Of all the things one could improve upon from Nintendo’s last console generation, the original Nintendo Switch Pro Controller seemed to need the least effort. It was already one of the most reliable controllers I’ve used in all my years of gaming—my original is still working about as well as the day I bought it back in 2017, after countless hours of use by my whole family, with no sign of the thumbstick drift that plagues its contemporaries and its battery still hearty.
And yet, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller has somehow found a way to impress me.
On the surface, it might seem that Nintendo’s new official, traditional gamepad isn’t all that different from the previous generation. The faceplate has ditched the transparent-from-the-right-angle look for a space-age, matte black, while the thumbsticks have kept up the theme from the Joy-Con 2 controllers by putting a bit of colour around the base. That same white-ish grey is used on the backplate and the bumper buttons.
It’s a smart aesthetic, yet not much different at a glance. Look a little closer and you’ll find a new C button for the Switch 2’s GameChat ecosystem, while under the handles wait two new customizable buttons, GL and GR. GameChat may not be much to write home about, but the new quick-access buttons are a treat.
“Best of all, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller can track custom inputs for these buttons on a per-user, per-game basis.”
Each button can be programmed easily from a pop-up menu in-game. They can be programmed to represent any of the other buttons, allowing players to switch tricky inputs to a quick press of their middle or index fingers. Best of all, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller can track custom inputs for these buttons on a per-user, per-game basis.
Want to toggle the run and crouch buttons in Fortnite to GL and GR so you stop mashing the L3 and R3 buttons so hard? Go ahead, and rest assured that this shortcut won’t trip you up when you switch to a different game.
Customizable back buttons are one of the most desired features from third-party controllers, so Nintendo was wise to not only beat peripheral companies to the punch but to do it so well. Even with larger hands, I rarely found myself hitting the buttons accidentally, even in heated rounds.
The other small yet mighty improvement to the new Switch 2 Pro Controller is the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack. Wireless audio may be reigning supreme, but there’s always a market for cheap headsets, and including this option in Nintendo’s official controller is a smart move. Between the company’s investment in GameChat and its large market of younger players, keeping basic communication options handy will spare many headaches over the Nintendo Switch 2’s lifespan.
Beneath the hood, the Pro Controller rocks the same HD Rumble 2 motor as the Joy-Con 2. I didn’t necessarily find this to be as impactful as the Joy-Con 2s could be, and certainly not as profound as the PlayStation 5 DualSense’s haptic feedback, but it’s a stride forward for Nintendo, enough to keep pace with the competition in this department. (At least there’s still NFC support beneath the system logo, to keep Amiibo useful.)
There are plenty of small things that one might not appreciate just by looking at the Pro Controller, however. Nintendo claims, in the unfortunately paywalled Welcome Tour tech demo, that the entire gamepad was redesigned from scratch, despite ending up with a practically identical device. The backplate was designed to be one seamless piece—the handles and the entire underside of the device are unmarred by gaps, save the cut-outs for the GL and GR buttons.
Ultimately, the middle piece is a little thinner, and the heights of the face buttons were meticulously fine-tuned to the millimetre. All told, these minute adjustments add up to a tastefully refined tactile experience, one that may be hard to quantify until you swap back to the first generation. When the previous iteration was so good, it’s details like this that you’re left to fine-tune.
More importantly, all of the buttons and inputs on the Switch 2 Pro Controller feel more responsive. Thanks to that ground-up redesign, the thumbsticks are now remarkably quiet, as they don’t smack against the casing. The D-pad is similarly quieter and more precise. The + and – buttons are taller than the inset capture and home buttons beneath them, to help avoid pressing the wrong one in a hurry. Everything reacts to inputs smoother, with just the right amount of tactile feedback.
“Not unlike the systems themselves, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller is a more mature and modern upgrade to the original Switch version.”
In terms of battery life, Nintendo rates the Switch 2 Pro Controller for 40 hours on a full charge, just like its predecessor. However, it can attain this in only half the time, or 3.5 hours. It’s a far cry from the PS5 DualSense’s charge or the Xbox Series X’s AA-battery dependence.
Not unlike the systems themselves, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller is a more mature and modern upgrade to the original Switch version. Everything that was great about the first generation—battery life, quality layout, and reliable design—has been refined and honed; any small qualms I had, like the clacky D-Pad, have been addressed. Most of these improvements are inherently small, aside from the new back buttons, but it was building upon a pretty great controller in the first place. They didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, just make it roll better, and that’s exactly what Nintendo’s engineers have done.
Granted, Nintendo has a terrific stable of official third-party partners for peripherals, so will it be worth spending the extra dough to get the Pro Controller over other options? That’s ultimately a matter of personal play habits and budget, especially when Switch 1 accessories are compatible with the Switch 2; I connected that same 8-year-old controller I got alongside my first Switch for my daughter to use, and the new features aren’t missed. (That being said, the old models don’t work to actually power on the console, which is a small feature I do lean on a lot in my household.)
Yet there’s a very strong case to go with the official option for Nintendo Switch 2. As versatile as the Switch ecosystem has always been when it comes to controller styles, it’s certainly worthwhile to keep at least one traditional controller in the house if you play for any considerable amount of time on the TV. For my buck, if you don’t have a traditional controller for your new Switch 2 or if you’re considering upgrading from the first-generation controller, Nintendo has made it worth the cost of upgrading (at retail price, not scalpers’ extortionist rates).
The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Contoller is available for $84.99 USD or $110 CAD.
