8Bitdo NES30 Arcade Stick for Real Switch Street Fighters

It looks like Nintendo’s SNES Classic isn’t the only retro-inspired gaming device you should pre-order this month. As great as the Nintendo Switch may be, it’s still seriously lacking in the fight stick department. But that’s changing, because the more affordable 8Bitdo NES30 Arcade Stick is now available for pre-order and it’s looking all sorts of nostalgically awesome.

Even though it’s essentially like the 15th time I’ve purchased fundamentally the same game, I’m having a ball with Ultra Street Fighter II on the Switch. I’m also having a good time with those old Neo Geo ports like World Heroes and King of Fighters ’98. The only problem is playing with the Joy-cons leaves a lot to be desired, resulting in all sorts of missed moves and dropped combos. I’m totally blaming the controller.

The 8Bitdo NES30 Arcade Stick isn’t the first and only fight stick for the Nintendo Switch, of course. There’s also the recently launched Hori RAP V Hayabusa, but that is listed at a cool $149.99 and is unsurprisingly out of stock at the moment. Yes, it uses real arcade parts and is decidedly larger by comparison, but it’s also about twice the price as what 8Bitdo has on offer.

As with all of the company’s other retro-inspired controllers, the NES30 Arcade Stick is not only compatible with the Switch, but you can also use it with Windows, macOS and Android. In addition to wireless Bluetooth connectivity, it also supports a wired USB cable connection too. On your PC, it’ll work with both D-input and X-input, so compatibility shouldn’t be an issue. 8Bitdo says it’s also moddable and customizable. And it’s totally styled after the original NES for extra awesome.

While it looks like the 8Bitdo NES30 Arcade Stick won’t ship until August 20, you can pre-order it on Amazon for $79.99 right now. I imagine it’ll be quite the hot commodity, so you’ll want to get near the top of the list.