{"rewrite":{"id":"r_b750d30c44ad83820f58258b","clusterId":"c_b50105da7fdfb402e28c9874","slug":"axisray-lab-s-bash-replaces-the-analog-stick-with-a-squeezable-pad","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Axisray Lab's BASH Replaces The Analog Stick With A Squeezable Pad","summary":"Axisray Lab showed BASH at Tokyo Game Show 2026, a wired USB gamepad with no analog stick. A soft mechanism called GumiTap sits where the stick would be, pressed in or pushed up, down, left, and right. Optical sensors inside read markers on the back of the pad and capture directional input, pressing, and rotation. It is planned for release within 2026 at around 300 to 350 dollars.","whyItMatters":"BASH puts the input problem at the thumb rather than the sensor: dropping the tilting shaft removes the familiar reference point that makes stick aiming and movement feel predictable, and Axisray Lab is asking players to relearn it by feel.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eGumiTap is not a stick with a different sensor underneath. It is a soft pad with markers on its back side, and optical sensors read how those markers deform when the thumb presses in or leans in a direction. That setup lets the pad register directional input, a press, and rotation at once.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlaying Apex Legends on the floor, no input lag showed up, and aiming and fine view movement worked normally. The adjustment is physical: the thumb and the screen disagree about how far a movement should go until the player learns to combine a sideways motion with changes in pressure.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"BASH's optical sensors capture rotation as well as direction, so the GumiTap pad can register twist input a thumbstick cannot. Whether $300 to $350 buys enough new input vocabulary is the open question.","twitterPost":"BASH reads rotation on top of direction. That extra axis is the pitch, and the $300 to $350 price is the bet.","threadsPost":"Axisray Lab's BASH drops the analog stick for a GumiTap pad whose optical sensors capture direction, pressing, and rotation. That last one is the difference: rotation is input a thumbstick never gave designers. The pitch rests on whether games get built to use it at $300 to $350.","newsletterBlurb":"Axisray Lab brought BASH to Tokyo Game Show 2026, a wired USB gamepad with no analog stick. A soft GumiTap pad takes its place, with optical sensors reading markers on its back side to capture direction, pressing, and rotation. Apex Legends played without input lag on the floor, though the new mechanism takes getting used to. Planned for release within 2026, expected around 300 to 350 dollars.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999902/20260919062/\",\"title\":\"What Happens When You Remove the Shaft from a Gamepad's Analog Stick? Trying Axisray Lab's \\\"BASH,\\\" Where the \\\"Gunii\\\" Feel Is Pleasant [TGS2026]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4678,"outputTokens":629,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1789818262,"createdAt":"2026-09-19T11:39:59.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-19T11:43:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-19T11:43:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_b50105da7fdfb402e28c9874","canonicalTitle":"ゲームパッドのアナログスティックから軸を取ったらどうなる？ “ぐにぃ”という感触が心地いいAxisray Labの「BASH」を試す［TGS2026］","representativeArticleId":"a_5923b2e9880b734b1d38ae1f","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"BASH\"],\"studios\":[\"Axisray Lab\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"event\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-19T10:50:52.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-19T10:50:52.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-19T11:43:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999902/20260919062/","title":"ゲームパッドのアナログスティックから軸を取ったらどうなる？ “ぐにぃ”という感触が心地いいAxisray Labの「BASH」を試す［TGS2026］"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["BASH"],"studios":["Axisray Lab"],"people":[],"type":"event","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}