Months After Switch 2 Launch, Most Controllers Still Lack This Vital Feature

Switch 2 gamers who come home bone tired after a long day of drudgery will collapse on the couch and want to take their mind off life’s worst entanglements with a few hours of gaming. These working stiffs necessarily have to reach for the now more expensive first-party controller first if they don’t want to get up and hit the Switch 2 power button. All but a paltry few third-party devices can remotely wake the console from sleep. Peripheral maker Gulikit is currently the only third-party brand with controllers that will let you wake the Switch 2 from sleep. The problem is, all these controllers are too weird to be your one and only.

If you’re looking at that header image and your first thought was “that’s an Xbox controller,” you wouldn’t be far off. Gulikit dropped details on its $25 ES and $30 ES Pro “esports-grade” controllers earlier this month. The regular ES makes use of Hall effect sticks, while for $5 more the ES Pro contains TMR—aka tunnelling magnetoresistance—sticks. Both designs are more resistant to stick drift issues that cause unwanted inputs on older-style analog controllers. Gulikit also claims the controllers have low-latency Bluetooth connectivity with a wireless polling rate of 730Hz. Polling rate is how often the device relays its inputs to the connected device, which will determine how accurate the controller is when connected to the PC or console. Its claimed 3.25ms latency is only slightly higher than its wired latency of 1.87ms, which is significant for a controller that costs a third of many competing pro-level devices. Gulikit claims its polling rate and latency are better than either a regular PS5 or Xbox controller.

All that sounds well and good, but this device is currently only compatible with Android, Switch 1 and 2, and PC. What’s more, the buttons are all in the Xbox layout, with the swapped “A” and “B” buttons. The Switch 2 has a setting to remap those controls, but anybody used to the default layout will need to retrain their brain. It’s an enticing pick considering the claimed 30-hour battery life, but it can’t be for most everyday Nintendo gamers despite that ultra-cheap price.

The ES and ES Pro bring the total number of controllers that can wake the Switch 2 to five. That includes Nintendo’s Joy-Con 2 and Switch 2 Pro controllers as well as the more exclusive GameCube recreation gamepad. Gulikit’s first controller that could wake the sequel Switch was its $30 Elves 2 gamepad. This is a slightly cheaper version of the company’s previous $50 Elves 2 Pro, designed to look like an old Sega gamepad. While the Elves 2 Pro doesn’t have the six-button layout that would make it perfect for playing Genesis games through Nintendo’s Switch Online + Expansion Pack list of retro classics, it doesn’t feel all that bad in hand.

Still, neither device would be what I consider a good, standard, all-rounder controller you’ll want to use with Switch 2. Gulikit previously told Gizmodo the reason none of the older original Switch controllers could wake the new handheld was because Nintendo changed its connectivity protocol. Even Nintendo’s own Switch Pro controller can’t wake the sequel Switch. The company has not said how it cracked the connection code, and we can only hope more controller makers catch on. Currently, only wired controllers like those from official Nintendo partner PowerA also have a “C” button to quickly access GameChat, something that’s still exclusive to first-party controllers. However, PowerA controllers still can’t wake Nintendo’s latest handheld console.

Despite the growing number of third-party controllers now occupying limited space on my TV stand, I keep coming back to Nintendo’s first-party controllers. These gamepads don’t feel any better than the competition. I would jump on devices like the 8BitDo Pro 3 before I’d reach for a Switch 2 Pro controller. Even after multiple firmware updates, 8BitDo devices still can’t turn on the console. For many players, a more responsive controller isn’t nearly as important as one that’s easy to use.

This design hiccup seems small, but for many gamers it’s an intrinsic problem that will keep players edging to Nintendo’s own gamepads over cheaper third-party options. We’re closing in on three months since the Switch 2 launch, and we may need to wait even longer for that perfect, easy-to-use Switch 2 gamepad that doesn’t cost close to $100 after tariffs.