8Bitdo Arcade Stick for Nintendo Switch & Windows - Nintendo Switch )

The arcade stick is solid and has a good 2.1Kg weight balance, the tactile buttons are easy to depress and are easy to use on fighting games for combos. The joystick isn't bad, either but I prefer less wobble when it springs back although it gives a good feeling I find that I cannot pull off some moves that I could previously on a Neo Geo AES joystick.Modifying this Arcade Stick is very easy, just need a Philips screwdriver (since they revised it and changed the Torx screws out). The buttons and joystick are fully compatible with Sanwa parts. Buttons simply click off and snap on with just 2 wire connectors on each.Modifying the joystick - for those who are a bit more cost concious, this option will make a world of difference - the existing Joystick is Sanwa parts compatible, replacing the spring (£2.99), the actuator (£2.99) and even the square gate (which is the same size as a Sanwa JLX) for an octagonal 8-way (£4.20) will totally change the feel of this to a Sanwa (the microswitches are of good enough quality to fool anyone) once just the first two mods are done you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and a standard Sanwa JLF/JLX (depending on which Sanwa spring/actuator you choose) at about £20 less and no messing about with wires.Replacing the joystick - a Sanwa (or similiarly compatible) joystick can be soldered onto 5 points on the PCB or can fit into 5 of the existing 8 pins of the connector to the left of the solder points (YouTube has lots of information on this) you just need to purchase the correct cable which I did for under £2. Fitting a JLX has made a world of difference (as did changing just the spring and actuator which I did on a second Arcade Stick), the standard joystick is good but a Sanwa feels more precise and can be further modified with replacement springs, gates and actuators. Also, the black shaft and dust covers that come with the 8BitDo can be reused with a standard Sanwa JLF/JLX as well as the black ball top (unless you decide to mod the shaft length etc. as well).It's a great purchase and at sixty odd GBP (and now it's a tad under sixty on sale) it has wired and wireless 2.4GHz connectivity from a dongle that just works without drivers on a Raspberry Pi (and other PCs and Steam decks). And of course, it has Bluetooth as well and works on the Nintendo Switch. As it comes, it's a pretty decent Arcade Stick but if you want genuine quality arcade buttons and controls - you can change them at a later date. You can't go wrong with it!

It's wireless, big, works well and has decent stick and buttons. What's not to like?

A first time entry into the arcade stick world and I decided to pick up the 8Bitdo Fightstick.Very glad I did too. The stick is very well made and feels rock solid. I've been able to enjoy fighting games with the stick on my lap and it's a stable platform. The buttons feel great and I'm told by others that the feel of them is very much like a Sanwa (which I understand is a compliment)I use the stick with the included 2.4G dongle but you can also connect via Bluetooth and wired via usb.As I say, I'm really no expert on sticks but if you are looking for a good first entry that isn't costing you the earth then this one is well worth your consideration.

