Japanese accessory-maker HORI has created quite a number of peripherals for the Switch already, but it’s adding yet another one to its collection this summer: a Joy-Con with a ‘proper’ D-pad. That’s right, this isn’t an attachment or a replacement Joy-Con shell, but an actual new third-party controller. We’ve gotten a lot of third-party alternatives for the Pro Controller, but certainly not the Joy-Con. The big new feature of this new one from HORI is that it sports a cross-shaped D-pad, which is a lot closer to the standard Nintendo D-pad design that’s on nearly all of its other controllers prior to the Joy-Con. A few Switch owners have wanted to have this since launch, so it’s cool that HORI is fulfilling those desires. But, this comes at the cost of virtually every other feature the Joy-Con have.
On the product listing page of HORI’s official website, the company has made sure to emphasize in bold red text all of the things that this D-pad Joy-Con doesn’t have. So, what exactly is it missing?
- No wireless communication
- No HD Rumble
- No motion sensors
- No ‘SL/SR’ buttons
So, as you can see, this HORI Joy-Con has literally nothing to offer except that cross-shaped D-pad. You won’t even be able to use it when playing the console in docked mode since it can only function when it’s attached to the Switch in handheld mode. Of course, this means local multiplayer with the split Joy-Con set-up is also impossible.
Clearly, there are a lot of drawbacks to this controller. The one good thing is that its price comes to only ¥ 2,678, which is $25(US). Considering how much features have been cut, it’s definitely only worth this low amount. The HORI D-Pad Joy-Con is set to release in Japan in July. If you’re still curious about trying it out, it looks like you may have to import it from there.
[VIA]
