The luster is slowly wearing off on my 8BitDo SN30+. I’m starting to run in to small little issues I’m not really happy with.

For example, I’m not sure if it’s a dead zone issue or what, but starting on my Android tablet and now sometimes even on the Switch itself, I’m starting to get phantom inputs. So far I haven’t gotten any real analog stick drift, but every now and then the controller will register me pushing down or to the right at random. I don’t know if it’s on the left stick or the d-pad.

8BitDo has configuration software to set deadzones, but you can only save it to an optional profile that must be enabled manually. You enable and swap between profiles by clicking in both analog sticks, which really sucks because that’s the macro RetroArch on my phone uses to open the menu. Also, the fact you have to save it to a separate profile and can’t just tell the controller “no, adjust the deadzones for the entire controller” is a bit dumb. And I’m not even sure it’s a deadzone issue!

I know what deadzone problems feel like -- I’ve had the deadzones fail on PS2, 360, and Gamecube controllers. This isn’t like that. When the deadzones start to fail, you can pick up the controller and shake it a little to get the stick to register a bad input, and that’s not what is happening with this 8BitDo. I can set the controller down and not touch it and it’ll suddenly register a directional input. But then, I can pick up the controller and shake it violently and the sticks stay perfectly centered. Doesn’t make sense to me.

There are also Switch games it just doesn’t work right with? Like, if I use it with Downwell, the controller vibrates, constantly, all the time. It never stops vibrating. It doesn’t happen with the Joycons, it only happens with the 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ and it only happens with Downwell. The only thing I can figure is that maybe Downwell is constantly polling HD Rumble -- not necessarily using HD Rumble, but sending it small amounts of impossible-to-feel rumble that the Pro+ then converts in to full controller shake. It’s not great. I can’t really play Downwell on the Pro+.

A different problem cropped up recently: I bought Gear.Club Unlimited on the Switch recently because it was $3 and for the longest time it was the only “serious” racing game on the Switch. In this tweet thread (with video) I talk about how the controls aren’t very good, because you constantly “oversteer” a little too much. If you watch the video, it’s clear I’m pinballing around the track a lot because I’m struggling to keep a handle on my car.

But then I played the game a few times in portable mode, and I came to realize something: Gear.Club Unlimited plays better on the Joycons. That oversteer problem I describe that has me slamming in to the barriers constantly? It doesn’t exist when I’m driving with the Joycons. It’s a problem with the 8BitDo SN30 Pro+.

It happened while I was streaming the game to a friend over a Discord video call, actually. I got stuck on a particular race and realized the weird, laggy controls I complained about weren’t there in portable mode. So I literally said to him “Okay, check this out.”, unplugged the Pro+, and after losing the race three times in a row, went on to win it by a significant margin on my first try using the Joycons. With the Pro+ it was a fight to stay on the road, but once I went back to the Joycons it wasn’t a problem.

Something with how Gear.Club Unlimited picks up and handles analog input from the Pro+ gets mucked up. It’s another game I can only play using the Joycons.

At this point I’m starting to wonder if I should just invest in that adapter that lets me use my Dualshock 4 on the Switch. Then again, that’s also made by 8BitDo, so who knows! If it’s a software issue, all of this stuff might happen there, too!