If you are new to the world of fighting/arcade sticks alot of information is thrown at you without any real context or explanation. Button Types, Types of Joysticks (Japanese vs. Korean), Balltop vs. Bat are some of the first topics you'll likely encounter, and before you know it you're down a rabbit hole of information with many different ideas and opinions on what you should start with, or look to upgrade into - that can leave you a bit confused on what to spend money on.Therefore It's likely that you just want something simple to get started with; and are looking at this fight-stick alongside a range of other "Budget" (i.e. sub £100) fight/arcade stick controllers such as the Mayflash, Hori and Qanba Drone. In addition; at the moment an Arcade stick is probably more of a curiosity to you and you are looking to dip your toes into using a fight-stick for 2d/3d fighters (eg. Guilty Gear, Tekken, Melty Blood, Street Fighter) or are looking to get that "Retro Experience" on a range of older 2/4 button titles that are available on various game services like those on the Switch NES/SNEW catalogue, or in many retro-pi/rasp-pi build your own arcades.Positives -The 8bitDo is a solid starting point for a newbie into the world of arcade sticks and I would describe it as being decent for "first time modders." Out the box it's both feature rich and pretty much "click and connect" when it comes to swapping out buttons.To me it's a reasonable price (I bought mine on a sale for £78); sitting towards the upper-mid region of the "budget stick" range. It also comes with several great out-the-box features: it can be used wired (and charges via USB-C meaning it charges quickly), as well as wireless via Bluetooth or 2.4ghz connectivity. The dongle has it's own holding port too with a little cover on it to prevent it getting lost.In terms of build: the look of the retro-aesthetic of the NES makes it certainly a talking point, it has solid weight and feels pretty durable. They joystick and buttons are decent clones of more authentic arcade parts and do the job well. There are also several companies that do Vinyl "Skins" to add even more styling.In terms of lighting it has LED indicators of what each button is that changes depending on what input mode you are using. The available software also lets you tweak the button configuration and even set-up macros if you'd like to run the ultimate cheese of 1-button supers or combos. It also has a turbo button for use to trivialise the old "button mashing" arcade games.For compatibility It works native with PC and the Nintendo Switch out the box. It has been shown to work on android and rasp-pi's as well.Negatives -Despite all these perks it does have some negatives.For example, it has a dongle holder, but doesn't have any cable storage. The stock buttons and joystick "do the job" but in my opinion the joystick is a little loose for my tastes, whilst the buttons feel a little too light in activation.However the the major negative is that this thing sells itself as being "Ultra Moddable." This however is a bit deceptive because, well, It just isn't. It be more accurate to say "It's moddable to a degree that's good for a new modder who wants to swap out a couple of parts but not for the advanced modder who will want more". This is because of the following:First, and foremost, to just open the thing up you need a Torx T10 Screwdriver - though cheap to find in any DIY shop or online, not everyone has laying around in the toolbox (I do because I have multiple retro consoles and these are common on things like Gamecube and N64's). So be warned that this thing requires a specialist tool just to open.Second, the depth of the chassis/case does not fit the full range of 3rd party sticks. It only has fittings for Japanese mounting plates and it uses an 8-pin connector with 4 of the ground wires natively soldered to the stock joystick. It does come with soldering points on the PCB but this may immediately confuse or put off people. There is a universal mounting plate with the attached joystick you can reuse but it doesn't fit all 3rd party sticks. This therefore limits your options. For new modders this may not be an issue, as likely the first customisation will be a move to a branded (eg. Sanwa) Japanese style Joystick. However if you are set on going for the Korean style stick (eg. Crown) for games like Tekken, then they just don't fit or will be a nightmare to mount.Third, the internal PCB layout interferes with what buttons you can install - as they prevent the use of Screw-in buttons, or the deep-plunger style buttons - meaning you are limited to using 24mm or 30mm Snap-In buttons only. Again not an issue for new modders who are likely to look to being doing simple button swaps to Sanwa/Semitsu snap-in buttons, but I really feel that the stick shouldn't be claiming to be ultra-moddable with these limitations - hence why this only gets 4 stars.The final negative of the 8bitDo is that it lacks Xbox and PS4/5 compatibility. There are some work arounds to this, however in all honesty you may as well just get a stick that has native options to connect to these devices or have more simple work-arounds like the Mayflash than trying convert the input in software using a PC to feed into an Xbox or PS.Considerations and Upgrades -Like all things, there's a learning curve to using an Arcade Stick. Afterall, companies like Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have dumped thousands into ergonomic research and design to create the most useable and natural controllers on the market. Adopting an arcade stick for many may feel very weird at first and until you develop the muscle memory required; chances are it's going to be a step back for many players and will require some getting use too before you start seeing returns.There is really no correct answer to "what is the best controller" as even in things like the biggest fighting tournaments around like Evo, people are winning using current generation controllers. However I can honestly say there's nothing like the satisfaction of pulling off an input perfect combo on an arcade stick, or just the overall experience you can get using one in older games that were built to use them.What really makes the Arcade Stick stand out is the sheer range of customization you can do to it. You can truly design and build a truly personalised controller that will become your best buddy. As it's built by you, for you, this may help you reach levels that a stock universal controller can't once you learn how to get the best out of it.For me, despite having the 8bitDo for under a week I'm already hooked into the world of modding and I'd say the 8bitDo is a great starting point. The reason for this is that modding can seem intimidating at first, but the 8bitDo offers a good platform for new modders to to learn on. Yes it limits the options you can use, but the silver lining to this is that it steers you towards a well trodden and documented path. Mainly you will find yourself directed towards moving to installing Japanese Arcade-quality components from companies like Sanwa, Hori and Semitsu. Teaching you about joystick types, joystick gates, joystick harnesses (basically the cabling), spring tension vs. grommets, differences in buttons and switches as well as pushing you into learning skills like basic electronics and soldering. The secondary skills you can learn from just customizing a fightstick are well worth the sub £100 price you pay for it.So far on my 8bitDo I've replaced the stock stick with a Sanwa JLF, and I'm now experimenting with button vendors (Semitsu & Sanwa) to see which I want to go with. I'm also going to play around with springs to change the joystick tension and find what suits me best. I am also looking at skins to customize the case.When it comes to modding the 8bitDo is very forgiving for those new to it. All the changeable buttons are snap-ins only and the internal wires are pre-crimped with quick-release fittings. For joystick install, you can use the existing I/O fittings and pins with Japanese mounting, but the 8BitDo also sets you up with solder points to work with as well as several very easy "work around" options if you don't want to solder. You can customize pretty almost everything on this thing in some way.The only downside to all this is that it's very easy to end up spending more in mods than you paid for the original device (and in turn if you replace all the major parts is it the original thing you bought?). Due to this there's a sort of soft-cap to how far you can go with the 8bitDo as eventually you'll probably want to either move to a more moddable platform or build your own arcade stick from scratch. The plus side is that, at that point, your no longer a newbie! This is the same reason I can see more advanced modders and arcade stick users passing the 8BitDo up, as they already know what they want to use or build and go for those things.However if your new to all this, or just want a solid "good to go out the box" arcade stick with wireless connectivity for PC and Switch, you can't go wrong with the 8BitDo.

Using this with Evercade vs console. Once mapped controls-only need to once-this works perfectly. Bigger than I expected, with some weight to it. Feels solid and should be good for any arcade fan. Early days so far but enjoying the authentic feel to all those arcade classics on Evercade!

Can't praise this highly enough. Very solid and weighty unit - feels like a posh control surface for a high end bit of software.I'm using it primarily to battle my son on Super Smash Bros Ultimate on the Nintendo switch. I still can't beat him but the solid feel and wonderfully tactile stick and buttons on this Arcade Stick offer me some compensation in my defeat. Reminds me of my youth playing arcade games (badly) too!8BitDo does it again!

Great arcade stick, using it with sf6 and retro arcade games, works very well.Love the feeling, haven't modded yet, maybe when I'll have to replace lever etc..Recommended!