P-3 Controller Review

Price	BASE
Release	March 28, 2024
Compatibility	NS2 / PC
Dimensions	13.4″ x 9.1″ x 1.9″
Weight	~3.31 lbs

Introduction

When you read “PPP”, what does it bring to mind? The legendary Slovak YouTuber, PPPeter? But what about P-3 Controller from Japan, which also uses “PPP” as part of its branding sometimes?

You see, P-3 Controller offers the Lotus in lever and leverless formats:

The lever format is the Lotus Lever.
The leverless format is the Lotus Clear.

We’ll focus more on the Lotus Clear because you’re likelier to find it in stock than the Lotus Lever, and to be honest, leverless is more popular nowadays anyway.

There’s even an Orochi leverless edition with a different button layout. That said, we’ll be referring to the case in this review only as the Lotus for brevity. So, shall we?

Unboxing

First off, it’s important to note that the Lotus is a DIY controller, meaning you have the luxury of putting it together yourself. Your expected assembly time is one hour. Without further ado, here’s what P-3 Controller would give you:

Raspberry Pi Pico chip
Mount for that chip
Six acrylic sheets
Various screws
Corner pillars
Four zip ties
Buttonhole cover
USB passthrough
USB-C male to male cable
Bundle of 20 white wires
Two bundles of 10 GND black wires

And this is what you’d need to source yourself to complete your Lotus build:

24 mm screw-in buttons (3)
24 mm buttons (14)
30 mm button
USB-C to A cable
Philips screwdriver

Not too much of a hassle, right?

Performance

The Lotus has 15 buttonholes, so it has three more holes than usual. You’ll likely find yourself using your right index finger and right thumb to use these buttons, probably to play a game like Street Fighter 6 that has mechanics like the Drive Impact. As for the jump button, it’s bigger for easier pressing.

It seems that P-3 Controller wanted the button layout to keep your fingers along a horizontal axis instead of going up and down vertically all the time. This increases speed and reduces fatigue. Fun fact: the Lotus’ top plate is 5 mm in order to accommodate a lot of buttons.

Another fact is that the Lotus’ three function buttons (essentially 24 mm buttonholes) were eventually moved to the side panel. For these holes, a screw-in type of button is recommended.

Moving on…

The Lotus runs on the popular and open source GP2040-CE firmware, meaning you can enjoy almost zero lag. Specifically, the latency is less than a millisecond—which you shouldn’t notice at all.

Another benefit of the firmware is that you can supplement it with an adapter to make the Lotus compatible with even more consoles.

To wrap up the performance section, and as a sneak peek at the hardware section, we’ll tell you that the Lotus is sized well for both desk & lap play—the latter of which is made comfortable due to the case’s width.

Hardware

Structurally, the Lotus’ most interesting design element is its magnetic opening and closing, so once you assemble it, you shouldn’t have to touch a screwdriver ever again for mods, repairs—you name it. This is despite the fact that the case has six screws.

The fact is the Lotus is made of acrylic, and its pillars are 3D printed, which may cause marks. The same goes to the acrylic laser cutting: it may cause scratches, slightly affecting the appearance. Speaking of which…

Appearance

To describe the Lotus’ visuals in a nutshell, it has a matte black body and clear top. For custom art, reach out to us here at The Arcade Stick so we hook you up with our bestselling service.

Conclusion

At this point, you’ve read our fluff-free review, so what will it be? Maybe buy the Lotus Clear for yourself and then the Lotus Lever for your friend! In any case, check out P-3 Controller’s BASE or BOOTH shop for the rest of the details.

Lever or leverless
Lap or desk play
Horizontal layout
15 possible buttons
Big function buttons
Customizable artwork
Acrylic with 3D printing
Fast assembly process
Magnetic disassembly
Extendable compatibility
Open source firmware

May have blemishes

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