Peripheral Review: Brook Wingman SD

Disclosure: The Brook Wingman SD was sent to us for review.

The Brook Wingman SD is an interesting device, coming from the powerhouse that is Brook Accessory. I’ve got one of their PCBs in my SEGA Virtua Stick High Grade, which permits its use on multiple formats with ease… and no lag. Brook have quite a catalogue of products, and I believe are building a decent brand name for themselves with quality useful products. 

What is the Wingman SD? In short, it’s a dongle, that allows the gamer to connect a multitude of modern peripherals to their Dreamcast as well as the Sega Saturn (check out Brian's article on The Saturn Junkyard for a look at the Saturn functionality). You can connect your 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch Pro controllers to the Dreamcast for some high quality gaming fun.

There was something a touch surreal pairing my PS3 controller to the DC… but it was incredibly easy to do, and worked extremely well, without any perceived lag. Same goes for the Xbox One controller. The Xbox controllers are often regarded as some of the most ergonomic (and I agree), and using them to play Sega Rally 2, Rez (OK I have that on 360 and PS4), Shenmue, Headhunter, Re-Volt, was really great. The device comes into its own with FPS, though, bringing the DC into the 21st Century proper. Some prefer keyboard and mouse, which you can do on DC, but I am a fan of controllers. And now, Quake, Unreal Tournament, etc… have proper dual analogue support. And wireless!! What a revelation! 

Dual Shock 4 Compatibility Heading To Dreamcast (Updated)

Have you ever done that annoying thing where you put down your Dreamcast controller and then inadvertently pick up the controller for your PlayStation 4, try to resume your game of Spirit of speed 1937 and then realise you've grabbed the wrong peripheral? I can tell you, this happens to me a hell of a lot, especially since Spirit of Speed 1937 is my favourite game ever and I play it every day for at least 15 hours.

If you're like me, this news will come as a pleasant surprise - soon you'll be able to connect your Dual Shock 4 or Dual Shock 3 to your Dreamcast thanks to peripheral manufacturer Brook Accessory. My consumption of Spirit of Speed 1937 will probably increase exponentially due to this. Send help.

The 'Game Controller Super Converter' allows your to plug PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 controllers into the Dreamcast via USB and also allows for fight sticks to be used. Obviously, the Dual Shock controllers don't have VMU slots so you'd probably need to stick a regular Dreamcast controller into port B to access saves etc. We've been able to use Dual Shock and Dual Shock 2 (and even Sega Saturn controllers) with the Dreamcast for a while now via the Total Control adapter, but any new technology for the Dreamcast is certainly worth looking at. Update: this device *does* actually allow for wireless connectivity once the controller has been registered with a USB connection, but as stated a second wired controller is needed to access VMU saves etc.

We'll have a review of this unit as soon as we can get our grime and offal-covered claws on one, as Brook have kindly offered to send us one in the post. You can find out more information on this contraption at Arcade Shock in the meantime, where pre-orders are live and cost the princely sum of $39.99. Thoughts? You know what to do...