A couple of years ago I reviewed the 8BitDo Pro 2, as I wanted something to pair with my Switch, but didn’t want to pay Nintendo first party money for a Pro Controller I didn’t like the look or feel of. I’m happy to report that the Pro 2 has been a solid stalwart since I got it, and it’s performed well, no matter what game I threw at it.
Recently, though, I’ve been needing a replacement for my PC gamepad. I used to use an Xbox Series controller, and while it worked for most games, I always had to go to a different controller if I wanted to play anything retro as the Xbox controller is just not suited to that.
There are plenty of options for PC gamepads, but given the good experiences I’ve had with 8BitDo’s controllers, I decided to give the Pro 3 a try. If you’re one that wants a Tl;dr summary, then here it is. The 8BitDo Pro 3 is an excellent gamepad that does everything I want, but has some quirks.
I’m going to go point by point about the controller, so this is going to be a longer review.
First up, the Pro 3 gives off a very positive impression as you get to unboxing it. The controller is nicely packed, with foam rings around the sticks to keep them from being jostled around in transit. You get a paper manual, as well as a small accessories box that contains the USB-C cable and a pair of ball-top Joystick caps. I’ll get back to those later, as they are a point of contention from what I’ve seen when the controller was announced.
Image courtesy of 8BitDo
Build Quality
8BitDo’s controllers, in my experience, have been built well, and feel nice in the hands. I’ve never used one of their controllers and felt that the materials and construction felt cheap. The same holds true for the Pro 3. Itfeels like a solid controller, with that nice textured grippy plastic that makes them easy to hold and comfortable over long periods of time. If you grip hard and twist the controller, there is a slight bit of flex, but you actually have to torque it. It’s not likely you’re going to feel that during actual gameplay. I never did, at least. At no point in using it did I ever feel like it was going to break. It’s just a good and solid-feeling unit to hold.
Compatibility
Much like most of 8BitDo’s controllers, the Pro 3 is compatible with a wide range of platforms. Those are the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, the PC on Windows and SteamOS, Android, and AppleOS. The controller can operate in several modes, Bluetooth, XInput, and 2.4Ghz via a dongle. The controller can also operate in a Wired mode, which is nice if you run low on battery.
One key difference between the Pro 2 and Pro 3 is the lack of a removable battery. This controller uses an internal battery, which might put some folks off. This feels like a bit of a step back, but given it comes with a charging cradle, it isn’t a huge deal. I always put the controller back on its cradle when I’m done, so it’s always ready to go when I need it.
Aesthetics
The 8BitDo Pro 3 comes in four colorways at the moment. There is a PlayStation gray and black themed one, a GameCube purple version, a GameCube Orange version, and a DMG Game Boy-inspired version. I looked at all three, and the DMG version was the one that spoke to me the most. What I particularly like, and it’s another small attention to detail thing that 8BitDo did. They color matched the USB cable to the controller and dock. This is the sort of thing that gives 8BitDo’s controllers that extra bit of flair that first-parties just don’t match. Even when they do make special edition controllers, you rarely see color-matched accessories.
Beyond that, though, the controller looks great, whether you’ve got it in hand or sitting in the dock charging. The dock also lights up, letting you know the controller is charging.
Image courtesy of 8BitDo
Layout
Much like the Pro 2 before it, this controller uses a symmetrical stick configuration. Anyone familiar with the PlayStation will know what they’re getting into. The layout itself is nearly identical to that of its predecessor, though there have been a few changes and improvements.
The main four face buttons are now removable and can be reconfigured. By default the controller comes with the Switch YXBA layout, but with the provided tool you can swap these around to XYAB. Included in the charging cradle is an extra set of colored buttons, if you’d like to have colored buttons instead.
Swapping these out is straightforward. You just press the suction cup tool firmly into the button and pull upward. Replacing the button just involves aligning the notch and dropping the button in. One nice touch is that you can store the extra buttons on the charging cradle’s door, along with the tool, which is itself magnetic. So you don’t lose them. Little attention to detail things like this are what make me appreciate 8BitDo’s designs.
I do have to mention that there’s no place to store the extra analog stick caps you get with the controller, though. Maybe that feature was added later and the charging base was already sent off to manufacture and couldn’t be changed. Maybe that’s something they can improve in a future revision.
The buttons themselves feel very good. They are a bit loud and clacky when pressed, but with headphones on, you hardly notice this.
The biggest changes to the Pro 3’s layout come on its shoulder section. LB/RB, LT/RT buttons are still present here, but they are joined by a pair of additional L4/R4 macro buttons. These feel pretty nice, being micro-switches underneath, but the biggest issue with them is they are too far in. It’s hard to get to them comfortably. I would’ve just omitted those buttons and put the micro-switches on LB/RB instead.
