I know many PC gamers don't like gamepads, but some games do benefit from one, even on PCs.

Anyway, since I got a Nintendo Switch console for my kids on Christmas, I've been googling around what would be a good choice for a wireless gamepad that is usable at least with Switch, but hopefully also with e.g. Raspberry Pi4 (which I am going to be using for old console and arcade emulation on TV etc.), and why not also for some PC games, even if I already have a wired Logitech F310 for PC.

I've googled for a couple of days, and I seem to see only good feedback for 8Bitdo SN30 Pro+ gamepads. I broke down and just ordered two of them (two different colors, because why not) as CDON was selling them on discount right now. So I just ordered these two (which are the same gamepad with just a bit different coloring):

https://cdon.fi/pelit/8bitdo-sn30-pro-gamepad-g-edition-48136856

https://cdon.fi/pelit/8bitdo-sn30-pro-gamepad-sn-edition-48136857

There was also a black version but it was not on sale, and I kinda like that light coloring better.

Too late to ask I guess as the order is in already, but any experience with this particular gamepad, both in PC use and elsewhere? Things that I like about it based on the reviews:

1. Wireless. It is Bluetooth so I don't need any USB receiver for it. Wireless is a must because I am going to use it also with my Raspberry Pi4 (for console and arcade emulators to be played on TV) and Nintendo Switch. Both units are near the TV so playing from sofa, a wired gamepad is not really an option.

It can also be used as a wired USB controller as well, if you are so inclined.

2. Multiplatform. I've seen this getting praise especially as a Nintendo Switch and also Raspberry Pi (RetroPie) wireless controller, but it should work also on PC nicely, and at least it appears to have all the same buttons etc. as e.g. a XBox 360/One gamepad, meaning also analog left and right shoulder triggers etc. Is anyone using this with PC games (which benefit from a gamepad), and does it act as a full XBox XInput gamepad replacement?

Apparently it also works as a gamepad for Android phone/tablet games, but I have no intention to use it there for now.

3. The company seems to add new features and support to the gamepad via firmware updates. I don't recall ever before flashing a new firmware to my gaming controller. :)

4. What really blew me away: while it is rechargeable, you can also easily remove the internal battery pack, and even replace it with (two?) AA batteries. This is a really nice touch IMHO. I was actually hoping to find a wireless gamepad that is not rechargeable but uses removable batteries (there are some such gamepads, e.g. some XBox Core gamepad I saw, but most are rechargeable with a fixed battery), but this offers the best of both worlds. And acts also as a wired controller with an USB cord.

Hopefully the gamepads arrive this week so I can give my own impressions...

I guess the only downside is that maybe these are not compatible with Playstation and XBox consoles out of the box, at least wirelessly, but that is ok for me as I have no intention to buy either console. I understood somewhere that for Playstation and XBox compatibility, you need to buy some license from Sony or MS, at least for it to work wirelessly, which is why such 3rd party (wireless) Playstation/XBox gamepads tend to be somewhat more expensive as well. Apparently Nintendo doesn't require a similar license for Nintendo Switch compatibility.

Do we have any thread to discuss controllers here?
I use DualShock 4 and am very satisfied with it.
Perfect compatibility for retro games and many new games support it out of the box.
Sony already released official Linux driver for DualSense, so I guess DualSense will work as well as DualShock 4.

In all honesty, the SN30 Pro Plus has become my preferred controller to use. Oh, and I wonder if you know you can use it wirelessly on a PC if you have the right adapter? The one I use is 8bitdo's own receiver (the one that is orange) and with firmware updates, it supports the controller natively (it's best to set the controller to X-input, which is holding X and Start).

NOTE: You will be using the Xbox layout of buttons, which means B on the controller equals A, A on the controller equals B and so on.

It doesn't work for the PS and X-box consoles. 8bitdo does technically have an X-box controller, but it only works with mobile. Don't forget about the ultimate software: https://support.8bitdo.com/ultimate-software.html. You can remap buttons, change the dead zones for the sticks and triggers, and you can also create macros. There's other stuff too, but I won't list all of them here. I wish it had a superior version of joy-to-key, but it doesn't support that function.

Have one and idon't own a switch, so can't comment on that.

It's the best all-round gamepad I have. It works with pretty much any device, all analog buttons have a very good feel, d-pad is good enough but requires some time to get used to.
After 1 1/2 years of use and abuse, there are no analog drift or malfunction (regarding digital inputs read below), battery still perfect and it last a lot of hours. Keep in mind the charging cable is very short, this may be a factor connecting to a desktop via cable but is not proprietary and easy enough to find (check ikea for good quality and cheap cables).

