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[Mandelbo]

So ever since the Switch's reveal, I've been seeing lots of complaints that the D-Pad isn't traditional, since it's comprised of four separate buttons rather than one piece of plastic on a rocker, and for some even that this is a deal breaker for them. However, I'm just not really sure why it's such a big issue.

Whenever I use a D-Pad, I use it like I do regular buttons, lifting my thumb off the D-Pad and moving it to the direction I want to press before moving it down again

Spoiler

(it feels really weird typing this out by the way,)

so the Switch's layout doesn't change much for me. Some people were saying the layout would make it hard to play platformers and some fighting games, but I honestly can't see why. The buttons are still clicky, and it beats using an analogue stick for 2D games - it's still using digital inputs after all, so it's no less precise than other D-Pads. Is it the "feel" of the D-Pad that's the problem, since you can't rest your thumb in the middle anymore? Is it the fact that it's four separate buttons? Is it how it looks? I'm not trying to be inflammatory or purposefully ignorant, I just don't understand what the problem is.

This is what the D-Pad looks like, just for reference (not that I think people don't know already)

 

[BBQMan]

Separate buttons for each direction, diagonal movement would be ass

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

They're four separate buttons and not a cross pad.

I'm willing to give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt though.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

its not this

 

[Transistor]

The fact that it's not a dpad for one. And, like mentioned above, diagonals and rolls seems like a major pain

 

[Shifty]

What D-Pad?

 

[VoltySquirrel]

It automatically makes traditional fighting games not worth your time on a JoyCon.

 

[frankie_baby]

If they needed to do seperate buttons they probably should have put a n64 c buttons style bump in the middle

Personally it wont bother me i always use the stick anyway

 

[Eolz]

Not a d-pad.
It's like an even worse pre-DS4 d-pad, or the N64 C-buttons.

 

[Kyoufu]

It doesn't have a d-pad.

 

[Mandelbo]

Separate buttons for each direction, diagonal movement would be ass

But, I mean, you basically have to do this already for diagonal movement. Why is pressing down two directions on a traditional D-Pad so much different from pressing two buttons at once?

 

[Banjotanooki]

Fighting games and 2D platformers NEED a proper D-pad, not 4 buttons.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

But, I mean, you basically have to do this already for diagonal movement. Why is pressing down two directions on a traditional D-Pad so much different from pressing two buttons at once?

It's not, it's just different and everyone is assuming the worst.

I bet it'll take some getting used to but I doubt it would make games like Mario unplayable.

 

[sixteen-bit]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPa43opB5oe/

pls Nintendo

 

[heringer]

But, I mean, you basically have to do this already for diagonal movement. Why is pressing down two directions on a traditional D-Pad so much different from pressing two buttons at once?

Because the buttons are not close enough to make it confortable.

 

[wild wild rice]

There isn't one.

But if for some reason this works for 2D platformers, I'll be OK with it.

 

[FallAgain]

You don't play fighting games, do you OP?

 

[Nostremitus]

It'll suck for Street Fighter.

 

[MDave]

It should be easy to make it behave like a regular D-Pad with some kind of kit that puts a plastic cross (with ball pivot underneath) on top of the 4 directional buttons.

 

[BBQMan]

But, I mean, you basically have to do this already for diagonal movement. Why is pressing down two directions on a traditional D-Pad so much different from pressing two buttons at once?

Imagine using the 4 face buttons on an Xbox or PS controller to move around it feels wrong and would be prone to failure. Direct comparison would be using the C buttons as directional movement on an n64 controller it feels like shit.

 

[stan423321]

Yeah, OP, your usage of D-Pad is different than mine. I just put thumb in the middle and shift it around. With 4 thumb buttons I try to put tip of thumb over left thumb button and the joint over down thumb button, and shift it up when needed, halfway if trying to press down and right or left and up together, and I imagine with Switch thumb buttons simulating D-Pad... I actually don't know what I will end up doing.

 

[Berordn]

Fighting games and 2D platformers NEED a proper D-pad, not 4 buttons.

Fighting games sure, but platformers will be just fine like this.

 

[andymcc]

It's not, it's just different and everyone is assuming the worst.

I bet it'll take some getting used to but I doubt it would make games like Mario unplayable.

I remember using the PSP buttons as a d-pad for some shooter that supported horizontal screen rotation and it was was pretty bad feeling.

I suspect this won't be different

 

[killatopak]

All small things add up and this is one of them.

The wait for a revision or a cheaper pro controller will be long.

 

[TheMoon]

It has none. It has directional buttons.

Personally just curious to try it myself with an actual game (preferably VC so I can compare to actual D-Pads).

 

[Jashobeam]

with all the fucking accessories for this thing you'd think they'd make a JoyCon with a D-Pad, call it JoyCon Fighter edition and sell it for $99 lol. I guess if you're willing to shell out money for a proper d-pad you should just buy the Pro Controller, i mean there really aren't any other options until Hori releases a switch fight-pad.

also playing the retro nes/snes games are going to suck big time with analog stick controls.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

I can't believe this is a question. Bizzare times we live in.

 

[Jonneh3003]

It's set up this way so that local multiplayer can work, there's really no avoiding it unless they release joy-con varients like the patents suggest.

 

[Nibel]

Bad for 2D indie games for example where the D-Pad is the primary input for movement

3D games will probably profit from it considering that the D-Pad these days is being used like four buttons

 

[Mandelbo]

Because the buttons are not close enough to make it confortable.

Well, surely that depends on how small the joycon is in your hand, right? You can't really definitively say that without having held it yourself.

It has none. It has directional buttons.

