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Sonic the Hedgehog fans will soon get an opportunity to own an awesome new controller option for the Nintendo Switch! The latest in Hori’s line of Split Pad Pro controllers for the system will feature Sega’s blue blur in a gorgeous design featuring the character’s trademark color pattern. While the controller is not manufactured by Nintendo, it is fully licensed by the company, as well as by Sega. The controller is set to release on January 31st, and pre-orders for the Sonic Split Pad Pro are available now on Amazon for $59.99. Readers can check that out for themselves right here.
An image of the controller from Amazon’s listing can be found below.
For those unfamiliar with the Split Pad Pro, it’s a design intended for players with bigger hands, or just those that want something bulkier than traditional Switch Joy-Cons. However, there are a number of additional differences. Most notably, the Split Pad Pro only works in handheld mode. It’s also missing some other features, including motion controls, HD Rumble, NFC support (amiibo), and the IR camera. These trade-offs will be worth it for a lot of players, but Switch owners should be aware of the differences before making a purchase. Over the years, Hori has offered a plethora of designs for the controller, including a recently announced version based on the upcoming game Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
If you grew up in the early ’90s, chances are, it’s still super weird seeing Sonic the Hedgehog appear on officially-licensed Nintendo products! Sega’s entry in the video game industry came at a time when Nintendo was on top, and there was a fierce competition between the two companies. Sega eventually stopped making its own hardware, becoming a third-party publisher, instead. Hard as it might be to believe, this month actually marks the 20th anniversary of the first time Sonic appeared on a Nintendo system. On December 20th, 2001, Sonic Advance and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle both released on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube, respectively. Clearly, the character has found a lot of success on Nintendo platforms, since!
Do you have a Split Pad Pro controller? What do you think of this design? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