Now, the downsides you don't usually find in most reviews:

If you playing something competitive/intensive the share button can be hit unintentionally, even if its small and recesses.
For any other Windows other than 10, you need a dedicated driver to connect as Xinput via bluethooth, and guess what, M$ wont provide the driver anymore. Work arounds is to connect the gamepad on switch mode or to download the driver from any other source, I can attach it here if anyone's interested.(no problem in Linux though)
A/B and X/Y are the Nintendo way meaning it will be wrong on most computer games, for kids who are not used to gamepads, they will find confusing.
Take care of the controller, is quite well built and rugged but not as rugged as original xbox/ps gamepads.
If you are a hard button presser (kids usually are) and/or play intensive games the digital input buttons can "wear" very fast. I play one particular fight game that uses a lot of R1 presses and the button can start to feel mushy in a couple of months. 8bitDo were kind enough to send me the worn parts free of charge, when asked if they sold replacement parts.
The digital buttons are diafragm rubber type with a nice positeve feel but that diafragm rubber start to crack. R1 button is the first to go since it's a wee bit thinner and smaller diameter. Tha A/B X/Y seem to hold a little more time but will eventually crack as well. I haven't had any trouble with d-pad durability.
Regarding d-pad, there's a couple of quirks, the button itself is loose on the housing and some people find it annoying. also you can press all the directional keys at once, meaning if you put too much force on down key, it will press all the other 3 keys, including up, usuaaly invalidating your press (and guess what you do? press harder lol).

TLDR: it's a great gamepad but durability during intensive use isnt the best.

Edit: lots of typos. That's what you get for writing with mouse only (virtual keyboard), 2 meters away from the monitor, in a dumb grey/white non resizable pop up window. Will leave the typos there as protest!

I don't know, but at least I don't mind if other gamepads are discussed here as well.

I was at first going to make this a more generic gamepad thread (with the title), asking for input about different gamepads, but I changed the title when I realized I had already made up my mind which one to buy.

One thing I don't like about 8BitDo controllers: their confusing naming. The SN30 Pro, without the plus sign, is a completely different gamepad. And then there are the different SN or G Classic editions, took me awhile to understand the differences (which are the coloring, some marking on the buttons (or "the cross"), and whether the main buttons are concave or not. I thought it works with Bluetooth without any separate adapters (unless you don't have Bluetooth on your PC, hence you need a separate 8bitdo adapter)?

Yes, it does.

Here is a comparison review between the two:

https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/8bitdo-sn30-pro-plus-vs-switch-pro-controller

As far as I can tell:

1. It is considerably more expensive (80€ versus 40-45€). This is especially important for me as I wanted to buy two gamepads so that both of my kids can play Minecraft splitscreen, and detaching and re-attaching the Joycon controllers from the main unit is a bit too much work (unlocking them, sliding them out, then remembering to slide them back after use so that they recharge, etc...). Better just to have two separate gamepads that are charged from USB cords when they are not in use, or even during the use.

2. Multiplatform? It is unclear to me if it is just for Switch, or does it work out of the box also on e.g. Windows etc.

When I started googling for a suitable gamepad, I had two searches side by side, "best switch controllers" and "best Raspberry Pi gamepads" (can't use "controller" with RPi searches because then you get all kinds of controller card articles as well :)). Many of them mentioned both 8Bitdo SN30 Pro and Pro+.

Then I figured I'd probably want to use it occasionally also on PCs, so Pro+ seemed more suitable, e.g. due to analog triggers (like what XBox controllers have, and many PC games utilize, e.g. racing games, GTA-clones (for driving) etc.).

Oh and when I finally found out that the internal battery in Pro+ is easily replaceable, even with normal AA batteries, my decision was made. Near perfect choice for my case, at least because I don't have Sony or MS consoles (then this would have become much more complicated and harder to choose; then it would be probably the best to just use the original PS and XBox controllers, maybe they work also on Switch with e.g. a 8Bitdo USB adapter).

3. Analog triggers? As I intend to probably use it also on PC as an XBox/XInput gamepad, I want it to have analog triggers as well. My understanding is that Switch Pro Controller triggers are only digital.


Oh one drawback with the 8bitdo gamepad in Switch use: you can't wake up the console with the wireless controller, that's even mentioned in the 8bitdo FAQ. Not sure if that is possible with the Switch Pro gamepad, but I presume so. So you have to go to the console to wake it up, unless you have e.g. the JoyCons somewhere around, to use them for that purpose.

