Beyond the Gamepad: Alternative Controllers for Your Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One

You don't need to settle for the gamepad that came with your console. Here are some other ways you can play on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

If you own a video game console like the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One, you already have a controller for it. And, let's be honest, it's probably a pretty nice controller. The Xbox Wireless Gamepad and Sony DualShock 4 are built well and comfortable to use, and the Switch's Joy-Cons are ingeniously multifaceted. Your gaming experience doesn't have to end with them, though. There are plenty of alternative controllers you can pick up for your console, whether you just want spare gamepads for same-screen multiplayer with friends or very specific, custom controllers for your favorite genres. Here are your options for all three major systems.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Inexpensive Third-Party Gamepads

Sony is pretty dedicated to keeping the PlayStation 4 an almost purely DualShock 4-controlled system: There are very few third-party wireless gamepads that play nice with the console. If you want a conventional gamepad that isn't a DualShock 4, your options are a wired controller or a much, much more expensive custom or semi-custom job. And, sadly, we can't recommend any wired third-party PS4 controllers; most models we've seen that aren't purpose-specific (like Hori's fighting-game-oriented, analog-stick-less Fighting Commander) are products from dubious brands only available online from Amazon and other reseller sites.

Microsoft is slightly less tight-fisted with third-party gamepads than Sony, and you can find one or two nice, inexpensive wired alternatives to the Xbox Wireless Gamepad for the Xbox One. The PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One, for example, is a very capable $30 gamepad that works easily with the Xbox One, feels almost exactly like the system's own controller, and features two programmable buttons on the rear similar to much more expensive custom gamepads. Hori also makes an Xbox One Fighting Commander, but besides those the pickings are slim unless you dive into little-known brands you can only order from resellers.

High-End Third-Party Gamepads

If you don't mind shelling out some solid cash, though, you can get a very powerful, feature-filled, and customized PS4 or Xbox One gamepad. Custom controller companies like Scuf Gaming, Evil Controllers, and Controller Chaos let you build your own modified DualShock 4 or Xbox Wireless Controller, replacing or augmenting most of the parts of Sony's gamepad with your choice of buttons, sticks, shells, colors, and textures. These custom controllers often feature programmable buttones or paddles on the back, giving you more options for how you play your games. In some cases, you can even get special electronic mods installed in the controllers that enable special techmiques in first-person shooters (techniques that border on if not are outright cheating). These custom gamepads regularly cost $150 to $250, depending on the options you choose.

Evil Controllers X1 Evil Shift

Scuf Gaming also recently released the first major third-party wireless PS4 controller, the Scuf Vantage. Unlike the Scuf Impact and Infinity, which are modded DualShock 4 controllers, the Scuf Vantage was built from the ground up by Scuf with Sony's blessing. It's a pleasant alternative to modded DualShock 4s, featuring plenty of customization options and rear paddles like the Impact and Infinity, but with asymmetrically positioned Xbox-style analog sticks. Don't expect it to be more affordable than a custom DualShock 4, though; the Scuf Vantage starts at $200. Astro Gaming also will be releasing its own high-end console controller for the PS4, the C40 TR, later this year.

The Astro Gaming C40 TR Controller is our new favorite among pricey controllers, though. The company's first gamepad works with the PS4 over a 2.4GHz connection instead of Bluetooth thanks to an included USB dongle, and can just as easily work wired, or with a PC in wired or wireless modes. It doesn't have the loads of cosmetic choices Scuf, Evil Controllers, and even Xbox Design Lab offer, but instead it packs almost every concievable option for how the gamepad feels to play. You can switch the analog sticks and direction pad between parallel PlayStation and offset Xbox layouts, remap every digital input, and even adjust sensitivity curves. It feels excellent, too.

Alternate First-Party Gamepads (Xbox One Only)

Sony has stuck with the DualShock 4 ever since the PlayStation 4 was launched, and it hasn't offered many alternatives or upgrades outside of different colors or patterns of the shells. Xbox, on the other hand, offers both extensive customization options for its standard Xbox Wireless Controller, as well as a much more premium version.

