The Nintendo Switch Has An NES Style Joystick, And It's Expensive As Hell

Given the popularity of the Switch it was obvious that third-party peripheral makers would want to jump in and offer some kind of service to capitalize on Nintendo's new hybrid gaming device. Well, one outlet is offering NES-style Joy-Con modifications for the Switch, and they are super expensive... $200 expensive.

Gamespot is reporting that ColorWare just recently announced that there is a new set of left and right Joy-Con controllers for the Nintendo Switch featuring a classic NES motif. The controllers look extremely sexy but they're also extremely expensive, clocking in at $200.

ColorWare is labeling the controller set as the JoyCon Classic. It's mirrored after the original 1985 NES controller design. There are some key differences between the typical Joy-Con controllers and these Joy-Con Classic controllers. For one, the front-face covers are covered with a candy black on the top, and the left Joy-Con has a cross outline over the four face buttons. Meanwhile, the right Joy-Con has red colored buttons with the letters just outside the face button design, as opposed to being on the buttons like the default Switch controllers. The home button also has a matte gray outline around it, and the start and select buttons on the left and right Joy-Con controllers have red highlighted font above them.

The wrist-straps are probably where the biggest differences comes in with the controllers that give them a distinctly different look. The typical wrist-straps for the Switch are black, matching the default black design of the Switch. The Joy-Con Classic has gray wrist-straps that match the original color of the old NES controllers to further fit the motif that ColorWare is going for with the controllers.

According to the Gamespot article, the reason for the controllers being so expensive is because the controllers are disassembled by hand, painted and reassembled with the custom livery or design. All of the basic features such as the accelerometer, gyro motion sensors and HD rumble effects are all still present.

Despite being a limited edition controller, the response hasn't been all that positive from the community over on Gamespot. Perhaps elsewhere gamers are a little bit more enthused about the $200 controllers?

Part of the issue is that the standard Joy-Con controllers are already super expensive. If you want to buy a new pair of Joy-Con controllers it will run you $79.99. The reason for the price being so expensive is because both controllers are considered separate control peripherals. Buying them separately will run you on average $49.99. However, you can use one Joy-Con to control most games, especially in two-player modes. So if you have a game like Mario Kart 8: Deluxe you can buy one single Joy-Con controller such as a left or right Joy-Con, and use it so you can do three player split-screen racing. Individually this makes Joy-Con controllers cheaper than Xbox One or DualShock 4 controllers, but paired together the controllers are quite expensive and much more so than Microsoft or Sony's offerings.

You can learn more about Colorware's new NES-inspired controllers by checking out the Joy-Con Classic page over on the official store page.