Image courtesy of 8BitDo
The next big change comes to the triggers. These are now dual mode. You have analog triggers by default, which feel very smooth and easy to use, but with the flip of a switch that resides right next to the trigger, a micro-switch slides into place, turning the analog trigger into a hair-trigger. Each trigger has its own, so if you want this on one trigger and not the other, you can do that. Though, actuating the trigger in this way does feel a bit odd at first, as you get a partial swinging motion before the switch engages. I don’t really know if there is much of a path to improvement there, apart from maybe making the tolerances tighter so the switch ends up even closer to the trigger mechanism than it already is. It doesn’t feel bad as it is, it’s just something you’ll have to get used to the feel of. It doesn’t take much force to actuate the button in this mode, and if you’re used to pulling on the analog trigger, it may throw you at first.
D-Pad
The Pro 3 comes with what 8BitDo calls a tactile D-Pad. It is very much what it says on the tin. There is a distinct tactile bump on the four cardinal directions, making it very apparent where you’re pressing. Despite this, it’s still easy enough to execute diagonals. Compared to the Pro 2’s D-Pad, which was already quite nice, this is a marked improvement. It’s easily one of the best D-Pads I’ve used in a long time. I have no trouble playing PC Engine games with it, or Super Nintendo games. Or, even modern games like Lumines Arise just feel great with this d-Pad.
Analog Sticks
8BitDo have opted to upgrade the Hall Effect sticks present in the Pro 2 to TMR (Tunneling Magnetoresistance) Joysticks. I won’t go into the technical differences between the two, but you can think of TMR sticks as an evolution of Hall Effect sticks. They are more durable, have more resolution than Hall Effects, and like Hall Effect, aren’t prone to drift. They use less power than Hall Effect, too, so the controller should get slightly better battery life. Though, given it comes with a charging cradle, this isn’t going to be much of a tangible benefit unless you are playing for double-digit hours at a time.
TMR sticks also are more precise, thanks to their improved sensing resolution. By default, the Pro 3 comes with a pretty standard dead-zone set. However, you can, through the use of the Ultimate V2 software, configure it to have no dead-zone at all. If you need your inputs to trigger at the slightest twitch of the stick, this is how you do it.
I found the defaults to work well for the most part, but I did end up bringing the dead-zone in just a bit for my taste. I do like that we have the option to do that. The sticks themselves feel smooth to use. No grating or crispiness, just a smooth glide all the way across the entire range of motion. Hey Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo? Take note, this is how you do analog sticks.
Another feature of the sticks is the ability to pull off the cap and swap it for a new one. 8BitDo provides a set of ball-top caps. Switching to these requires just pulling firmly up on the stick cap, and then snapping the new one in its place. These extra caps give the sticks a slightly taller profile, and make most games feel a bit off. I was going to say this was a gimmick and not very useful. That is, until I fired up Geometry Wars, and then it made perfect sense. The extra height on the sticks actually helps here, and if you bring the dead-zone in via the software, you really get that near-instant responsiveness games like that need. So while I’d say for the most part, these extra caps don’t help much. For dual-stick shooters, they work really well.
Software
On Windows and MacOS, configuring the controller is done via the Ultimate V2 software. Which is currently at version 1.27. Yes, that’s right, Ultimate V2, is version 1.27. This sort of sets the tone for what to expect with the software overall. It is functional, yes, but it’s really rough. It doesn’t seem to have improved all that much since I last used it.
Mapping the controller, configuring macros, profiles, etc does work fine once you get the hang of it. But there is an overall sense that this software isn’t entirely finished. For instance, in the Profiles List, where you can create profiles and apply them to the controller to be able to switch them on the fly, when no profile is set on a slot, the program displays ‘null’. Same goes if you want to bind no function to a button, your choice is shown as null. In no front facing software should you ever show a null value to a user. That should just not happen. Empty profile slots should just be displayed as “None Set”, and clicking on that label should prompt you to assign the profile then and there. Instead, once you create and edit a profile, you then have to click the ellipses menu next to the profile name, and assign it to a slot there. That isn’t very intuitive.
I’ve also run into problems where the controller doesn’t detect, or, oddly, the software locks my screen viewport so I can’t zoom my screen in or out while the software is running. Which is really weird and probably shouldn’t happen.
Verdict
After all of that, and despite the few little faults I have with the Pro 3 it has slotted itself nicely into my gaming setup. It has the features that I wanted in a controller, feels comfortable to hold for long sessions, and it can be tailored to suit just about any game you want to play via the profile editor in the Ultimate software. Despite the software’s quirks, it does work, but I just wish they’d hire a UX person. (Hint hint.)
If you are looking for a great all-purpose controller at a reasonable price, given all the features it brings to bear, this is it.