Xbox Design Lab Wireless Controller

Xbox Design Lab lets you build your own Xbox Wireless Controller, choosing different colors and patterns for the shell, buttons, sticks, triggers, and directional pad. You can even get your name or tag custom laser engraved on it. At heart it's still a standard Xbox One gamepad, but with your favorite colors mixed and matched so it really feels like your own personal controller. It's also more affordable than modded third-party gamepads, starting at $60 and topping out at $100 for camo and metallic options, with engraving. You don't get any extra features on it, though.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller

The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is Microsoft's own attempt at a high-end gamepad, and at $150 it costs over twice as much as the standard Xbox Wireless Controller. It features a heavier and more solid-feeling design with a selection of metal analog sticks at different heights and two different metal direction pads you can swap to find your most comfortable control layout. It also has four removable and programmable metal paddles on the back to add more control options, like Scuf and Evil custom controllers, and you can reprogram any of the buttons or triggers to act like any other button or trigger in the Xbox Accessories app on the Xbox One.

Mouse and Keyboard

If you like Fortnite, you don't need to settle for less-than-precise analog sticks. The PS4 and Xbox One can work with mice and keyboards, pairing with them to make menu inputs easier. Just pair your mouse and keyboard over Bluetooth or connect them via USB and they'll let you enter text as needed.

Corsair K63 Wireless Keyboard w/ Lapboard

You probably want to use your mouse and keyboard with games, though, and that's where you can run into hiccups. Fortnite supports mouse and keyboard controls (which can provide an almost unfair advantage over players with controllers), but few other games do on either system. You're looking at less than a dozen compatible games on each, including Final Fantasy XIV on the PS4, Minecraft on the Xbox One, and Fortnite and Warframe on both. Also, don't expect to browse the web easily with either system's browsers and your accessories; neither the PS4's web browser nor Microsoft Edge on the Xbox One will work with a mouse.

If you just want your QWERTY keys for movement but don't need to type words, you can also consider a gamepad/mouse hybrid controller. The Hori Tactical Assault Commander (T.A.C.) Pro features a hand-sized keypad with a cluster of full-sized keys to manage your FPS and MMO needs, along with a mouse designed to work alongside it. The T.A.C. Pro is currently PlayStation 4 only, though Hori did offer Xbox One versions of previous models, which you might be able to track down used.

Specialty Controllers

If you're dedicated to a specific game genre, you might want to consider a controller designed just for that. Fighting games, racing games, and flight simulators all have their own categories of game controllers that enthusaists swear by. They won't work as well, or at all, with other types of games, but they're ideal for the fighting, racing, or flying you want to do.

Hori Real Arcade Pro V Kai

Arcade sticks, or fight sticks, are wired joystick controllers modeled after arcade cabinet controls. They usually feature one eight-direction digital joystick with a solid ball on the top, along with eight buttons mounted on a large, flat base. They're ideal for fighting games like Street Fighter V or Dragonball FighterZ, since they depend on precisely timed combinations of movements that can be performed more reliably with an arcade-style joystick than a gamepad. They can also make classic arcade game compilations feel more fun and nostalgic, as long as the games don't require dual analog sticks. Hori is one of the biggest names for arcade sticks, with multiple models like the Real Arcade Pro V featuring arcade cabinet components.

Logitech G920 Racing Wheel

Driving simulators and racing games can benefit from a racing wheel and pedals like the Logitech G920 or any of Thrustmaster's PS4-compatible wheels. They're controllers designed to look and feel like car steering wheels, letting you steer much more precisely than you can by tilting an analog stick. Pedals add more realistic and subtle acceleration and braking, and you can add additional accessories like shifters and displays to the mix.

Thrustmaster Hotas

Flight sticks are to flying games what racing wheels are to driving games. They're joysticks or flight yokes that look and feel more like plane controls than your gamepad, and can work in tandem with other accessories like throttles, pedals, and displays to provide a really immersive flying experience. Logitech and Thrustmaster are, again, the two biggest brands for these controllers.

Specialization is expensive, and you can expect to spend a good amount of money for your genre-specific controller of choice. Full-size arcade sticks start at $150 (though Hori offers a much tinier and more affordable $50 FightStick Mini if you just want the layout and not the big arcade size and stability). Racing wheels and flight sticks can also start at $150 for the most basic sets, but adding accessories like throttles, shifters, and displays can easily pump that price up closer to $1,000 if you're going all-out in building a simulator.

