8bitdo SN30 Pro: A Super Nintendo-inspired Controller For The PC

The classic Super Nintendo controller grows up.

- Adam Patrick Murray

8 bitdo’s SN30 Pro is the last of a long line of gaming peripherals released by this busy company in 2017. Like the N30 Pro (go. pcworld.com/3pro) before it, it’s a controller designed for die-hard retro fans like myself who emulate on the PC.

This time 8bitdo is taking its design cues from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES for short, one of my favorite consoles of all time. After only months of use it has already become a staple in my gaming arsenal, but it falls just short of being the perfect controller.

WHO SHOULD BUY THE SN30 PRO

The SN30 Pro is a Bluetooth-based wireless controller that connects to your PC, Mac, Android phone, Nintendo Switch and more, and works with everything from classic games to current ones. The controller has a build in rechargeable battery that has lasted me for a few weeks on a single charge, and it connects via USB-C for charging or data transfer. The SN30 Pro also has all the buttons, sticks, and bumpers that you’d need to play current games, but I’ll get to how well they work a bit later.

On the design side, 8bitdo has done a great job of using classic Nintendo design elements to charm retro game fans. The N30 Pro hearkened back to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) quite successfully from a design perspective but had to alter the hardware in order to add functionality. With the SN30 Pro, 8bitdo didn’t change as much of the design. If you love the look and feel of the SNES controller, it’s all here in the SN30 Pro, and does it better than the N30 Pro.

USING THE SN30 PRO