Controllers for Nintendo's newest console start at $70

If you want extra controllers for the new Nintendo Switch, which launches on March 3 for $299, get ready to shell out.

A listing on Nintendo's website indicates that the nifty new motion-sensing "Joy-Con" controllers, which enable the Switch's niftiest feature, are $79.99 a pop. That's considerably more than the $60 NES Classic, Nintendo's new retro throwback console, just for a controller.

Basically, the Joy-Con controllers can be used like a traditional gamepad when the Switch is hooked up to the TV, but can also be disassembled and snapped to the side of the unit, so you can use it as a portable system. A picture is worth a thousand words:

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If that's not enough, each "side" of the Joy-Con controller can become a controller unto itself, so one Joy-Con can actually become two for instant multiplayer action in either TV or portable mode. Plus, they each have a motion sensor, for Wii-style gaming:

Nintendo

To that end, you'll be able to buy each individual Joy-Con, which is sort of only half of a full controller, for $49.99 each. For an extra $30, you can get the "grip" that converts turns two of the mini-controllers into one big controller. It's a little confusing, but Nintendo is letting you buy much of the system in a piecemeal fashion.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, a traditional gamepad that looks like the kind you might find on the PlayStation or Xbox, goes for $69.99:

Nintendo

Interestingly, the Nintendo site also indicates that you'll be able to buy a Nintendo Switch steering wheel, kind of like the Wii Wheel that was available for "Mario Kart Wii" way back when, at the low cost of 2 for $15:

Nintendo