It’s taken a while, but Nintendo Europe has finally opened up pre-orders for their new wireless SNES controller.
When Nintendo announced in their most recent Nintendo Direct that they were adding SNES games to the Switch Online service, they also announced a new wireless SNES controller to play them with. While those were initially made available for Switch Online subscribers in North America a few weeks ago, those of us in the UK have had to wait a bit longer.
The controller is available to order now at £26.99 (plus an extortionate shipping cost of £8.90) from the official Nintendo Europe website. Nintendo says to expect delivery between the 2nd and 11th October, so it looks like there won’t be too much longer to wait.
Thankfully, Nintendo has ensured that the European version of the controller matches up with the design of the European release of the SNES itself. Maintaining the full colour buttons from the Super Famicom controller that the Americans ditched in favour of ugly purple back in the 90s.
Unlike the NES controllers released last year, though, this time there’s only one controller in the box. It also does not attach to the Switch itself like a Joy-con, so needs to be charged with the included USB cable instead.
The controller can even be used outside of the Switch Online SNES application, though obviously only if the game can be played without analogue sticks or triggers.
You should also be able to use the controller on your PC the same way you can the Switch’s Pro Controller. This requires either a third party accessory or a certain amount of faff, but it should be worth it for anyone looking for an authentic retro gaming experience beyond the Switch itself.
In North America, the controller sold out within a day, so make sure you get your hands on them as soon as you can if you want one!