That's basically just semantics seeing as how they fill the same role as a traditional D-Pad.

 

[Drackhorn]

Fighting games sure, but platformers will be just fine like this.

I can't imagine enjoying platformers with this setup but who knows.

 

[Poimandres]

But, I mean, you basically have to do this already for diagonal movement. Why is pressing down two directions on a traditional D-Pad so much different from pressing two buttons at once?

People have been using dpads for 30 years. It's pretty clearly regarded which solutions are good or bad, based on hands on experience often with the same games. Given this history... There is good reason to be skeptical about the Joycons ability in this area. People aren't being superficial, most variations of the dpad have been explored and any concerns expressed are legitimate.

If the Joycons capabilities impress then all the best. But based on what we've seen, is that actually likely?

 

[jacobeid]

It automatically makes traditional fighting games not worth your time on a JoyCon.

Yup. 100% this. No idea why they're even bothering with SF2 ha.

 

[The Adder]

Fighting games and 2D platformers NEED a proper D-pad, not 4 buttons.

Hitbox says otherwise.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Not having a traditional "+" directional button configuration is probably one of the stupidest moves Nintendo has ever done with their controllers, and they have done a lot.

This is going to make a ton of games that rely on those buttons for specific patterns a nightmare.

Of course the diehard Nintendo fans will defend anything they do regardless of if its ass backwards or not.

Imagine where we would be if nobody criticized Sony's shitty original boomerang PS3 controller

 

[Stopdoor]

Whenever I use a D-Pad, I use it like I do regular buttons, lifting my thumb off the D-Pad and moving it to the direction I want to press before moving it down again

Spoiler

(it feels really weird typing this out by the way,)

so the Switch’s layout doesn’t change much for me.

...seriously? You need to fix this habit, trust me, your life would improve. In a platformer I don't see how you would ever move diagonally without sliding your finger around the d-pad, and so it's then intuitive you'd slide it for most directions.

The buttons might not be a deal-breaker as a d-pad but it seems obvious to me their shape just doesn't feel ideal.

 

[Narroo]

Having a non traditional "+" directional button configuration is probably one of the stupidest moves Nintendo has ever done with their controllers, and they have done a lot.

This is going to make a ton of games that rely on those buttons for specific patterns a nightmare.

Of course the diehard Nintendo fans will defend anything they do regardless of if its ass backwards or not.

Imagine where we would be if nobody criticized Sony's shitty original boomerang PS3 controller

I kinda wanted to try out the boomerang controller.

 

[Berordn]

I can't imagine enjoying platformers with this setup but who knows.

It'll be an adjustment, but there's nothing the Dpad does that ABXY couldn't for platformers.

Fighting games lose out from the diagonals for sure, but I've never had issues with detached buttons for basic movement.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Fighting games need an arcade stick

Spoiler

or WASD tbh

I don't think I'd have a problem because I have the greatest sized thumbs, tremendous.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I kinda wanted to try out the boomerang controller.

I did not.

 

[Koren]

I'd welcome a variant with a proper D-Pad for 2D games...


I wonder... there's plently of bugs/tricks you can trigger in NES/SNES/GB games if you press opposite directions at the same time. On original hardware, that can't happen because of the D-pad design (unless you modify it). I wonder what they'll do with VC?

 

[NotLiquid]

I can understand why they made the D-pad into directional buttons. If it was a regular D-pad then you wouldn't really be able to properly utilize a singular JoyCon as a controller of it's own.

To that end I think they'll end up releasing a JoyCon with a regular D-pad.

 

[mp1990]

i tend to agree that it's bad but i also HATED playing 2d platformers that weren't Kirby on the 3DS, that had a d-pad, so what do i know

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

It's not, it's just different and everyone is assuming the worst.

I bet it'll take some getting used to but I doubt it would make games like Mario unplayable.

It's very fair to assume it will be worse. Decades of designers have used the same basic principle to create their dpad. This is because its form is dictated by its function. The switch controller's functions are less specific and more variable, and so the form must be a compromise. It very likely will be worse as a dpad.

 

[SummitAve]

I'm with you OP. I don't play fighting games and prefer to use the analog stick when there is diagonal input. The seperate buttons should work fine for the majority of old and new games.

 

[heringer]

Well, surely that depends on how small the joycon is in your hand, right? You can't really definitively say that without having held it yourself.

Just hold a 3DS or a Vita and you should get the idea. A few people who held the joycon said the buttons are pretty much like those.

Maybe it doesn't bother you, but don't act like people have no reasons to have concerns.

 

[mocolostrocolos]

In the patent-application files we saw a month ago there was a joy-con with a d-pad.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPa43opB5oe/

pls Nintendo

If they did that they wouldn't be able to push the whole "1 half = 1 controller" for multiplayer games since a D-Pad couldn't be used as 4 buttons. Not that it is worth pushing, since one person ends up with a horribly offset analog stick and both players get to develop arthritis from trying to play games on a something less ergonomic than an NES controller.

 

[marc^o^]

Watch this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J8QWRB2UTCs

He manages to play with the buttons but doesn't like it and says Pro Controller is the best option for dpad.

 

[Baleoce]

That's basically just semantics seeing as how they fill the same role as a traditional D-Pad.

It's absolutely not semantics at all. It does not fulfill the same role. I'm not going to play Super Mario World or any VC game in handheld mode with this as the movement controls. The same way I'm not going to play Ultra Street Fighter 2 with this as movement or directional inputs for specials.

I think a better question here to get an idea of where you're coming from is: what is a d-pad to you? What are your use-cases where you think it has performed its role optimally?