Do You Think Nintendo Will Release Official D-Pad Joy-Cons?

I see a lot of the Hori -Handheld Only- Joy-Con at work a lot. It got me wondering if Nintendo would ever release a Joy-Con with a built in D-Pad soon for us who don't like the default 4 button layout. I'm one of the Switch players who do not take the console out or ever play on handheld mode. I love using the Pro Controller and Charging Grips that I own for my Switch and prefer to play the game on my HDTV rather than the small tablet screen. Even when there is a blackout, I put the Switch on tabletop mode and play with my controllers rather than playing on handheld. It's just my preference. Enough about that though, let's talk about the reason I created this post.

An actual D-Pad would feel amazing on the left Joy-Con, and it would enhance the gameplay so much for games like Street Fighter II/30th Anniversary Collection, Mega Man, Super Mario, Dragon Ball FighterZ, etc. I am mostly a platformer/fighter/run n gun type of gamer. I love 3D open world games too but, growing up with 90's video games has made me way more attracted to these older type games rather than most open world games. So, as you could imagine, playing games like Street Fighter or Dragon Ball FighterZ with 4 buttons instead of a D-Pad is uncomfortable and frustrating. Trying to roll the down, downright, right with 4 buttons feels almost impossible. Doing that on the Pro Controller with an actual D-Pad though is flawless. Now, I know a lot of people's solution to this would be to get a Pro Controller or get our Joy-Con modded somewhere on eBay. 2 things though, the 2 options are expensive and not everyone is blessed enough to buy everything to make gaming on their favorite consoles convenient, also let's not forget that modding your Joy-Con automatically voids the warranty. A single D-Pad Joy-Con would roughly be half the price of a Joy-Con set which run at about $70 while the Pro Controller runs at about $80. The already modded Joy-Con on eBay are showing at $125. That's a lot of money. All some people, like myself, are asking for is a single Joy-Con with the built in D-Pad. This could run at around $35-$40 by itself. That IMO would be awesome.

Honestly, I really hope Nintendo takes that into consideration. Hori created a genius product. I just wish it wasn't a handheld only device.

it's wierd nintendo released this shit that no one wanted

yet an actual Dpad left joycon is what everyone wants.

@KBFloYd: What the hell is that? It looks like just an additional grip for one joy-con.

an extended battery pack for the joycons.

I think OP has a valid point.

Personally I'm okay with the joy cons, and the four directional buttons have worked for me...but I can see where one might want a left joy con with an enhanced D-Pad like the Pro controller has.

They may still sell it as a set though if something like that were to come into fruition.

The photo of the product I am seeing is found only in Japan?

The buttons work fine. It doesn't need a D pad. I've played many 2D games with them and it's the same, i think people have it in their heads that it's different but it controls the same.

Would be nice if they brought out joycons with a proper d-pad and SNES coloured buttons like the New 3DS has.

The Hori one is cool, but has no rumble or gyro, doesn't charge I don't think and won't let you use a grip case while it's attached.

If they can release NES controllers through for online members then they can for sure do this. In fact there hasn't been a new joycon design since the Smash ones, what gives. :/

I really don't see the need for a D-pad. The buttons work just fine.

If I'm honest I hardly ever use the joy-cons. It's always just the pro controller unless the game forces me to use the joy cons. Oh well. :(

I’ve always had hope that they would release one. Never tried the Hori ones but wouldn’t mind.

If they haven't by now, I don't think they will.

@KBFloYd: yeah that's pretty useless - the joycons seem to have infinite battery life. It's insane how long mine last.

That being said, I dont think the dpad is that pressing. The buttons work great for most games. Seems to me the fighting community is the main loser on that design choice.

deal with it

I will never welcome any home. Joy-Cons functioned better than a dedicated controller for me and I played Dark Souls two against one. And I won.

@Bread_or_Decide: No they suck for 2d games and blow diseased donkey wang for 2d fighters. It blows my mind that the company that perfected the d pad screwed up so badly making one for the switch.

Probably not gonna happen as Hori has their d-pad Joy cons which are good.