8Bitdo N30 Arcade Stick / Fight Stick for Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac & Android

I purchased this arcade stick to use with my Nintendo Switch. I was hoping to better enjoy Hamster's NEO GEO arcade releases and a lot of the other arcade ports which have made their way over to the platform.Not being terribly familiar with home arcade sticks, I made the purchase with low expectations if any. I got the unit and, after a frustrating pairing process that required updating the firmware on the stick first, I thought it was okay. (The stick now connects to the Switch very quickly after the initial pairing.) I had read about how easy it was for this arcade stick to be modified using professional arcade joysticks and buttons so I decided to give it a shot given I only paid about $60 for the stick. Long story short, (long story below) the modifications made a tremendous difference and now I find myself playing the arcade ports now more than anything else. Not knowing what a good arcade stick should feel like, I thought the stock parts were good enough. After replacing the joystick and buttons I realize now what a difference they make.Long story:I swapped out the stock buttons for a set of Sanwa OBSF 30mm buttons. I also swapped out the start button for a Sanwa button as well, (the start button is 24mm.) This modification was super easy and only involved disconnecting the old buttons and connecting the new ones.I also decided to swap out the joystick for a Seimitsu LS-38 which I modified to have an octagonal restrictor guide--the stock joystick has a square gate. This modification was a bit more involved but not at all difficult to do. The stock joystick--unlike the buttons which use quick disconnect terminals--is soldered to the wiring harness. I cut the wires away from the joystick and added quick disconnect terminals and insulation sleeves. This was surprisingly easy and only involved stripping the wire tips and crimping the terminals using needle nose pliers, (a proper tool would make this task even easier).After wiring the new joystick up and installing the four mounting screws, I had a wonderful new arcade stick with smooth and responsive controls. The octagonal gate makes pulling off moves in Street Fighter way easier for me compared to the stock square gate.Tips:- Swapping out the buttons is the simplest modification and offers the biggest difference- If you're replacing the joystick, be sure to get a unit that has quick disconnect terminals and not PCB with 5-pin wiring harness.- When swapping out the joystick be sure to remove and replace wires one-by-one so that you don't get confused with which wire goes where. Same goes for the buttons.- Most retailers who sell replacement joysticks don't include a new balltop--this is so that you can pick the color and shape to suit your tastes. The stock balltop works on the Seimitsu LS-38 joystick.- I got all of my replacement parts from Focus Attack. I spent about $60 on the replacement parts including shipping and about 100 pieces of quick disconnect terminals and 100 pieces of the nylon insulation sleeves. I only used about 8 of each so was left with lots of spare parts.- The included manual's wording isn't particularly helpful when pairing. Be sure to update the firmware on the arcade stick before attempting. Firmware can be downloaded on 8Bitdo's website.- I remapped the buttons on the arcade stick to better work with Street Fighter, NEO GEO and other arcade ports I play using the stick--makes a big difference.

As soon as I found out about this I pre-ordered it and had to wait some time before I got a hold of one. What I knew ahead of time is that the joystick and buttons were sub-par but it looked like I could replace both the joystick and buttons with Sanwa parts so I ordered and received those at the same time as the 8bitdo.Immediately I paired the arcade stick with the Nintendo Switch and had little trouble getting the two devices to talk. It took me a little longer to figure out how to return to the home screen of the switch (joystick down + select). Played a little Street Fighter II and the buttons were okay but the stock joystick was terrible. The next morning I preceded to replace the joystick with the Sanwa JY-(whatever) joystick and had assumed all along that this was going to be plug and play. Unfortunately the Sanwa joysticks all come with a 5-pin connector and the arcade stick uses separate wires for each input. If you are thinking about doing the same thing as me, I hope you have a soldering iron because you'll need it. I desoldered the wires from the stock and soldered them to the Sanwa. Hint to those who are going to do this: Keep the ground wires consistent on the Sanwa joystick. I soldered some backwards and had to reverse them when some directions didn't work. But it works if you are willing to put in the time. It is definitely not plug and play like you would think from the 8bitdo literature.I replaced all of the buttons as well, and they comparatively easy to replace. I did rearrange the button pattern from the goofy stock setup to one that mimics the Nintendo ScoreMaster (PAL region super advantage), and all buttons are working well. The Sanwa joystick is the biggest improvement though, much better than the stock joystick.Here is the biggest letdown though. I also own a Retron5 and connect a SFC30 controller via a SNES bluetooth receiver, and that works really well. I foolishly assumed that this 8bitdo arcade stick would connect as well since it is the same brand as the SNES bluetooth receiver. It doesn't and I am super disappointed as I was going to primarily use this arcade stick with the Retron5.In summary know what you are getting into before you buy. This arcade stick does not currently work on the Retron5... It does pair well with the Switch but if you are willing to put in the extra effort and expense of Sanwa buttons, you've got a much better device.October 24, 2017 UPDATE TO MY EARLIER POST: 8bitdo has released a firmware update for the SNES receiver and the 8bitdo arcade stick now pairs and works with the SNES receiver. This means that is now working with my Return 5 as well as my Nintendo switch. Thanks 8bitdo for updating the firmware.

First stick I received: It would not connect to anything. Tried it on my Mac, nothing. Tried it with USB. Nothing. Tried it with bluetooth. Nothing. Tried to connect it with my Switch. Nothing. I looked around the manufacturers website for support, tried their suggestions, but I couldn't even try to run a firmware update since it wouldn't connect in any way.It was garbage. I sent a request for a replacement because it was clearly a defective item, so I thought I would see how that turned out. At this point the quality control seemed to be very disappointing.Update: I received my second stick today. It did the same exact thing. It would not connect to any device I tried no matter what I did or what method. I couldn't even check to see if I can update the firmware since it would not connect to either my Mac or Windows PC with USB. At this point I am at 2 for 2 of these sticks being defective which gives it a 100% defect rate with my experience. I could see if the first stick I got was just bad and that would have been acceptable, but getting another that does the same exact thing? That is simply unacceptable and makes me believe they simply do not have adequate quality control for this item.This has been nothing besides a waste of time, money, and effort on my end for something that couldn't work with anything. I am not even going to bother getting third one, at this point I just want my money back and I will be looking for a different arcade stick for my Switch that hopefully will actually work. This is probably the worst experience I have ever had with a controller manufacturer and I will never buy anything from 8Bitdo again.