With the Nintendo Switch seemingly growing in popularity by the day, it will hardly come as a surprise to most of you that there are unofficial controllers knocking about, hoping to cash in by offering a cheaper - and very similar-looking - alternative to the real deal.
Some 'fakes' can be spotted instantly, and some third-party controllers are officially licensed and perfectly safe to use with your console, but others might cause more of an issue. While regular readers of the site - who no doubt know what every millimetre of a Switch looks like - will be able to see the differences, those looking to buy accessories for their friends or family may not.
As such, we feel it worth sending out a friendly reminder that controllers such as these below will not have been approved by Nintendo and could cause damage to your system. These 'fake' or unofficial Joy-Con use the same colour scheme as the real deal and even offer the same features - including rumble, sensor functions, and the ability to connect to the main tablet.
There are plenty of similar controllers waiting for unsuspecting customers on sites such as eBay. We found all of the following products on the first page of search results for 'Joy-Con'.
If you're looking to pick up some controllers for your Switch, or maybe for a friend, we've got a full guide to the best (and safely official) controllers you can get your hands on.
Be careful, folks!
Comments 62
Got the fakes, the "fat" ones - I know 100% these are cheap china knock-offs but they work like a charm.
What is this article?! Those are obviously fake from the moment you see them. TOTAL CLICKBAIT because your article's headline and lead photo are deceptive in shows normally shaped joycon, leading one to assume the article is about scams where the joycon look real. Seriously scum.
The ones that are squished look horrible... I doubt someone would be fooled by that.
@premko1 The fat ones...do you mean the one with the dpad shown above? Are they also bluetooth or Hori style "only in handeld mode?"
Hey, they may last longer then Nintendo's joycons. I've already replaced all 5 of my analog sticks due to drifting.
"Joy-Con Game Controllers Gamepad Joypad"
...Wat?
These aren't fakes. They're cheap unofficial Switch controllers, but there's nothing 'fake' about them.
@Spoony_Tech I'm on my set of 3 and 4 joycon (traded in the last 2 sets for credit cuz they were launch era with synching problems) and the Splatoon 2 colored ones got the drift on Tuesday. I don't even play in handheld that much and use a Pro controller. The build on Nintendo product this gen has been sad. Like, use normal rumble instead of HD rumble, drop the infared sensor (oh wait LABO needs it lol) and invest that saved money into the quality of the JoyCon build themselves. I think knock off JoyCon might be the way to go. Should NOT HURT your system either, since they only draw power from the Switch. As long as the rails fit fine they won't ruin that either. I've had reg joycon ruin my rails and had to have it sent in.
Yeah, as long as they use different sticks than the "legit" ones I would say they most likely would end up being an improvement.
Yeah, there's a big difference in cheap knock offs, and knock offs posing as official. But after hearing about how cheap switch docks can brick your system, I am a little more cautious these days.
@Desrever I had an expanding battery in my Switch and when I sent that in they told me to not use as non-licensed Nintendo stuff to charge it with. I've never used a 3rd party dock. I've only ever used official USB-C cables. I use the Nintendo licensed portable battery pack too. So, it didn't brick, but who knows? With everything going digital, patches and DLC, etc I really worry that after my Switch isn't supported I'm going to lose everything. I wish these were built better.
@Joeynator3000 That's common for Chinese sellers on Amazon and Ebay.The sellers try to get in every keyword they can to help their listing show up in a search.
Switch Ploy-cons!
Why is the example fakes when they don't claim to be official? Bad article spreading misinformation.
@Dang69 uh the homepage photo shows fake ones not real looking ones but ok.
There's a big difference between: generic, unofficial, and fake.
Accusing a company of selling "fakes" is rather serious and terrible "journalism" if the manufacturer is not making false claims.
@MaSSiVeRiCaN the semi opaque backdrop behind the text over the photo absolutely hides the FAKE part of the shapes on the homepage - i didn't even realize
Warning! This product may be more reliable and less costly than 1st party wares. Keep alert 👀
Can't be any less reliable than my 4 "PAIRS" of official Joy-Cons. EVERY ONE of my 8 joycons has issues with ZL/ZR not working so cant connect in tabletop mode and the LEDs don't flash on ANY of them either.
Okay but do Nintendo licensed cheapo joycons exist?
I'm guessing what they mean is NINTENDO regard these Joycons as fake because they aren't licensed because they didn't pay money to Nintendo.
I don't really get why these are fake rather than unofficial? By that logic, are the 8bitdo controllers fake too because they are not officially licensed??
@OorWullie Seems like the seller is from the UK as you can see in the photo.
I don't understand all the complaining about drifting joy-cons. I have had my switch since 2017 and I have had zero issues with my joy-cons, even though I have dropped my switch a couple of times.
What's that drift sticks everyone is taking about? 🤔
You know what drives me crazy? The retail box for third party licensed Switch accessories looks like a first party box. You have to look in the bottom right corner to see the third party logo. I bet more than a few people have bought third party accessories thinking they were made by Nintendo.
