Gallery: 8BitDo Improves Upon Its Stellar Arcade Controller For Switch 1 & 2
Enjoy the silence
by Ollie Reynolds · Nintendo Life8BitDo makes some killer accessories, producing high-quality yet surprisingly affordable controllers that many consider to be better than first-party offerings.
Its Arcade Controller, the leverless alternative to its earlier Arcade Stick, is one of the most affordable options on the market, and a great entry-point for those looking to play fighting game competitively. Its tactile buttons felt satisfying to press, the aesthetics were spot on, and it came with all the features you'd expect to find in a much more premium device at a fraction of the cost.
But for as good as the switches felt to press, they were really bloomin' loud, and this was easily the biggest downfall for the Arcade Controller. So now, 8Bitdo is offering two new options to mitigate this.
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The first is the Arcade Controller - Signature Edition at £79.99 / $94.99, which features a lovely transparent purple colour alongside signatures from professional fighting players Vxbao & Zhen. It boasts pretty much the same features as the original except in one key area: the buttons. Rather than the loud, clicky Kailh Wizard switches, this one contains Purple Glede switches that are practically silent with a much lower profile.
So with a quicker actuation point and a subtle, almost imperceptible cushiony base, the new switches are incredibly responsive with none of the 'clickity-clackity' noise that plagued the first model. It's also much easier to execute sliding techniques now that the buttons sit lower.
So let's check it out:
Images: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo Life
Original Kailh Wizard Switches (left) and the new Purple Glede switches (right) — Images: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo Life
Now, if you already own the original Arcade Controller and don't fancy forking out for the Signature Edition, 8BitDo has also released the Upgrade Pack at $29.99 (there's no UK price from what we can see).
This includes 16 replacement Purple Glede switches to emulate the Signature Edition along with some swanky golden button caps. We weren't sure how this would look from the promotional images, but it's really nice in person, and you can mix and match the black and red colours from the original to great effect.
You've also got a standard keycap puller and a plain wrist rest. The latter feels a little superfluous since it's always good practice to keep your wrists elevated when using arcade controllers, but it feels suitably heavy and high-quality.
Images: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo Life
Buy 8BitDo Arcade Controller - Signature Edition
- USA
- UK
8BitDo Upgrade Kit for Arcade Controller
What do you make of 8BitDo's Signature Edition controller? Do you prefer tactile switches over quieter ones? Let us know with a comment.
About Ollie Reynolds
Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.
Comments 3
- 1
- PharoneTheGnome
- 19 mins ago
Am I missing something... where is the joystick?
- 2
- JohnnyMind
- 16 mins ago
Nice that there's now also this option and even more so since there's a "upgrade pack" for those who have the original as well - hope those going for either will enjoy them (if I ever wanted a controller of this kind I'd most likely go for an 8BitDo one considering all its features, including being able to use it wireless, and lower price compared to other ones)!
- 3
- KoopaTheGamer
- 31 secs ago
I have the original so I'll pass. Besides, I think Kailh Wizards feel excellent (and they're hot swappable anyway).
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