STACK #261 July 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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JB EXCLUSIVE

A little while back, a contest was run amongst staff in JB Hi-Fi stores to come up with a new controller design.The result is the Sketch Riot PowerA Advantage Plus wired controller, the winning designer Michael Brinkley at JB Chermside in Queensland.We had a chat with Mike about the experience. Words Amy Flower T he obvious question was about what it felt like to find out he’d submitted the winning design. It’s fair to say that Mike The RIOT STUFF

– I first learned to draw by copying Garf ield comics when I was young. Because of this I've favoured a very 'cartoony' style in my art ever since. Since then, I studied visual art and graphic design. I'm still always learning as well, I continue to use various art books and online courses to further improve my skills and to practice new techniques and styles.” While he resisted the temptation to pop The CONTROLLER Officially licensed by Xbox, and suitable for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PCs, the Sketch Riot PowerA Advantage Plus wired controller – never worry about flat batteries again - features pioneering quick-twist thumbsticks with three adjustable height settings, as well as Hall Effect technology to help make stick drift a thing of the past. Mappable advanced gaming buttons and dual rumble motors add to any gaming experience, while a generous three-metre USB-C cable offers plenty of wiggle room for even the most hyper gamers.

was rapt. “I was so excited! I couldn't believe it, to be honest! The amazing feedback and support I've gotten since has been so amazing, I definitely feel very lucky and thankful.” However, for a while at least, he had to hide his excitement. “The hardest thing was that I had to keep it a secret for about six months until it was announced officially! It was so hard going to work and not being able to tell everyone, especially when someone would say something like, ‘Hey, did they ever announce who won that controller comp yet?’” As a keen illustrator, Mike got to let loose with one of his favourite types of drawing for his Sketch Riot design.

any hidden easter eggs into his design, the Sketch Riot controller does bear his signature. “I was planning to

at one point, but I decided against it. But you may notice my signature on

the back has a red dot for the ‘I’, this comes from my logo that

I've always used, which is a cartoon clown with a red nose. It was why we decided to have the one red joystick, and red buttons on the back.” It won’t come as a big surprise to learn that Mike is also a keen gamer. “I'm a big gamer, always have been, in fact my very first game console was the original Donkey Kong Game & Watch handheld, so I've been a massive Nintendo fan from an early age. But I love all gaming really, I love my consoles and my gaming PC. I often jump around with what genre I'm into all the time. “Currently I'm going through a big retro phase by playing lots of old school shoot 'em up and beat 'em up games. I've been revisiting old arcade classics and discovering lots of awesome newer released ones as well.”

“It's a ‘doodle’ style drawing that I really

Michael Brinkley

love making and that’s become one of my art specialties. They’re super relaxing, almost meditative as I have no goal or idea in mind when I start, I just put pencil to paper and let the drawing create itself in a way. It makes every one of these drawings unique, which is why I wanted to do one for the competition as it's very different and very uniquely me.” Not surprisingly, Mike tells us that he’s loved drawing since a young age, but he continues to study the craft. “I've always loved drawing and art

Check out more of Mike’s wild art on his Instagram: mr_brinks

• The Sketch Riot PowerA Advantage Plus wired controller is available now, exclusively at JB.

20 JULY 2026

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