A couple of years ago I reviewed the 8BitDo Pro 2, as I wanted something to pair with my Switch, but didn’t want to pay Nintendo first party money for a Pro Controller I didn’t like the look or feel of. I’m happy to report that the Pro 2 has been a solid stalwart since I got it, and it’s performed well, no matter what game I threw at it.
Recently, though, I’ve been needing a replacement for my PC gamepad. I used to use an Xbox Series controller, and while it worked for most games, I always had to go to a different controller if I wanted to play anything retro as the Xbox controller is just not suited to that.
There are plenty of options for PC gamepads, but given the good experiences I’ve had with 8BitDo’s controllers, I decided to give the Pro 3 a try. If you’re one that wants a Tl;dr summary, then here it is. The 8BitDo Pro 3 is an excellent gamepad that does everything I want, but has some quirks.
I’m going to go point by point about the controller, so this is going to be a longer review.
First up, the Pro 3 gives off a very positive impression as you get to unboxing it. The controller is nicely packed, with foam rings around the sticks to keep them from being jostled around in transit. You get a paper manual, as well as a small accessories box that contains the USB-C cable and a pair of ball-top Joystick caps. I’ll get back to those later, as they are a point of contention from what I’ve seen when the controller was announced.
Image courtesy of 8BitDo
Build Quality
8BitDo’s controllers, in my experience, have been built well, and feel nice in the hands. I’ve never used one of their controllers and felt that the materials and construction felt cheap. The same holds true for the Pro 3. Itfeels like a solid controller, with that nice textured grippy plastic that makes them easy to hold and comfortable over long periods of time. If you grip hard and twist the controller, there is a slight bit of flex, but you actually have to torque it. It’s not likely you’re going to feel that during actual gameplay. I never did, at least. At no point in using it did I ever feel like it was going to break. It’s just a good and solid-feeling unit to hold.
Compatibility
Much like most of 8BitDo’s controllers, the Pro 3 is compatible with a wide range of platforms. Those are the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, the PC on Windows and SteamOS, Android, and AppleOS. The controller can operate in several modes, Bluetooth, XInput, and 2.4Ghz via a dongle. The controller can also operate in a Wired mode, which is nice if you run low on battery.
One key difference between the Pro 2 and Pro 3 is the lack of a removable battery. This controller uses an internal battery, which might put some folks off. This feels like a bit of a step back, but given it comes with a charging cradle, it isn’t a huge deal. I always put the controller back on its cradle when I’m done, so it’s always ready to go when I need it.
Aesthetics
The 8BitDo Pro 3 comes in four colorways at the moment. There is a PlayStation gray and black themed one, a GameCube purple version, a GameCube Orange version, and a DMG Game Boy-inspired version. I looked at all three, and the DMG version was the one that spoke to me the most. What I particularly like, and it’s another small attention to detail thing that 8BitDo did. They color matched the USB cable to the controller and dock. This is the sort of thing that gives 8BitDo’s controllers that extra bit of flair that first-parties just don’t match. Even when they do make special edition controllers, you rarely see color-matched accessories.
Beyond that, though, the controller looks great, whether you’ve got it in hand or sitting in the dock charging. The dock also lights up, letting you know the controller is charging.
Image courtesy of 8BitDo
Layout
Much like the Pro 2 before it, this controller uses a symmetrical stick configuration. Anyone familiar with the PlayStation will know what they’re getting into. The layout itself is nearly identical to that of its predecessor, though there have been a few changes and improvements.
The main four face buttons are now removable and can be reconfigured. By default the controller comes with the Switch YXBA layout, but with the provided tool you can swap these around to XYAB. Included in the charging cradle is an extra set of colored buttons, if you’d like to have colored buttons instead.
Swapping these out is straightforward. You just press the suction cup tool firmly into the button and pull upward. Replacing the button just involves aligning the notch and dropping the button in. One nice touch is that you can store the extra buttons on the charging cradle’s door, along with the tool, which is itself magnetic. So you don’t lose them. Little attention to detail things like this are what make me appreciate 8BitDo’s designs.
I do have to mention that there’s no place to store the extra analog stick caps you get with the controller, though. Maybe that feature was added later and the charging base was already sent off to manufacture and couldn’t be changed. Maybe that’s something they can improve in a future revision.
The buttons themselves feel very good. They are a bit loud and clacky when pressed, but with headphones on, you hardly notice this.
The biggest changes to the Pro 3’s layout come on its shoulder section. LB/RB, LT/RT buttons are still present here, but they are joined by a pair of additional L4/R4 macro buttons. These feel pretty nice, being micro-switches underneath, but the biggest issue with them is they are too far in. It’s hard to get to them comfortably. I would’ve just omitted those buttons and put the micro-switches on LB/RB instead.
