Nintendo’s Change 2 Professional Controller is professional sufficient for me

The brand new $84.99 Professional Controller for the Change 2 might not be your thought of a pro-grade controller — maybe not by an extended shot. Nevertheless it’s definitely extra of 1 than Nintendo’s $69.99 last-gen controller. It has two additional buttons embedded into its grips (one on both sides), which might be programmed on a per-game foundation, a 3.5mm headphone jack for listening to video games or GameChat chatter, and a extra premium feel and appear. It’s no DualSense Edge, but it surely’s professional sufficient for me.

I like that Nintendo saved nearly every thing the identical from its predecessor, besides the semi-transparent smoke black shell that hid a secret message: the Fisher Worth-sized face buttons, the snappy directional pad, and the compact type issue are all right here. I don’t need to generalize, however its measurement may be excellent for a similar crowd who yearns for small telephones, those that usually expertise hand ache from utilizing the controllers that Sony or Microsoft put out. It has the opposite trappings that made the last-gen Professional controller value shopping for, like Amiibo NFC help and movement controls.

When it comes to what’s new within the Change 2-edition of the Professional Controller, I hope you weren’t holding your breath for eight years ready for Corridor impact or TMR joysticks as a result of they aren’t right here. As an alternative, we’ve drift-prone potentiometer joysticks once more, albeit a few of the smoothest and quietest ones that I’ve ever used. There’s so little resistance required to maneuver them, but they don’t simply register unintentional inputs. We’ll see how properly they fare over time. For what it’s value, my unique Professional Controller from 2017 remains to be kicking.

This controller, just like the Change 2’s proper Pleasure-Con, encompasses a devoted GameChat button. This button launches the namesake characteristic, which is free for all Change 2 homeowners to make use of by way of March thirty first, 2026, when it is going to be gated behind the Nintendo Change On-line paywall. The excellent news for this controller is, whether or not you need to use GameChat now or ever, you possibly can reprogram the “C” button to do no matter you’d prefer it to do. You received’t lose out on GameChat performance, as there’s a devoted house menu choice for the characteristic.

The brand new controller gives some conveniences not discovered within the predecessor, which can tempt you into upgrading. As talked about, the Change 2 Professional Controller has a 3.5mm headphone jack, from which it will probably output sport and GameChat audio to wired headphones or a headset. The power to stream audio wirelessly from the console to the controller is a giant deal for Nintendo, despite the fact that it already figured it out within the Wii U Gamepad. Notice: the LED participant indicator has been moved to the highest of the Change 2 Professional Controller to make room for the three.5mm jack.

One other, albeit smaller, characteristic is the flexibility to get up the Change 2 console from sleep with the brand new Professional Controller. This looks as if a sneaky manner for Nintendo to bait gamers into upgrading their last-gen controllers. Wake from sleep is a fundamental characteristic, one which shouldn’t be restricted to this controller. It’s helpful for those who usually play your Change whereas it’s docked to your TV. Wake from sleep wasn’t utilized in most third-party controllers in the course of the unique Change period, however 8BitDo discovered a method to allow it by shaking a few of its controllers. So, it’s all the time potential that there’ll quickly be cheaper options that determine a manner round this annoying problem.

Each this controller and the brand new Pleasure-Con 2 characteristic what Nintendo calls HD Rumble 2, an improved model of the tactile rumble launched with the unique Change. I already thought HD Rumble was nifty in some use instances, and my opinion hasn’t modified as I’ve performed Mario Kart World and Change 2 Version of Tears of the Kingdom. HD Rumble appeared novel, if not a bit gimmicky, till the introduction of the DualSense and its sensible haptics in Astro’s Playroom and in a number of different titles since. The brand new Change 2 haptics aren’t on the identical stage, not less than within the launch video games.

The GL and GR buttons are arguably my favourite implementation of rear paddles in a controller. Whereas most corporations put them on the bottom of the gamepad, a spot the place I hardly ever relaxation my fingers, these are curved, wrapping across the grips the place my center fingers naturally relaxation. Urgent them requires primarily no effort — you don’t even have to arch your fingers to faucet the buttons. It’s simple sufficient to press them in with the meat of my second knuckle by making use of some downward stress. It guidelines.

If any of the aforementioned additions sound interesting to you, the Change 2 Professional Controller might be value its value. Sure, I want it had extra futureproof joysticks, and maybe one other characteristic or two to justify its tariff-boosted value (it was initially $79.99). It’s very probably that third-party controller producers like 8BitDo, GameSir, GuliKit, and others will make choices with most, if not all, of the identical options at a cheaper price – so whereas the Change 2 Professional Controller is the most suitable choice proper now, which may not all the time be the case.