If they dont have drift issues like the real deal these guys can have my money instead
@Plexagon Well if it isn't happening to you, those other people must be lying? What part do you not understand?
1001 reasons for me to be ashamed as Indonesian Chinese people. 🙄
@Dang69 A little passionate about article posting ettiquite, are we?
@Dang69 yes, with d-pad, contrary to Hori, they are bluetoooth only.
@Dang69 if you possess the capacity to think critically, assume the majority of other readers do as well. don't get needlessly aggrieved on behalf of imaginary idiots.
@baller98 also the d-paded ones.
For the price of these. They are actually quite good. You’ll find good reviews on them too.
Why would anyone buy JoyCons?
@MARATXXX its click culture man - i scan, everyone scans and youre not taking time to think critically before clicking on content youre already on the site for. The article was a backhanded way of linking us to a page to sell Amazon links as the title of this one specifically stated fake and not knockout off joycon, implying that there was a potential for a consumer to unintentionally purchase a joycon thinking it was an official one. They fostered light paranoia and a deceptive click thru headline by intentionally using a crop of a photo that would obscure the obvious knockoff shapes when viewed on a desktop. I do some web stuff, you test for that. All im saying.
@invictus4000 lol I guess so! Internets got me all fired up today I guess.
What I read: Watch out! there are Clickbait Articles about
If the product isn’t authentically licensed by Nintendo than I don’t touch it. I’d rather be safe than sorry lol.
Do these drift though? If not, I might consider buying some...
@Crono1973 I just don't understand how it is happening. I am not disputing that it is happening because it obviously is, I am just wondering if how the joy-cons are used can cause some of these problems.
@Plexagon Then again I mostly use a pro controller, so they might be drifting and I just don't know it.
While I get the whole "knock off" thing - I'm also wondering if these work the same and if (even better) they've eliminated the "drift" issue. Have that happening on both of my L joycons. :/ Need to just buy the replacement sticks and tools to repair, but still annoyed by the need for that. If a 3rd party works as well and avoids that issue, I'd be interested.
@Plexagon You'd know it if you had a drift issue. It's really annoying to just be "resting" and have your character start moving randomly in some direction. Worse when a young one is trying to control a character and can't understand why they're walking into danger when nobody's touching the controller. :/
@paschott That's happened to me on a hori wii u controller. It just starts drifting in the right direction and then doesn't work until re-plugged in. Really ruins a game of Smash Bros.
Ah, the official beige Joy-Con.
@Spoony_Tech i have had mine since release and drifting is simple to fix. Canned air and calibration.
@Dang69 Are you joking? The image used on the home page for this article shows the unofficial Joy-Con (if you think they look real, you completely prove my point that people can be fooled into thinking they're real). The article then goes on to show them and highlight the fact that they are different to the real ones in the top image...
?
The lack of affiliate links surprises and disappoints me.
You’re telling me to be wary of these but I actually want to try them out because I’ve had just so many joy con issues since day one: sending them to Nintendo until I just bought new ones, then those broke just after the 30 day warranty and I didn’t want to pay repair fees so I opened them up myself and did a crude repair. I’m just sick of these crap quality joy cons made by Nintendo!
I mean if those fooled you, you kind of deserve it.
These are not fakes, they are knockoffs. Fakes are those that are created exactly like the OEM ones but are really not the OEM ones. Fakes are those that look so close to the real one that people actually mistake them for the real deal, these craps doesn't even come close to the real deal.
If Nintendo made their Joy Cons properly, we might be able to tell the difference.
It calls into questions those buyers buying habits. Buy cheap get cheaped. Also call Do Your HomeWork- you have no excuses.
@premko1 How does the range compare to the originals?
@okeribok Im sitting 3meters from my Switch and they work perfectly.
@premko1 that seems on par with the originals. I was hoping for something better; the pro controller has good range, but the joy con don't. I have one joy con for which 3 meters is the max. I would really like "pro con", with better range, better joystick and adult size grip. These knock offs could be close...
@okeribok Im not sure this is the max range for them.
I actually like 3rd party options, I dunno why this site is claiming that they are "fakes" tho
FAKE
adjective
1.not genuine; counterfeit.
1.a thing that is not genuine; a forgery or sham.
verb
1.forge or counterfeit (something).
KNOCKOFF
a copy or imitation, especially of an expensive or designer product.
If they are making it look to close to a Joy-Con but have no Specs related to OEM Joy-Cons and or no NFC or Rumble then it would be classified as "Fake".
@ryancraddock Dude. On the homepage, if you read my comments, on desktop, the semi opaque black bar behind the headline text overlays portion of the image of the Joycon enough to obscure the shape of the controllers. Not nitpicking, it straight up does that. The crop of the photo seems to be made in anticipation of that black bar, with a ton of white space above the joycon to push them down compositionally in photo and under the headline. On mobile it doesn't do that but the image is smaller and more easily missed. When you click on it, the next BIG image you'd see (super important on mobile) is a giant array of normal looking joycon. Respectfully, I know you're making the content they pay you to, but you cannot actually argue that this article is worth even posting man.
Maybe they have analogue sticks that don't drift?
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