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Nintendo’s wireless SNES controllers for Switch are now available to buy

Nintendo’s wireless SNES controllers for Switch are now available to buy

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You’ve gotta be a Switch Online member, though

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If you’re hankering for the perfect classic controller to play the Nintendo Switch’s new collection of downloadable Super Nintendo titles, you may be happy to hear that the company’s new retro wireless SNES gamepad is now available for purchase — assuming you’re a Nintendo Switch Online member, of course.

That’s because just like last year’s wireless NES gamepad, Nintendo will only let you buy one if you’re already paying the $4/month, $20/year subscription fee that gives you the games to begin with.

Don’t expect them to be much use outside classic Nintendo titles

Which makes a certain degree of sense, because the old-school SNES gamepad probably isn’t going to help you play a whole lot of modern games without joysticks and triggers at your disposal. That’s certainly what we discovered last year in our NES wireless gamepad review. On the plus side, you don’t have to purchase two pads for a set price of $60 this time around. Nintendo is selling the SNES ones individually for $29.99 apiece, limit four per customer.

Image: Nintendo

But I would feel weird if I didn’t mention one slightly more expensive, slightly less faithful option that I would definitely buy instead: the $45 8Bitdo SF30 Pro / SN30 Pro, a modernized take on the SNES controller with enough buttons and joysticks to play practically any Switch game, and that also pairs with Windows, Android, and MacOS. I own one, and it’s pretty great.

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