GAMING GEAR GAB
Way back in the before-time (the misty month of February) Vince Pavey went to Paris to get hands-on with a variety of new NACON hardware, as well as check in with some of the senior leadership at the company about its product development process and overall strategy. First up is Yannick Allaert, Group Director of Purchases and Development at NACON
Just to give context to our readers, how many controllers have you developed and sent out to market at this point? Since the creation of the NACON brand, we have developed and launched over 19 controller designs. This range covers different market segments, from controllers for mobile gaming, such as the MG-X, to arcade sticks dedicated to versus fighting with the DAIJA, not forgetting of course our many models of official controllers for consoles and PC in our Revolution range, designed for the most demanding gamers.
How do you decide which areas need improvement next? What’s the process like when it comes to going back to the drawing board? Our decisions of improvement are largely based on feedback from the gaming community, whose uses and expectations are constantly evolving. This feedback enables us to identify areas for improvement, both in terms of ergonomics and the technologies to be integrated into our future products. Combined with our constant monitoring of the market, feedback from our ambassadors and, of course, our in-house expertise, they feed our thinking about the functionalities to be integrated into our future products. When we embark on a new design phase, these lessons are the starting point for rethinking the user experience and proposing increasingly relevant and innovative solutions.
18 | MCV/DEVELOP April/May 2025
What is the average development time for one of your controllers, and what do the team sizes look like? The average development time for a controller is around three years. This time may vary according to the complexity of the product, especially when technological innovations have to be integrated or particularly demanding test protocols have to be met. Each project mobilizes our teams in both our French and Hong Kong offices.
Like a lot of premium controllers, parts of the new Revolution X pad are modular. How do you both stress test and ‘idiot proof’ that while designing? Over the last ten years, we have established very precise protocols with the help of feedback from players. These protocols are applied in our test laboratories to guarantee the reliability of each component. On the software side, validations are carried out at every stage of development to guarantee the stability and smooth operation of all functionalities. When it comes to officially licensed products, additional test protocols are carried out in close collaboration with our partners to meet their specific standards.
Are you still working with pro-gamer Nathan Massol [Mistah Crimson]? We continue to work closely with Nathan Massol, who is one of our brand ambassadors and advisor on
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
