doesn't mention how to change batteries (2 AA required, not included.) (You need to separate the brushed aluminum covers from the back, each side removes individually.)
3) NES30 Wireless Gamepad - ~$40 Amazon Prime
Pros: Looks and feels much like the original NES controller although modified with additional buttons. This is not the same as the cheap $5 Chinese knock-off controllers. (4 buttons + left and right trigger + start and select) = 8 buttons in all plus the Dpad. Great for playing emulated games. USB rechargeable battery. Best controller for playing old NES games.
Cons: At least with the firmware that ships with it the "Start" button is unusable in games as it gets translated to the menu button on the standard AFTV remote, so if you remap the button in an emulator you loose access to the menu button on both remotes. This means you need to use one of the other buttons as Start- fine for playing original NES games but gets tricky if you play a game that needs all the buttons.
What does that mean modded the Fire? Running XBMC is a question of side-loading, but not really modding. Root not needed. If you have an Android phone or tablet, this is one method that makes it dead simple:
