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I’m surprised there isn’t an official D-Pad Joy Con available

YolkFolk

YolkFolk

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,212
The North, England
Looking to pick up a D-Pad Joy Con with Super Mario Maker 2 just around the corner.

Any feedback/experiences would be welcome from those who have already picked one up.

To be honest I'm surprised there isn't an official Nintendo manufactured version available as yet. It'd also have been nice if there was one available, first party or otherwise, where the D-Pad swapped position with the analogue stick for extra comfort.

Thanks.
 
TheBiInBilingual

TheBiInBilingual

THE STORE ENSURED ME THERE WOULDN'T BE FILM
Member
Feb 22, 2018
2,791
I honestly don't get these D-pad complaints when it comes to Nintendo. The Dualshock also doesn't have a 'proper' D-pad and I have never seen complaints about that. Not trying to start a console war or anything, just an observation. I do get the complaints that it hinders some actions in games, when available I just use the left control stick.
 
Eoin

Eoin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,103
Guido Krijt said:
I honestly don't get these D-pad complaints when it comes to Nintendo. The Dualshock also doesn't have a 'proper' D-pad and I have never seen complaints about that. Not trying to start a console war or anything, just an observation. I do get the complaints that it hinders some actions in games, when available I just use the left control stick.
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The Dual Shock absolutely does have a proper d-pad, it's just recessed into the controller. Open up the controller and it looks like this:

nleD2SUm.png
 
Mr G

Mr G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
219
Netherlands
The reason is simple, when playing with 2 players you have to use the joycon sideways your dpad is now a set of buttons.
If they made it like a normal dpad it would be impossible to use them in 2 player games with 1 set of joycons.

I think they don't wan't to create a situation where someone buys a dpad joycon and realise they can't use it for 2 player, third party's are free to do what they want with that because they aren't official controllers
 
Nessus

Nessus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,907
I just wish they'd offer optional grip-shaped joycons like the ones Hori just announced, but with the IR, gyro, etc. still. With grips they could include larger batteries too.
 
LAA

LAA

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,323
I'm surprised too really.
The potential of being able to switch out joycons to change/improve the experience and basically nothing official has done that.
Even simply colour wise Nintendo hasn't really released much.
 
Dphex

Dphex

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,811
Cologne, Germany
Guido Krijt said:
I honestly don't get these D-pad complaints when it comes to Nintendo. The Dualshock also doesn't have a 'proper' D-pad and I have never seen complaints about that. Not trying to start a console war or anything, just an observation. I do get the complaints that it hinders some actions in games, when available I just use the left control stick.
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the Dualshock has a massively better Dpad than both Joycon and Pro Controller. in fact the Dualshock 4 Dpad is great.

retro games and fighting games are awful on the Switch with both Joycons and Pro Controller and Nintendo completely dropped the ball on that aspect.
 
tadaima

tadaima

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,843
Tokyo, Japan
LAA said:
I'm surprised too really.
The potential of being able to switch out joycons to change/improve the experience and basically nothing official has done that.
Even simply colour wise Nintendo hasn't really released much.
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I get what you're saying here, but I think it is to Nintendo's benefit that they have stuck with basically a single purpose. To new and prospective users, it really helps to communicate the message of what Switch is and what differentiates it from the competition.

After the Wii U clusterfuck, Nintendo needs clarity in their messaging.
 
C_Ali88

C_Ali88

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
310
Guido Krijt said:
I honestly don't get these D-pad complaints when it comes to Nintendo. The Dualshock also doesn't have a 'proper' D-pad and I have never seen complaints about that. Not trying to start a console war or anything, just an observation. I do get the complaints that it hinders some actions in games, when available I just use the left control stick.
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Because it is horrible for certain actions. It makes street fighter almost unplayable.. and I love SF... Also the D-pad on the dual shock is much closer and as far as I know is a standard D pad with just the tips coming out of the casing. On the switch they are 4 separate buttons which makes diagonal actions extremely difficult to execute with any precision, as you have to press both buttons (oddly spaced apart) simultaneously to perform.

I hope this helps your understanding a bit.
 
LinkStrikesBack

LinkStrikesBack

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,348
Guido Krijt said:
I honestly don't get these D-pad complaints when it comes to Nintendo. The Dualshock also doesn't have a 'proper' D-pad and I have never seen complaints about that. Not trying to start a console war or anything, just an observation. I do get the complaints that it hinders some actions in games, when available I just use the left control stick.
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Probably because the dual shock one had always been only ok while Nintendo's have generally been rather good, making the crap one on switch a strange outlier.

Still, I agree with the above posters saying it's a sacrifice they made for the ability to use 2 joycons for local multiplayer, which I can accept. The bad dpad on the pro controller however is inexcusable.
 
C_Ali88

C_Ali88

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
310
LinkStrikesBack said:
Probably because the dual shock one had always been only ok while Nintendo's have generally been rather good, making the crap one on switch a strange outlier.

Still, I agree with the above posters saying it's a sacrifice they made for the ability to use 2 joycons for local multiplayer, which I can accept. The bad dpad on the pro controller however is inexcusable.
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I don't have a pro controller but was thinking of purchasing one. What would you say are it's issues?
 
BassForever

BassForever

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Oct 25, 2017
29,915
CT
Look at how many first/second party Nintendo games support local multiplayer with sideways Joycons. Of Nintendo's major titles I think BotW is the only one that is single player only, and that started life as a wiiu game. That's why Nintendo is never gonna do an official d-pad joycon, they always want the switch to instantly support two players anywhere.
 
tofaro28

tofaro28

Member
Dec 17, 2018
114
I want an official official Joy-Con with D-Pad. But I still want an Joy-Con with D-Pad inverted with the left analogue (alá PlayStation).
 
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LinkStrikesBack

LinkStrikesBack

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Oct 27, 2017
16,348
C_Ali88 said:
I don't have a pro controller but was thinking of purchasing one. What would you say are it's issues?
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Just to clarify, it's only the dpad that has issues, the rest of the pro controller is great, so it's an odd blight on what would otherwise be my favourite controller.

The controller often has issues misinterpreting directions e.g. you can push down on the dpad and it can read it as left or right.
This video shows the problem in action

It's terrible for games such as, say, Tetris where a unintended down press would screw everything up. Same for anything that would need accuracy like any of the 2d fighters on the console.
 
UltraMagnus

UltraMagnus

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
15,670
The Hori pad is great, it's basically my default Switch left Joycon now unless I have to play a game that needs dual gyros. Fighting games and platformers are night and day better.
 
Hoa

Hoa

Member
Jun 6, 2018
4,295
RoadHazard said:
Bad precision. You can press right and accidentally get a diagonal input, etc.
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The PS4 Dpad has this issue as well and I never release noticed until I started playing Superbeat Xonic and later on Megaman 11. Not as often as the Pro controller, it can still be annoying sometimes.

I actually like the joycons for platformers.
 
C_Ali88

C_Ali88

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
310
Hoa said:
The PS4 Dpad has this issue as well and I never release noticed until I started playing Superbeat Xonic and later on Megaman 11. Not as often as the Pro controller, it can still be annoying sometimes.

I actually like the joycons for platformers.
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Yeah I can perform adequately with the Joy Con dpad in platforming games... Just fighting games are nigh impossible.
 
Tregard

Tregard

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Oct 27, 2017
5,221
With the reported Pro model coming soon, I wouldn't be surprised if this is an added feature.
 
Galactor

Galactor

Banned
Nov 11, 2017
619
I know the hori joycon doesnt have battery, but can it be used in wireless mode with the baterry grip?
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,797
LinkStrikesBack said:
Just to clarify, it's only the dpad that has issues, the rest of the pro controller is great, so it's an odd blight on what would otherwise be my favourite controller.

The controller often has issues misinterpreting directions e.g. you can push down on the dpad and it can read it as left or right.
This video shows the problem in action

It's terrible for games such as, say, Tetris where a unintended down press would screw everything up. Same for anything that would need accuracy like any of the 2d fighters on the console.
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Came across this thread via a search and I was curious if you or anyone else has used the Hori officially licensed pro controller? I wonder if it has a better dpad?

Also I have the hori dpad joy con and the dpad is great... but everything else about it sucks. Would it be possible to gut a real left joy con and put that all in the hori dpad joy con?
 
Doskoi Panda

Doskoi Panda

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Oct 27, 2017
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thepenguin55 said:
Came across this thread via a search and I was curious if you or anyone else has used the Hori officially licensed pro controller? I wonder if it has a better dpad?
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If you're talking about the wired Hori pro controller, the dpad is downright terrible. I don't remember the last time I used a worse-feeling dpad.
 

Deleted member 29464

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Nov 1, 2017
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I was wondering this myself the other night looking at that switch lite and thinking there isn't a perfect system for me unless I get third party joy cons. Hopefully they make one after addressing their drifting issues. I'm not buying any new joycons until they are revised but maybe I will look into this Hori one.
 

Dr Richard Kimble

Member
Jan 31, 2019
289
Just bought some modded white joycons. They look gorgeous. I'm real excited. They have a dpad and colorful buttons. I was gonna use the Hori one for MM2 but realized that HD rumble adds a lot to the game feel (hori doesn't have it).
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,797
Dr Richard Kimble said:
Just bought some modded white joycons. They look gorgeous. I'm real excited. They have a dpad and colorful buttons. I was gonna use the Hori one for MM2 but realized that HD rumble adds a lot to the game feel (hori doesn't have it).
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Yeah that's kind of why I wanted to use the extra joy con set I have and the Hori dpad joy con I have to kind of make my own version of those white joy con sets that seem to be all over eBay right now.
 
TheZynster

TheZynster

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,285
CaviarMeths said:
It's not '1st party,' but there is an officially licensed JC with a D-pad made by HORI. Not sure how it is though. Here's one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AJRN4CE

There's also DIY shells to replace your own JC face buttons with a D-pad. Those will void your warranty though, so be careful about that.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076CC1J8V
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Do the hori ones have any drift issues yet?


Edit: apparently the daemon x machina doesn't launch till septemeber
 

Dr Richard Kimble

Member
Jan 31, 2019
289
Dr Richard Kimble said:
Just bought some modded white joycons. They look gorgeous. I'm real excited. They have a dpad and colorful buttons. I was gonna use the Hori one for MM2 but realized that HD rumble adds a lot to the game feel (hori doesn't have it).
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thepenguin55 said:
Yeah that's kind of why I wanted to use the extra joy con set I have and the Hori dpad joy con I have to kind of make my own version of those white joy con sets that seem to be all over eBay right now.
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I paid 120 dollars. While I know that's a lot, considering the new colors coming out by Nintendo cost 80 dollars, I felt an extra 40 dollars for the dpad and labor was reasonable.
 
Rodney McKay

Rodney McKay

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,186
I tried the Hori one out. The d-pad was good and the analog stick felt fine, but the should buttons were way louder which is a big negative for me and I returned it.
Mr G said:
The reason is simple, when playing with 2 players you have to use the joycon sideways your dpad is now a set of buttons.
If they made it like a normal dpad it would be impossible to use them in 2 player games with 1 set of joycons.

I think they don't wan't to create a situation where someone buys a dpad joycon and realise they can't use it for 2 player, third party's are free to do what they want with that because they aren't official controllers
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Would it be impossible, though?

I think it would only be an issue for games where you're required to press two opposite buttons at the same time (top AND bottom, or left AND right). And I honestly can't think of a single game that supports split joycons that that would be an issue for.
The only game I can think of that does that is one or two of the lesser used special moves in the Arkham games.
Maybe fighting games? I don't play them much but even them I think it would be possible.

At worst it might make a few game play a little harder, but for the vast majority of games I think having a dpad instead of buttons on a split joycon would play exactly the same.
 

Fredrik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,003
Not just a D-Pad, I'm surprised there isn't a whole bunch of unique joy-cons. If not on the actual Switch they could click on just about everything on the joy-con grip, joystick, rotary stick, track ball, pressure sensitive buttons, etc etc.
 
Chirotera

Chirotera

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
4,268
BassForever said:
Look at how many first/second party Nintendo games support local multiplayer with sideways Joycons. Of Nintendo's major titles I think BotW is the only one that is single player only, and that started life as a wiiu game. That's why Nintendo is never gonna do an official d-pad joycon, they always want the switch to instantly support two players anywhere.
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It's not like they need to be bundled with the system. Just have them on the market for those that want the option. They'd likely make a profit, too.
 
julian

julian

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Oct 27, 2017
16,748
Finally got the Hori joycon since my joycons have some drift so I figured why not since I'd be getting a new joystick and a dpad, but I'm shocked. The build is hoooorrible. The triggers are very loud and feel like they're going to break at any moment. The minus button doesn't register until halfway down clicking (and the travel is enormous compared to the standard joycon). The dpad seems fine. Nothing great, but I haven't really tested its limits yet. And the joystick seems identical to the standard joycon, so I imagine it will eventually suffer the same fate.

It just feels so cheap, I really wasn't expecting that.
 
catpurrcat

catpurrcat

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Oct 27, 2017
7,789
julian said:
Finally got the Hori joycon since my joycons have some drift so I figured why not since I'd be getting a new joystick and a dpad, but I'm shocked. The build is hoooorrible. The triggers are very loud and feel like they're going to break at any moment. The minus button doesn't register until halfway down clicking (and the travel is enormous compared to the standard joycon). The dpad seems fine. Nothing great, but I haven't really tested its limits yet. And the joystick seems identical to the standard joycon, so I imagine it will eventually suffer the same fate.

It just feels so cheap, I really wasn't expecting that.
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Sorry to hear that. I have the mario edition version and love it. The dpad is PERFECT and the buttons and stick feel solid. It has permanently replaced my left regular joy con.
 
julian

julian

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Oct 27, 2017
16,748
thepenguin55 said:
I definitely think it's the joy con as my neon yellow joy con locks on just fine.
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Well my launch one doesn't have this issue. I have a pink one which does, but it only started after I sprayed that electrical contact cleaner so I wonder if I messed it up.

catpurrcat said:
Sorry to hear that. I have the mario edition version and love it. The dpad is PERFECT and the buttons and stick feel solid. It has permanently replaced my left regular joy con.
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I have the Zelda ones. I doubt they're different, but maybe? Got them at the Nintendo store so they had 3 options.
 
F34R

F34R

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Oct 27, 2017
11,989
I have modded joycons with a dpad and I couldn't play again without it.
 
catpurrcat

catpurrcat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,789
julian said:
Well my launch one doesn't have this issue. I have a pink one which does, but it only started after I sprayed that electrical contact cleaner so I wonder if I messed it up.



I have the Zelda ones. I doubt they're different, but maybe? Got them at the Nintendo store so they had 3 options.
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Yeah I'm actually shocked how much I liked the stick. Bought from amazon in Canada at launch fwiw. The shoulder button is quite clicky but the rest is solid.
 
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