8BitDo Reveals Its New Customisable Arcade Stick For Nintendo Switch, Pre-Orders Now Live

This looks interesting! 😊

This looks great. I’ve never bought an 8bit do product, how are they?

What kind of a gate does it have?

Looks fun for playing cuphead or a metal slug but not worth it for me.

Wow you couldn’t get more hideous looking if you tried

@TYRANACLES 8BitDo make incredible controllers! I've got two; the SN30 Pro and the SN30 Pro+. Probably the best controllers I've ever bought.

@TYRANACLES Simply put, the best 3rd party controllers I have ever used. In both quality and ease of use.

@Lord It is modelled on the NES Advantage joystick controller, which I had, so I kinda like it.
I do see why it won't be everyone's taste, however.

@TYRANACLES I bought their Megadrive style 6 button controller recently. The build quality is excellent, the buttons feel really nice. The only downside is that it doesn't have native compatibility with a lot of games (I'm playing on PC), but I just use joy2key in those cases.

But it doesn't sounds like it connects like how Joy-Cons and Pro controllers connect to the Switch and requires a dongle. Not a true wireless connection to Switch when docked or portable. What a drag...will they every get this direct connection?

I'm sorely tempted by this. I've been in the market for a (relatively) cheap arcade stick for ages. If the build quality is as good as the M30 megadrive pad I'm in.

@SwitchForce If you read it, you'd see it connects to Switch out of the box, just like other 8bitdo controllers.

@TYRANACLES 8bitdo is the only 3rd party I use for controllers, and I'll probably pick this up since the stick can be toggled. I want to play Smash with it

If it's from 8bitdo is bound to be great. I have the N30 Pro and SN30 Pro Plus and love them both.

No working U.K. preorder link. Shame.

I'm definitely digging the classic look. I could take control of the Statue of Liberty with something like that.

It's a bit confusing that it says "w/ included wireless 2.4g receiver". I guess that means you can use it on other devices when you use the dongle, but for switch it's native. Looked up a video of someone pairing the n30 arcade stick with no dongle to Switch.

Click pre-ordered!!! Can't stand punishing my joy cons for arcade games.. this will just do.

Would be so down for this if online play on the Switch wasn’t so choppy.

This looks great I love the nes and snes advantage controllers. Looking like a buy for me!

Is it just me or does it look too thin? How am I supposed to fit my buttons in this?

@TYRANACLES I have an SN30 and an M30 controller from them and they’re excellent.

This looks like a great option. Most complete feature set I have seen on a Switch stick.

I have their first Switch arcade stick, it is fantastic for the price.

@TYRANACLES Excellent. I own two of their controllers (SN30 Pro and the Plus upgrade from last year) and they’re very durable, made of quality materials.

I love fighting games I should get one.

Nice might buy one for the Street Fighter and Samurai Shodown Collection.

I’ve got a Madcatz tournament stick and mayflash adaptor, so no need to swap out sticks/buttons for arcade parts, but this looks like a cracking wee stick!

Ok the features are nice but it's ugly as sin

I'd like one but this looks like a NES controller. My switch, and monitors are all black. Release it in black please.

Oh god that looks clunky...can't imagine ANYONE using that for real.

I don't play fighting games but this is very tempting for my collection of non-fighting, arcade-style games.

@TYRANACLES I have one SNES style controller and so far it has been great. I have heard mostly positive reviews from friends as well. They seem to be pretty solid.

I love the design. Red, yellow, green and blue buttons together always look great together. Reminds me more of the SNES Advantage. Seeing as it’s compatible with Windows, I might have to retract my previous statement and get in on this. All the options and customizability makes it too cool to pass up although I wouldn’t change a thing in regards to aesthetics.

I really like the look of this and even though I don't use arcade sticks too often this is tempting.

@gojiguy I had the same thought but I think the grey part is just the top of the shell with another inch (2cm) of black casing under that. I bet Sanwa and Seimitsu standards will fit.

@TYRANACLES

Their gamepads are rad. They’re not known for joysticks.

Man, if they made it like the Hit Box Arcade, with buttons instead of a joystick, I would be all over it.

@TYRANACLES Mine is pretty awesome.

I have the SN30 Pro. Use it as my 2nd home controller for the Switch and as my away Controller for my Microsoft Surface GO.

Solid little guy.

Doesn't Wireless Latency defeat the whole purpose of using an Arcade Stick?

@doctorhino it has both Bluetooth mode and 2.4ghz mode, this is one thing. It has both switch and x-inpult modes, this is other thing.

The 2.4ghz dongle probably aims to allow the player to use this thing wirelessly without taking the high latency hit from the Bluetooth protocol, but this is just a guess

@AllieKitsune usb over the wire and the 2.4ghz wireless have the same latency, the bottleneck is the usb itself.

