8BitDo’s new wireless adapter lets you connect a GameCube (or NES or SNES) controller to a Switch via Bluetooth. It will be released Dec. 7.
8BitDo, best known for its retro-style wireless controllers, will be releasing a new wireless adapter on Dec. 7. Nintendo fans may recognize that date as the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launch; that release synergy is entirely intentional.
While Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will support Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons and Pro Controllers, you really need a GameCube controller to Smash the way nature and Masahiro Sakurai intended. A few peripheral manufacturers (and Nintendo itself) are releasing GameCube-style controllers, but if you’ve already got a few originals lying around — or want to use one of the new ones without needing to sit a few feet from your TV — 8BitDo’s new GBros. device has you covered.
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Instead of using Nintendo’s wired GameCube adapter, a GameCube controller can plugged right into the GBros., which connects to the Switch via Bluetooth. The comparison that 8BitDo makes is to a Wii Remote and Nunchuck, though to me it looks more like a portable charger.
In addition to GameCube controllers, GBros. also supports NES Classic and SNES Classic controllers. (And the Wii Classic Controller, if you happen to be holding onto one of those for some reason.) On the adapter itself are home and screenshot buttons, which are included in modern replicas but absent from the original GameCube controllers.
The GBros. wireless adapter is available for pre-order for $19.99 and will ship on Dec. 7. It uses a standard AA battery, which 8BitDo claims will power 30 hours of play time.
