The 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ is one of the best controllers I own. So, when the recently released Pro 2 came out I decided to pick one up. Now, the real question I want to answer; does the 8BitDo Pro 2 make for a worthwhile upgrade to the SN30 Pro+ and what are the pros and cons of each controller.
Both the SN30 Pro+ and the Pro 2 are extremely well-made controllers with a really good build quality and design, each of them has a premium feel to them that you would expect from a first part manufacturer like Nintendo or Sony.
They are also quite versatile being able to be used with a wide range of consoles and other devices. Personally, I used both as replacements for the Switch Pro controller and they both worked very well indeed. Steam also recognized the controllers immediately and I had no trouble mapping buttons there. The system I use these controllers with though is MiSTer FPGA, no problems mapping controllers there and they both have great D-pads.
Similarities
So, as you can tell from the pictures, these controller looks remarkably similar indeed and this is no bad thing as the form factor is great and they both feel extremely comfortable in hand. The SN30 Pro+ and Pro 2 charge via the USB-C connector which can also be used to connect to devices via the included USB-C cable (or any other USB type C cable) which will allow for some low latency gameplay.
Battery life is near enough identical between the two and they use the same type of rechargeable battery pack that can be substituted for 2 x AA batteries, which is a nice touch.
The D-pad on each controller is nice and a much-needed improvement from the mushy, yet stiff D-pad Nintendo put on the pro controller. For any 2D platformer, I would highly recommend picking up one of these controllers, the difference between these and the Pro Controller is as different as day and night. For any kind of Mega-Drive/Genesis game, I would still recommend the Retro-Bit Sega Saturn controller, but for everything else, this D-pad is the one you will want to be using.
Speaking about buttons, both controllers have an almost identical button layout with the Pro 2 having a few additional I will get on to later. The Buttons are well made and feel sturdy, they feel almost identical to the buttons you would get on an official SNES controller. The travel distance on the face buttons is quite small and this feels very nice. They are responsive and springy without feeling mushy or loose. The start and select buttons are made from rubber also feel exceedingly high quality. The triggers and should buttons are identical across the models and both work great, although I would have preferred a little more resistance with the back triggers, that’s just a ‘me’ thing.
Analog sticks on both controllers feel excellent, they are somewhat low-profile, a little like the PS4 DualShock 4 but they have a more textured finish.
Both controllers feature rumble, which works great, both on Steam and on the Nintendo Switch. Sadly, the rumble is not HD Rumble but that’s to be expected as Nintendo seem to be keeping a tight grip on that particular technology. One last thing to mention is these controllers cannot wake your Switch up from sleep. It’s a minor inconvenience but might bother some people. Personally, I didn’t find this to be much of an issue as I keep my Nintendo Switch dock pretty close to where I sit.
New Features
So, we’ve covered what’s the same, but what are the new features that the Pro 2 offers that are not present in the SN30 Pro+?
The Pro 2 has a few new features that could merit an upgrade. The first new feature the Pro 2 offers is a textured finish on the back half of the controller. Once again, this seems to be ‘borrowed’ from the PS4’s DualShock 2 and does give the controller a slightly nicer feel in the hand. The SN30 Pro+ is just smooth plastic which is functional but not as ‘premium’ to the touch.
The second thing I should mention is the addition of the new button between the analog sticks. This allows you to switch between 3 different profiles which are indicated by the three LED dots above it. This will allow you to have custom button mappings etc and you can switch them on the fly or on a per-game basis which is quite nice.
This brings me nicely onto the third new feature, The 8BitDo Ultimate Software. This is an app you can easily download to your phone and gives you full control over each aspect of your controller. The SN30 Pro+ can also be customized, but you would have to use a PC to change settings and of course, it lacks the profile switching button so was hard to revert.
Once connected, you can update your controller’s firmware wirelessly, remap buttons, can the intensity of the controller’s vibration functions, set how sensitive the analog sticks, change how sensitive the motion controls are and also set up custom macros that can be assigned to any button.
Setting up macros are the perfect way to make use of the next feature of this controller I want to go over and that’s the paddles. On the back of the Pro 2 are two additional buttons know as P1 and P2, these are easily accessed with your middle or ring finger. These can be set to be used as either a duplicate of another button or you could use the software to program the button with a macro. You could, for instance, program a complex combo, or special move to either of the paddles to effortlessly pull off at the click of a button.
I was initially worried about the placement of the paddles that I would constantly be triggering them by accident. Thankfully, this was not the case as they do take a little extra pressure to push fully down, and they make a satisfying click when pressed. Trying to use them reminded me a little of the N64’s Z-trigger, which did make me feel a little nostalgic. The paddles themselves are something that I personally would not use, but I can see how they would be attractive to some people.
The last feature I want to go over is the mode switch on the back of the controller. This easily allows you to switch between the controllers’ different modes, which was a little bit of a pain on the SN30 Pro+. With the SN30 you had to remember a button combination for each mode which became a little tedious, especially if you are switching between different modes often. With the Pro 2, all you need to do is slide the mode switch and it instantly changes which makes things a lot easier and is, in my opinion, the best feature of this newer controller.
Should I buy the Pro 2 over the SN30 Pro+?
As an owner of the SN30 Pro+, I don’t think the Pro 2 offers enough features to warrant an upgrade, however, if I was buying one of these for the first time, I would pick up the Pro 2. The SN30 Pro+ is still a fantastic controller but the added features like the ability to switch modes easier and the addition of paddles makes the Pro 2 the clear winner.
I hope you found this comparison useful! if you have any questions or would like me to test anything out for you, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
Please consider picking up either controller from the following links, thanks: –
Note: Both controllers were purchased personally by myself and were NOT provided by 8BitDo