Hmm, but then there is the option in Switch that it goes to sleep and wakes up when you start and stop your TV, so maybe it doesn't matter much...

Well, sure - it's the original, branded with the Nintendo logo :)

Edit: I just checked prices: at least here in Germany, the NSPC is available for around €60,-, the 8bitdo for around €40,- -€43,-
So - not THAT much of a difference. The quick search that I did before writing my comment, seemed to suggest, that the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller works fine with Win 8 and Win 10, and with the Raspberry (different models).

But, of course - if the price is already a knock out criteria for you...the compatibility doesn't matter anymore.

I got one for Christmas, so I haven't had a chance to use it overmuch yet, but...

Yes, it's not compatible with the PS4.

Might have been the game (I've only really tried it with Beat Hazard Ultra on Steam), but the analog sticks seem a bit...discrete. I read that there is a software you can download that lets you customise sensitivity, but I've not tried that yet.

I should've clarified. My computer doesn't have Bluetooth built in, yeah, hence, the adapter. It does work if your PC has Bluetooth built in, though.

I got the two 8bitdo gamepads a couple of days ago. They seem quite nice and work as intended. Some comments on having tested them a bit (currently they are mostly used with the Nintendo Switch console so that my kids can play Minecraft split-screen on it, without having to constantly detach and re-attach console's own JoyCon-controllers from the main unit).

- The first thing I did was to recharge the batteries and update the firmware to the newest version (I think the firmware was 3.1 and got updated to 4.2) with the Windows firmware upgrade tool from their homepage. No issues with that, update went fine.

- I didn't quite yet get them work wireless on my Windows 7 PC. I pushed Start + X which is supposed to put the gamepad into X-Input/XBox360 mode, yet when I checked the Windows devices, it seems it was still recognized as some kind of Nintendo gamepad I think... Not sure if I had accidentally pushed Start + Y to go to Switch mode and that is how Windows recognizes the gamepads now, and I am maybe supposed to remove the device and re-add...

Also the game controller icon is greyed out so it seems it isn't connected, maybe it was in a wrong mode etc. I'll have to look into that later.

- However, if I connected the gamepads with the USB-cable to my PC, they instantly got recognized as XBox360 Gamepads, and seemed to work fine in e.g. GTA IV the little I tried them, including the analog triggers. With one caveat: as someone explained, it seems that A and B buttons have switched places from the real XBox360, but that isn't a biggie to me and I guess they can be switched either from the game settings or using the "8bitdo Ultimate Software" which allows changing the button layout of the gamepad.

Other than that, playing the game with the (wired) 8bitdo felt just like playing it with my Logitech F310 gamepad, no issues there.

- With the Switch console, the gamepads work just fine. The only issue, which was also mentioned in the 8bitdo FAQ, is that the console can't be started by pressing the gamepad buttons like it can with the official Switch controllers, so either you have to walk to the console to start it, or set it up to start if you start your TV (there is a setting in the Switch console that it starts if your TV is wakened up, and goes to sleep if your TV goes to sleep).

I hope it becomes possible at some point, not sure if this is a generic issue on third-party Switch gamepads, and only the genuine Nintendo controllers can start the console wirelessly.

- I have yet to try the gamepads with Raspberry Pi4, but I first need to set up some games (emulated ones with e.g. Retropie) to test it with games.

OVERALL: I am quite happy with the gamepads so far, good purchase especially if you have several platforms where to use them, apparently excluding Playstation and XBox though... They are pretty much perfect for my use case, ie. Nintendo Switch + Windows + (I presume) Raspberry Pi4.

I'm glad you liked the controllers. I've had a 8Bitdo SN30 Pro (the one that's shaped like a SNES controller) for almost two years now, and I play all my Switch games with it when playing docked. I also got it at a sale on CDON, and it has all the features of Nintendo's own Pro-controller for roughly half the price, such as gyro and buttons for home/screenshots.

I don't know if there is an easy way to use these on the Xbox, but I have the re-release of the original Duke-controller for that, hehe.. I unironically love that thing.

I have one, and I love it. Its the best 3rd party controller I have. It functions pretty much as good as a 1st party controller. I also really like being able to switch between directinput and Xinput. That has been useful for me. I don't always use it though. It depends on what kind of game im playing, and how much im going to use the d-pad. Its got a much better one than a normal Xbox controller. I recently got an Elite Series 2 though, and I have been mostly using that now. That inverted gem shaped d-pad is amazing. They perfected that thing IMO. But im not getting rid of my SN30 Pro+ yet. The buttons are still better for certain types of games. Elite Series 2 is not quite the be-all end-all gamepad.