Nintendo Switch

First, we need to address an important aspect of the Nintendo Switch: the handheld mode. The system lets you connect the included Joy-Cons to its sides and use it as a portable game system. It's one of the system's biggest draws, and it's also where there's the least amount of flexibility for third-party controllers. Besides the rare Hori D-Pad Controller (L), an alternate left Joy-Con that replaces the direction buttons with a conventional plus-shaped direction pad (and removes all wireless capabilities and motion sensing), you aren't really going to find any alternative Joy-Con-like controllers you can snap on the sides of the system. There are modding kits and services to take your Joy-Con apart and replace the shells, direction buttons, and other aspects, but any mod kit you put together yourself runs the risk of simply breaking the controller you already own.

However, if you stay in console mode, either docked and attached to a TV or with the Switch tablet sitting on a table, there are plenty of options for different controllers.

How to Use Your Nintendo Switch Pro Controller on Your PC

Switch Pro Controller

The most obvious upgrade you can make to your Nintendo Switch is leaving the Joy-Cons attached to the sides of the system and getting a nice, hefty Switch Pro Controller for playing in console mode. The system's included Joy-Cons are perfectly functional on their own and necessary for playing Switch games in handheld mode, but the small, round directional buttons and fairly slim design of the controllers makes them less than ideal for conventional couchbound gaming. The Switch Pro Controller is Nintendo's own answer to that problem: a one-piece gamepad with the approximate size, shape, and build quality of the Xbox Wireless Controller, designed for use with the Switch. It features bigger analog sticks, face buttons, and triggers, and includes the motion-sensing, rumble, and NFC reader features of the Joy-Cons. At $70 it's a bit pricier than the Xbox Wireless Controller and DualShock 4, but it's still an excellent accessory.

The Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers are less excellent, but some of the few non-Joy-Cons that can attach to the sides of the Switch. These gamepads have direction pads, two face buttons, and little else, because they're designed purely to work with the Nintendo Switch Online app to play classic NES games.

Third-Party Gamepads

The Nintendo Switch is remarkably friendly to third-party controllers, with a wide selection of both wired and wireless gamepads you can pick up for fairly little money. Hori, Nyko, PDP, and PowerA all offer a variety of wired gamepads for $25 or less, based loosely on the Switch Pro Controller and GameCube controllers' designs. These wired gamepads, like the Hori Horipad, usually don't have motion controls or rumble, but they're perfectly functional.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, 8Bitdo, Nyko, and PowerA all offer wireless controllers that work with the Switch. These Bluetooth controllers usually feature motion controls and rumble, though don't expect an NFC reader for Amiibos. Nyko and PowerA's wireless Switch controllers are loosely based on the Switch Pro Controller design, while 8Bitdo's gamepads tap into more retro styles; the 8Bitdo SN30 Pro is effectively a Super NES controller with dual analog sticks and an extra pair of triggers, and we really like it.

GameSir VX AimSwitch

Mouse and Keyboard

Just like the Xbox One and PS4, the Nintendo Switch supports mice and keyboards. And, just like the Xbox One and PS4, that support is very limited. Basically, it's for Fortnite and that's it. It's also USB only, so you can't pair a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard to your system. On the bright side, you can get a wireless split keypad/mouse controller specifically for the Switch in the form of the GameSir VX AimSwitch. It's similar to Hori's T.A.C. Pro controller, but designed to work with the Nintendo Switch through a wireless dongle that plugs into the dock and connects to both the keypad and mouse.

Specialty Controllers

Fighting game fans can rest easy at the selection of arcade sticks for the Nintendo Switch. Hori offers a Switch-compatible version of the Real Arcade Pro V Hayabusa, which should satisfy anyone who wants to get a few rounds of Dragonball FighterZ or Mortal Kombat 11 in. If the $150 Hori stick is too expensive for you, the 8Bitdo N30 Arcade Stick is just $60, though it doesn't have quite the same responsiveness, sturdiness, or arcade components as the Hayabusa.

8Bitdo N30 Arcade Stick

Flight sticks and wheels are another story. You won't find a serious racing wheel or a simulator-worthy joystick for the Nintendo Switch. The most you'll find are steering wheel-shaped shells you can put a Joy-Con in. To be fair, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe isn't the same type of racing game as Forza Horizon 4, and we've yet to see a dedicated flight simulator game on the Switch. Still, the lack of variety is a bit of a shame, and anyone who's played Mario Kart Arcade GP at an arcade knows how fun a big wheel can be when drifting on Rainbow Road.

You don't need to stop at console gaming. If you like to play on your PC, our guide to choosing the right PC game controller can help you figure out what gamepad, stick, or wheel will work best for you.