Nintendo reveals surprising reason why the Switch 2 doesn’t have analogue triggers GameCentral Published April 11, 2025 12:19pm Updated April 11, 2025 1:22pm The Pro Controller could’ve had analogue triggers (Nintendo) The Switch 2 Pro Controller and Joy-Cons don’t have analogue shoulder buttons, but Nintendo was going to add them until someone stopped them. Although the Nintendo Switch 2 and its Pro Controller are broadly similar to the original Switch, in terms of design and function, there are some important differences. The Switch 2 is bigger, it has its new ‘C’ button for online chat, and the Joy-Cons can turn into mice. The Pro Controller has an audio jack and two new, programmable buttons at the back but what it doesn’t have, which has upset some fans, is analogue shoulder buttons. Although Nintendo pioneered the idea of analogue controls, with the N64, it’s never used them for any of its shoulder buttons – the closest it’s got being the GameCube’s weird clutch-like set-up. All PlayStation 5 and Xbox controllers have analogue triggers, as they’re very useful for driving games, and Nintendo has revealed that it was considering them for the Switch 2. The Switch 2’s designers were asked why they didn’t add analogue shoulder buttons to the Pro Controller or the new Joy-Cons, and the reason is straightforward but relatively surprising. Technical director Tetsuya Sasaki answered that, ‘From the hardware side, we worked on what we were asked to do. There were a lot of, let’s say, very fussy developers around us who wanted to go this route. That’s why we went the route we did.’ ‘In terms of analogue buttons on the shoulders, there are positives, but also negatives,’ producer Kouichi Kawamoto told VentureBeat. ‘You lose a little bit of instancy when they’re analogue. We considered it and decided that instant input would be the better option. That’s why we decided to move forward with this decision.’ They don’t specify which developers asked them to stick with digital shoulder buttons, but the implication seems to be that it was internal, first party developers. Third party developers would probably prefer that the Switch 2 had analogue triggers, as that makes it easier to port games across, without having to make any changes to the controls. Although Mario Kart World is the Switch 2’s main launch title, Nintendo doesn’t go in much for serious racing games, although it does have things like the Excite Bike series, which are relatively realistic. More Trending It’s hard to say which third party racer might be the most likely to appear on Switch 2 but Forza Horizon 5 does seem one possibility, as it’s shortly to be released on PlayStation 5. Strangely though, Microsoft is still yet to announce any games for the Switch 2, despite support for Nintendo platforms being a key argument for why it should be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard. Whether that was solely hot air to convince monopoly investigators, or they have some sort of big unveil event planned is unclear. Switch 2 games may feature at the recently announced summer showcase but despite it being the cornerstone of their new business plan, Microsoft has proven very reticent about announcing multiformat plans in public and has tended to do so only via blog plots and trailer drops. Mario Kart World with analogue acceleration would’ve been interesting (Nintendo) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy