If you’re a North American customer trying to buy the N64 controller to go with your new subscription to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, you may want to prepare to wait a long while. Nintendo has sold out on the Switch Online wireless iteration of the classic N64 controller, and won’t restock them until 2022.
No one knows exactly when the N64 controller will be back in stock again, but the listing on the official Nintendo Store page for the controller simply reads: “More controllers will be available in 2022.” When they do, you can only buy four controllers per Nintendo account.
The N64 controller was released last month ahead of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack becoming available, giving subscribers access to Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games if they are willing to pay an extra $30 to upgrade from their current base plan. The controller itself isn’t really necessary to play the N64 games available on the Switch, but some players have reported that the N64 control schematics for some games, like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, don’t translate very well with the Joy-Con or the Switch Pro Controller.
Once the N64 controller gets restocked, you need to be subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online from the get-go, as it is only available to subscribers of the service for $49.99, the same price as the individual plan for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. For those who are dying to replay Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Phantasy Star IV, the Sega Genesis controller is still in stock as of this writing for the same price.
