- The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller is official
- It has three new buttons, including the ‘C’ button and the new GL and GR buttons
- And there’s finally a 3.5mm headphone jack
As part of the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal, we also got a new Pro Controller to go with the hybrid console.
You’ll need to squint a bit at the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller to immediately spot any differences from the current Switch Pro Controller, other than the shoulder and triggers being rendered in a light grey rather than black.
But let your gaze linger on the controller and you’ll spy the new C button that triggers the Game Chat features; this is the first baked-in chat function Nintendo has brought to its console.
And there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, which seems like a small thing but wasn’t a feature on the previous Pro Controller, despite Xbox and PlayStation controllers having such a jack for years.
Thanks to the technical wizardry of wireless audio passthrough, this means you’ll be able to play the Switch 2 in docked mode and get sound to your headphones when they are plugged into the Switch 2 Pro Controller. Hardly revolutionary, but a welcome addition.
Another new feature is the new GL and GR buttons that sit on the back of the grip handles.
“Players can assign any button inputs they want to these two new buttons. What’s more, the assigned button inputs are saved for each game as well as each player. So you can easily customize them by assigning button inputs that you frequently use to them, or buttons that are hard to reach at the same time,” explained Kouichi Kawamoto, a producer at Nintendo’s entertainment, planning and development department. “For example, if you assign the Capture Button to the GL Button, you can use it to take screenshots without taking your thumb off the L Stick.”
Outside of these new… features, you won’t find much else that’s fresh, as the Switch 2 Pro still comes with Bluetooth connectivity, HD rumble, NFC support for use with amiibo models and cards, and the Switch 2 Pro Controller also has gyroscopic aiming for games that support it.
I rather liked the original Switch Pro Controller, though I do wish it had analog triggers to modulate inputs, and that’s not the case with this new controller. Priced at $79.99 / £74.99 (Australian pricing is TBC but would likely be around AU$125), the Switch 2 Pro Controller is a little pricier than its predecessors, but that’s unfortunately the overall theme of the Switch 2 and console gaming in general.
While I don’t think the Switch 2 Pro Controller will be an essential purchase, I do feel it’ll be the controller to get if you plan on playing the Switch 2 docked a lot.
Want more Switch 2 news and views? Then head on over to our Nintendo Switch 2 Direct live blog for a blow-by-blow account of what was announced at the latest Direct.
