Nintendo says Switch Online NES controller’s layout “doesn’t lend itself” to handheld play
It was recently announced that Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will be able to purchase new NES controllers for use with classic games on the system. We know that they work when the system is docked or in tabletop mode, but how about portable play?
USgamer decided to ask Nintendo that very question. In a statement, the company said that “the controller’s horizontal layout doesn’t lend itself to being used while vertically attached to the Nintendo Switch console.”
The full statement reads:
“The design of the NES controller is as close to the original as possible, to give NES-Nintendo Switch Online games a very authentic feel. As such, the controller’s horizontal layout doesn’t lend itself to being used while vertically attached to the Nintendo Switch console. The NES controller works great in both docked mode and tabletop mode, and Joy-Con controllers can be used in any mode.”
As USgamer notes, the statement doesn’t explicitly say that the NES controllers can’t be used vertically. However, they may not work very well in handheld mode regardless.
