The Nintendo Switch controllers are awesome but expensive

The Switch controllers might be the most impressive part of the new system, but will they be worth the premium price?

Every event that has video game company employees showing off their wares is full of enthusiasm, but there’s something about new hardware that brings a special spark to their eyes. In the case of the Nintendo Switch event in New York this weekend, that joy came through mostly when they were telling attendees about the Switch controllers.

Mostly, that means the Joy-Con controllers, the detachable marvels that come in sets of two and attach to the side of the console itself when it is in handheld mode. The first thing one notices when seeing the Joy-Cons up close is that they are small — even when connected together by the Joy-Con Grip, they feel smaller and lighter than a normal controller from the current generation of gaming consoles.

That might be a factor for gamers with bigger hands/fingers, but everyone else will likely fall in love with their versatility and technology. As everyone has seen by now, the Joy-Cons can be held completely detached and used with one in each hand. For games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, using them in that manner takes some adjustment but soon feels natural.

Since this is Nintendo, the Joy-Cons also have motion-sensing tech built in. ARMS, the unique fighting game featuring characters with extending arms, makes use of this by requiring you to hold the Joy-Cons in a pistol-like grip with your thumbs on top (where the ‘L’ and ‘R’ buttons are located) and your fingers where the “extra” buttons are — the ones hidden when the controllers are docked. Throwing punches in ARMS means throwing punches with the Joy-Cons, which will give everyone Wii flashbacks and ensures wrist straps will be back in style.

The most impressive display of the Joy-Cons’ capabilities came in an unexpected place: during a demo of the (still unfinished) party game 1-2 Switch. One of the mini-games asks you to hold a Joy-Con flat in your hand and tilt in back and forth, trying to guess how many balls are rolling inside a box. It actually feels exactly like that suggests, so Nintendo has somehow packed a new level of rumble/force feedback into a tiny package. Creative developers should have a lot of fun with that.

Photo from Nintendo Switch event in NYC; photo credit: Nick Tylwalk /

Happily, the Joy-Cons also attach to the Switch or the Grip easily by sliding into slots and locking into place. Removing them is simple as well; you simply press a small button on the back and slide them off. Recognition by the console is near instant, as my game of Zelda switched to handheld mode from the TV super fast.

The Pro Controller is … well, a controller. It feels more or less like the controllers millions of gamers already know from the current generation of consoles, perhaps slightly favoring the Xbox One. Among the Switch controllers, it looms as the obvious choice for anyone who feels the Joy-Cons are too tiny, and while its $70 price tag is steep, it might end up the bargain of the lot in the long run.

Because there’s no question about it, the other Switch controllers and their accessories are expensive. GameSpot has all the prices, and an extra set of Joy-Cons plus an additional Grip will set you back $110. You don’t need them, of course, since one set and one Grip come with the Switch, but it’s not hard to imagine families will want more than one, and that might make the console’s overall entry price seem less exciting.

Regardless, if you get a chance to play the Switch before its March 3 release, be sure to ask one of the Nintendo employees about the controllers. You’re guaranteed to get them to light up.