We've seen some pretty wild Nintendo Switch controllers over the last few years - including an actual, big blue Dragon Quest Slime face - but we weren't expecting to see a Joy-Con alternative quite like this.
Gaming accessory maker Snakebyte has today began shipping these 'MULTI: PLAYCON' controllers for Nintendo's machine. The idea here is to provide "a more comfortable gaming experience" when enjoying all of your local multiplayer games, hoping to combat the awkwardness some players experience while trying to hold a single official Joy-Con for hours on end.
Apparently, 16 of the little beasts can be connected to a Switch at any one time and are said to offer a "rock-solid" connection to your console over 7m. Here's a quick feature list:
- Full button functionality with vibrations of the micromotor
- Wireless connection via Bluetooth
- Two controllers for multi-player operation on one device
- The built-in battery offers a long battery life with high charging speed
- The MULTI: PLAYCON controllers are compatible with all Switch / Switch Lite games that can also be played with a single Joy-Con controller.
As well as the black and grey models, you can also pick up these rather fetching blue and orange ones.
A set of two controllers costs €34.99 on Snakebyte's website. You can order them as we speak.
Love them? Hate them? Want a pair? Tell us below.
Comments (45)
Hardly joy-cons at all, considering they can't be attached to the console?
Would love to buy them, if they could be attached to the console. Given they most likely can't, I'll pass. Just go all-out and make cheap Pro Controllers if you must.
They are normal gamepads. Not joy-cons. They can't be attached to the console like joy-cons and can't be used like joy-cons. Oh Ryan...
Hey they're pretty cool 😹 I love spooky stuff. The orange one looks great. But when it comes to controllers I usually don't like going third-party.
Nope not for me
they're cute, not too into it but i can see the use. it'd be a cheap way to upgrade to 4 controllers for games like just shapes and beats
Snakebyte do make some interesting accessories, I have their "Pro wireless" controller and it's not bad, but these really are something else. Were they trying to cash in on Halloween but missed the mark due to production issues or something?
oh hold on they seem to have enough buttons to play smash.
@RazumikhinPG no need to be so pedantic, they are being sold as joy-con equivalents, not replacements.
Looks like gamepads for small hands. Children.
can it play mario party?
no?
oh
>Joy-cons
YOU CALLED!?
>Just regular gamepads with "playcon" in its name
Why would raise my hopes up and shatter them like this?
@antdickens They are joy-cons as much as the Pro Controller is a joy-con. It's not being pedantic, it's being accurate. Which I know is not one of the characteristics of Nintendo Life, but still, one can hope.
I'll stick with officially licensed products thank you.
I like the orange one. It's like a little Jack'O lantern. That and the ergonomics look good.
@RazumikhinPG it is being pedantic when the manufacturer is selling them as a pair of "more comfortable" Jon-Con controllers. It's even in the product name.
@antdickens Well I can manufacture a pair of 8bitdo look-a-like tiny controllers and market them as joy-con replacements. But are they really tho? Again, they are joy-con replacements as much as a Pro Controller is a joy-con replacement. But you don't call a Pro Controller a joy-con. It's painfully obvious.
EDIT: The video even shows that they can't be used as joy-cons in games where you use both joy-cons vertically. So much for replacement.
“Boogedy-boogedy! I’ll scare your dad!”
I bought two inexpensive joycon grips off Ebay. When quickly attached to the joycons, they provide a reasonably ergonomic experience that's worked great (for under $10).
@RazumikhinPG yeah, as I already said before, they're not being sold as a replacement. I don't like using the single Joy-Con when playing on the go, so would certainly consider these to throw in my go-bag.
@antdickens So if they're not being sold as replacements, why call them joy-cons? They certainly don't have all the functions of an actual joy-con. And you can throw a Pro Controller or a smaller 8bitdo controller in your bag too, and you still don't call them joy-cons.
Why are we arguing the obvious here? These are not joy-cons, article shouldn't call them joy-cons. Nothing more to add.
@RazumikhinPG @antdickens As we're into specific details here, my pedantry detector is also malfunctioning over the plural of Joy-Con. Is it Joy-Con or Joy-Cons? And if it's Joy-Con (as in the title of the post "These... Joy-Con..." , then would Joy-Cons actually be 4 of the little things? We should be told!...
@RazumikhinPG Devil's advocate, you could call them joy con replacements. They do mimic a single joycon so the description fits. They don't connect to the switch physically so I'd say they're more of a wireless joycon replacement.
I dunno, I have a hard time calling them replacements.
@Yas according to Nintendo, the plural of Joy-Con is "Joy-Con", just to keep things simple
@RazumikhinPG @Kalmaro how about we call them Joy-Controller?
@antdickens That sounds good to me 👍🏾
I would say that or just "Single Joy-con substitute".
But that's a bit wordy.
They are gamepads for crying out loud. A gamepad is not a new concept.
@Kalmaro yeah, I'm not even sure they would function as a full Pro Controller as they don't have both +/- buttons on each unit.
Clearly not "Nintendo Switch Joy-Con". I think the title of this article needs adjusting to avoid clickbaiting.
@antdickens That's fair! I would suggest maybe changing the title a bit so people don't think this is just another joycon replacement like the ones that fit into the Switch.
I think that's the main complain people are having.
@Kalmaro sure, changed to "Play-Con" as that's what they are being called.
@Moistnado it's been changed to make it clearer. They can be used as single Joy-Con but not as a Joy-Con pair.
@antdickens Much appreciated, thanks!
Not offering an optional D-Pad is a mistake
One of the problem with the standalone joycon is that the joystick is just not good for some games (Puyo Puyo Tetris being one)
@Camo-joe I'm not even an Undertale fan and I thought the same thing!
...that fills me with determination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaYTkFR78UI
I am just glad it has vibrations of the micromotor.
Why the hell is it winking!? On a serious note pass.
@antdickens @RazumikhinPG
Aren't joycons conjoined ? Then why aren't they called Conjoys? Or the plural Conjoy?
I like the blue one with the orange buttons
@matdub lol
Creepy?? They're super cute lol!
Does anyone else think they look like Sans?
...noooooooope..
Not creepy, just winking
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