Image courtesy of 8BitDo
The next big change comes to the triggers. These are now dual mode. You have analog triggers by default, which feel very smooth and easy to use, but with the flip of a switch that resides right next to the trigger, a micro-switch slides into place, turning the analog trigger into a hair-trigger. Each trigger has its own, so if you want this on one trigger and not the other, you can do that. Though, actuating the trigger in this way does feel a bit odd at first, as you get a partial swinging motion before the switch engages. I don’t really know if there is much of a path to improvement there, apart from maybe making the tolerances tighter so the switch ends up even closer to the trigger mechanism than it already is. It doesn’t feel bad as it is, it’s just something you’ll have to get used to the feel of. It doesn’t take much force to actuate the button in this mode, and if you’re used to pulling on the analog trigger, it may throw you at first.
D-Pad
The Pro 3 comes with what 8BitDo calls a tactile D-Pad. It is very much what it says on the tin. There is a distinct tactile bump on the four cardinal directions, making it very apparent where you’re pressing. Despite this, it’s still easy enough to execute diagonals. Compared to the Pro 2’s D-Pad, which was already quite nice, this is a marked improvement. It’s easily one of the best D-Pads I’ve used in a long time. I have no trouble playing PC Engine games with it, or Super Nintendo games. Or, even modern games like Lumines Arise just feel great with this d-Pad.
Analog Sticks
8BitDo have opted to upgrade the Hall Effect sticks present in the Pro 2 to TMR (Tunneling Magnetoresistance) Joysticks. I won’t go into the technical differences between the two, but you can think of TMR sticks as an evolution of Hall Effect sticks. They are more durable, have more resolution than Hall Effects, and like Hall Effect, aren’t prone to drift. They use less power than Hall Effect, too, so the controller should get slightly better battery life. Though, given it comes with a charging cradle, this isn’t going to be much of a tangible benefit unless you are playing for double-digit hours at a time.
TMR sticks also are more precise, thanks to their improved sensing resolution. By default, the Pro 3 comes with a pretty standard dead-zone set. However, you can, through the use of the Ultimate V2 software, configure it to have no dead-zone at all. If you need your inputs to trigger at the slightest twitch of the stick, this is how you do it.
I found the defaults to work well for the most part, but I did end up bringing the dead-zone in just a bit for my taste. I do like that we have the option to do that. The sticks themselves feel smooth to use. No grating or crispiness, just a smooth glide all the way across the entire range of motion. Hey Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo? Take note, this is how you do analog sticks.
Another feature of the sticks is the ability to pull off the cap and swap it for a new one. 8BitDo provides a set of ball-top caps. Switching to these requires just pulling firmly up on the stick cap, and then snapping the new one in its place. These extra caps give the sticks a slightly taller profile, and make most games feel a bit off. I was going to say this was a gimmick and not very useful. That is, until I fired up Geometry Wars, and then it made perfect sense. The extra height on the sticks actually helps here, and if you bring the dead-zone in via the software, you really get that near-instant responsiveness games like that need. So while I’d say for the most part, these extra caps don’t help much. For dual-stick shooters, they work really well.
Software
On Windows and MacOS, configuring the controller is done via the Ultimate V2 software. Which is currently at version 1.27. Yes, that’s right, Ultimate V2, is version 1.27. This sort of sets the tone for what to expect with the software overall. It is functional, yes, but it’s really rough. It doesn’t seem to have improved all that much since I last used it.
Mapping the controller, configuring macros, profiles, etc does work fine once you get the hang of it. But there is an overall sense that this software isn’t entirely finished. For instance, in the Profiles List, where you can create profiles and apply them to the controller to be able to switch them on the fly, when no profile is set on a slot, the program displays ‘null’. Same goes if you want to bind no function to a button, your choice is shown as null. In no front facing software should you ever show a null value to a user. That should just not happen. Empty profile slots should just be displayed as “None Set”, and clicking on that label should prompt you to assign the profile then and there. Instead, once you create and edit a profile, you then have to click the ellipses menu next to the profile name, and assign it to a slot there. That isn’t very intuitive.
I’ve also run into problems where the controller doesn’t detect, or, oddly, the software locks my screen viewport so I can’t zoom my screen in or out while the software is running. Which is really weird and probably shouldn’t happen.
Verdict
After all of that, and despite the few little faults I have with the Pro 3 it has slotted itself nicely into my gaming setup. It has the features that I wanted in a controller, feels comfortable to hold for long sessions, and it can be tailored to suit just about any game you want to play via the profile editor in the Ultimate software. Despite the software’s quirks, it does work, but I just wish they’d hire a UX person. (Hint hint.)
If you are looking for a great all-purpose controller at a reasonable price, given all the features it brings to bear, this is it.
by Filippo Dinolfo
