Apple product owners have noticed that the latest update to iOS and tvOS added support for some of Nintendo's best controllers.
If you own any of the retro Nintendo Switch controllers, namely your Super Nintendo Entertainment System and N64 pads, you can now use them on compatible iOS devices and services. This includes the Apple Arcade game subscription service.
The discovery was first shared on Twitter, where developer Steve Troughton-Smith confirmed that the Super Nintendo Wireless Controller worked via a Bluetooth connection. The N64 controller has since been confirmed to work as well. NES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive controllers are likely to work as of the iOS 16.1 update as well.
This isn't the first time Apple has added support for Nintendo controllers to its devices. At WWDC 2022, Apple also confirmed support for the excellent Nintendo Switch Pro controller and (admittedly less excellent) Joy-Con controllers.
nintenderos
Great, iOS/tvOS 16.1 supports the official BT/USB-C Super Nintendo Controller for Switch 😄 I don't have the N64 or NES versions to test but I think they are now supported too 🎮 pic .twitter.com/mfkTIHpXunOctober 24, 2022
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At first glance, Nintendo doesn't seem to care that its line of Nintendo Switch controllers can be used on third-party platforms. Earlier this year, for example, Steam supported Nintendo's line of retro controllers, giving PC gamers even more options for playing Steam's best games.
Nintendo's wireless retro pads are also well-suited to the types of games you find in Apple Arcade. Since it largely houses smaller-scale, easily digestible games, its library is a perfect fit for the simple button layouts (and solid build quality) of Nintendo's historic controllers.
It's updates like this that make retro Nintendo controllers more valuable now than they were at launch. Created as a fun new feature for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, I didn't think they would be well received enough for other companies to support them.
Still, it's good to see, especially since other controllers like the DualSense are also being adopted on Steam and iOS. I hope PC support will be fully implemented for Nintendo tablets in the future, and I'd like to see adoption on Android devices as well.