Nintendo has a "long-running project" to create "the pinnacle of all controllers" and it's not the Switch 2 – but the Switch 2 Pro comes close

You loved the SNES, you worshipped the PS2, but could Nintendo get you to consider its Switch 2 Pro controller as a true god amongst men, please? The developer has apparently been toiling behind-the-scenes to create an unrivaled controller, and while the vanilla Nintendo Switch 2 might not fit the description, Nintendo thinks the Switch 2 Pro is a good example.

While the original Switch's Joy-Con and Pro Controller accessory are both compatible with the Switch 2, Nintendo producer Kouichi Kawamoto says in a blog post posted after the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct that "we've created a controller that's evolved further."

"Aside from the color, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller may look indistinguishable from the previous controller at first glance," Kawamoto admits about the $80 controller (the Switch Pro controller is $70), "but it was also redesigned from scratch. In particular, the left and right control sticks are quieter and don't make noise, even when they're moved quickly to the edge. Also, they glide very smoothly, so we've taken to calling them 'smooth-gliding sticks.'"

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This breakthrough in stick-gliding comes from what general manager Tetsuya Sasaki describes as a "long-running project at Nintendo with the grand ambition of developing the 'pinnacle of all controllers.'"

"We’ve been researching it hard for a long time now," Sasaki continues.

So long, in fact, that the Switch 2 Pro controller will adopt the famously luxurious style of 2001's GameCube controller, "with the base of the grip made thinner to give the fingers more space. We removed the seam around the grip part of the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, so it feels better to the touch. We refer to them as 'seamless grips' internally." Kawamoto says.

Smooth-gliding sticks, seamless grips, what more could you want?

Switch 2 release date and price confirmed – Nintendo's next console launches in June for $450.