If you pair a 8bitdo controller on an OG SNES (using the dongle) and run the input delay test, the results are the same as the OG controller, and this is amazingly fast

@gojiguy it is deceptive from the pictures here, but @zochmenos is correct. There is a darker base piece. It is tapered so it is harder to see from some angles. There is more information and pictures at 8bitdo's own site here: https://www.8bitdo.com/arcade-stick/

They show the inside of the unit as well. It looks like it should take standard arcade buttons. The connectors look like they're at a right angle to save a bit of space.

Is it just me or does the joystick look a little short or “stubby”?
Doesn’t seem to have a good length to it, especially for players that use an “underhand claw” to hold their joystick for Street Fighter and such....

I've just started looking for another arcade stick for my Switch and this looks perfect, hopefully it comes to the UK store

@TimboSlice Its designed so you can easily swap out the stick for one of your preference if necessary

@TYRANACLES they are about the only company out there that make controllers with the same level of quality that Nintendo does

Pretty sweet, price isn't too outrageous(some sticks are close to $200 or even more).

I hope a hori Hayabusa fits. It's my favorite joystick. I use it with a silent optical gate in my VLX, although the hori VLX is way too heavy to use frequently.

I have been contemplating an arcade stick for several months now. Kinda want to wait for reviews before ordering. Who knows how long next shipment would take after these initial pre-orders though. Covid could potentially muck-up any later shipments.

Also, been trying to do a running tab on the games that I have that only use one type of directional imput (d-pad or single joy stick) at a time. The controller could change up the player experience enough to merit a revisit to some games.

Should have a wired option if you want lag free gaming cuz you know Switch = lagggggg..gg

@Papichulo It does have a wired option. 8bitdo has been good about offering that on most of their controllers over the years.

Put sanwa stick with short hollow silver stick and it feels better and tighter and sanwa buttons 30mm and 24mm. I love the style they make great pads i just wish you could use it on other consoles like ps4 and other ones.

@TYRANACLES They make horrible D-Pads that often confuse left or right with up and down (personal experience from my SF30 Pro and two different SN30 Pro +s that I’ve had). However, I really like the arcade stick I got from them. I recommend an extended warranty so you don’t have to send any products you buy to China for repair at your own expense.

Looks very nice!
But, I have the NES Stick and the Famicom Stick so I think I'm all good for bluetooth arcade sticks for now.

Really dig this! Love the Teenage Engineering's OP-1 vibes!

I went ahead and preordered mine. Most everyone on here agrees they make good products and I’d love to try smash with it and I’d like to try Mario kart or even breath of the wild out just for a weird new feel. Too bad you can’t plug this up to your new and snes classics tho.

It looks pretty fantastic and I love the 'Advantage' aesthetic.

Haha lookit that thing its ridiculous! Reminds me of that old NES controller with the turbo fire buttons and stuff. Its all tricked out. I'm sure people who had that as a kid will enjoy it. Right on! pumps fist

@RolyTheBeerGeek That's it! Nintendo Advantage is what that controller was called. Thanks for jogging my memory.

I always recommend purchasing the mayflash f300 which supports on every other console, PC Xbox, PS4, PS3, X360 and Switch and Neo Geo Mini. And it costs $59.99

I already have a couple sticks but I love the look of this one and like that its wireless for easier Switch use along with my PC. Will definitely mod it later whenever I get a couple of them.

Considering their retro esthetic, I was hoping this would look like either the SNES or the NES Advantage - and while it's not exactly like the NES Advantage, I'm not disappointed.

@TYRANACLES There's a lot to be said about 8BitDo overall. The GBros. adapter has flaws, but was still a great purchase. But you're here for the arcade sticks.

The N30 Arcade Stick is good. It's a personal favorite, has a great Bluetooth signal (the range was legitimately startling), updates without too much trouble. The first unit was dead, the second one had an odd bug that rebound its buttons nonsensically until it was plugged into the Switch (haven't had the chance to experiment with other fixes and never contacted support since it never happened again), our roommate's was just fine overall IIRC, it updates just fine (and that probably would've fixed the bug).

My one "major" complaint for the original stick is that it uses a Type-A port and a USB A-to-A cable. "Device" ports (i.e.: the one on your controller, mouse, printer, etc.) should never be Type-A for any reason AT ALL. It's an easy fix with an A-to-C adapter, though, and the new model just uses a recessed Type-C port anyway, so they basically fixed the stick's one truly glaring design flaw. I also wouldn't expect that bug to appear in this model given its new PCB and software-programmable firmware.

@Aurumonado Looks like the same model as last time. It's a square gate, as pretty much all stock Japanese levers have.