Splatoon nabs first Switch special edition Pro controller

Those in the U.S. will get their first special edition Nintendo Switch Pro controller this July, and it’s Splatoon 2-themed. Although we’re huge fans of that series’ sense of style, we’re not sure that we can say the same about the color scheme of this controller.

Nintendo

We’ll start with the good. The body of the controller is gray with varied ink splats scattered a cross its face, dripping and oozing around its buttons. It’s the most subtle thing that this controller has going for it, but it’s also the feature that most obviously screams “Splatoon 2.”

Less promising are the much lighter details that are also visible on the controller’s body. Part of the Splatoon aesthetic are loud logos and iconography from the games’ rich world, and some of those are on display here. They’re only noticeable if you look at the controller up close, but they add enough pizzazz to elevate the Splatoon 2-edition Pro from a casual affair to a full-on party.

What really brings down the house, though, are those two-tone handles. One’s green. One’s pink. Neither are appealing. Splatoon is no stranger to ostentatious colors: We may even attribute our newfound appreciation for neon to the original game. But combining those bright handles with a charcoal gray face is just ... odd. It’s very, very odd.

Complaints aside, collectors will be happy to have another kind of Pro controller to add to their Nintendo Switch collections. It’s on sale July 21, as is Splatoon 2. Nintendo hasn’t announced pricing, but the standard-issue version costs $70. Watch the controller in action during Nintendo’s latest Switch trailer, which looks at this summer’s games, and draw your own conclusions.