Misc Why does people prefer traditional d-pad buttons over the directional buttons the joycons and Pro Controller have?

[E1ite007]

What the title says.
I don't understand it tbh. I saw an eXtremeRate case for the joycons with proper d-pad, and the Hori Zelda one with a d-pad, and I don't get it. Actually, I usually hate d-pads that are a complete piece à la Xbox One/Series X, or the old Nintendo controllers. I actually prefer separated buttons like the Playstation ones or the Switch ones.

 

[Lamcza]

What the title says.
I don't understand it tbh. I saw an eXtremeRate case for the joycons with proper d-pad, and the Hori Zelda one with a d-pad, and I don't get it. Actually, I usually hate d-pads that are a complete piece à la Xbox One/Series X, or the old Nintendo controllers. I actually prefer separated buttons like the Playstation ones or the Switch ones.

ps don't have separate buttons on the dpad lol so you just like different better dpad also extreme rate dpad sucks without some diy. I think it is not only about separate buttons in joy-cons but rather that metal dome caps instead of rubber or some proper mechanical switches.

 

[urherenow]

Depending on your finger size (I guess), people prefer a D-pad that is one piece, because it tends to be much easier to hit diagonals, and circular motions, say for fireballs and uppercuts in Street Fighter II (and above), or similar moves in many fighting games, frankly. It's too slow to hit those moves with an analog stick, and with completely separate buttons, it's too easy to miss the diagonal. In this respect, I feel to this day that the SNES controller was far superior to the Genesis. (hope I didn't just start a flame war with that... lol)

 

[Veho]

I like the feel of the solid "rocker" thing under a proper D-pad. I prefer that over four individual buttons that can all be pressed at once.

 

[spinal_cord]

Because some of us are old and prefer direction controls to be the way we learned them. On a 'tradiditional' D-Pad, there is a pivot point in the centre, enabling you to press left OR right, up OR down, but never both.
One problem with Nintendo's new direction buttons, is that they used them on the pro controller, but placed a D-pad over the top without the pivot, enabling you to be able to press left+right, up+down or all four at once. This is VERY bad for games like Tetris(tm) that require fast direction movemnt without mistakes. Because without this pivot point in the D-pad, it is far too easy to accidentally hit up or down when pressing sideways and in a game like Tetris(tm) this will have undesired conciquences like slamming your shap to the ground when you only pressed right for example.

 

[Payne]

For me, if im not inputting anything, I keep m my thumb in middle of Dpad, and im ready to move either way. if I don't have that middle point as anchor I can forget where my thumb is (sounds dumb ik)

 

[Deetlemore]

It depends upon the game for me. I want a D-pad for side-scrollers since "rocking" the controls back and forth is common for precise movement, and I find it easier to accomplish with a D-pad. On the other hand, something like Zelda TOTK feels better with seperate buttons since they're mapped to different things.

I swapped the shell on one of my pairs of joycons to one with a D-pad so I can use whichever feels best for the game. I used this for anyone interested: eXtremeRate SNES EU Style Housing
Surprisingly good quality for 20 bucks.

 

[Lamcza]

It depends upon the game for me. I want a D-pad for side-scrollers since "rocking" the controls back and forth is common for precise movement, and I find it easier to accomplish with a D-pad. On the other hand, something like Zelda TOTK feels better with seperate buttons since they're mapped to different things.

I swapped the shell on one of my pairs of joycons to one with a D-pad so I can use whichever feels best for the game. I used this for anyone interested: eXtremeRate SNES EU Style Housing
Surprisingly good quality for 20 bucks.

nah dpad on them is bad it is flat because it has no pivot point, bet you can buy better third-party joycons with a better dpad for 20$ now

 

[E1ite007]

ps don't have separate buttons on the dpad lol so you just like different better dpad also extreme rate dpad sucks without some diy. I think it is not only about separate buttons in joy-cons but rather that metal dome caps instead of rubber or some proper mechanical switches.

What gaming control has mechanical switches? Or even metal dome caps under the buttons? Those concepts sound neat, but I've never heard of those outside of custom controllers.

 

[whitesword7]

What the title says.
I don't understand it tbh. I saw an eXtremeRate case for the joycons with proper d-pad, and the Hori Zelda one with a d-pad, and I don't get it. Actually, I usually hate d-pads that are a complete piece à la Xbox One/Series X, or the old Nintendo controllers. I actually prefer separated buttons like the Playstation ones or the Switch ones.

if you want to understand it, try playing a fighting game with the default shitty joycon button and do quarter circle or a half circle move… its unusable and proper dpad is a necessary.

 

[Lamcza]

What gaming control has mechanical switches? Or even metal dome caps under the buttons? Those concepts sound neat, but I've never heard of those outside of custom controllers.

i think new mobapad gemini has mechanical buttons but domes you have in joycons and they sucks

 

[M7L7NK7]

Joycons are the most uncomfortable controller I've ever held, literally everything about them is horrific. Switched to the hori split pad pro when it released and never looked back

 

[orangy57]

Not a big fan of the switch pro controller's D-pad specifically. for a Nintendo D-pad that thing hits up and down CONSTANTLY for no reason while you're trying to hit left or right. I 100 percent prefer a real D-pad over the Joycon buttons but I always use the joycons for platformers or NES games on the Switch because the official Pro controller is so awful.

 

[E1ite007]

if you want to understand it, try playing a fighting game with the default shitty joycon button and do quarter circle or a half circle move… its unusable and proper dpad is a necessary.

Tried it, my thumb is large enough to cover almost the whole buttons so it wasn't as different as with a regular d-pad.

 

[LightBeam]

You saw that or you tried these ?
Because I used to enjoy buttons too, but when I got used to dpads I could never go back, to the point even in sidescrollers I'd rather have my thumb rest naturally on the stick and use that rather than cramp my thumb to use buttons

Also the dpad in PS4/PS5 controllers aren't individual buttons like the Switch. There's a pivot so they are proper dpads (tho I really don't like these)

 

[halfashark]

I find that modern dpads just kinda... Suck? The xbox 360 ones are the worst since I'm not convinced it isn't an analog stick in disguise.

My favourite dpad hands down is the one on the PSP but I find the one on the switch joycons to be delightful to use. Up actually is up and down is down. None of that "I hit left but slightly too high and so it registered as up" nonsense.

 

[E1ite007]

You saw that or you tried these ?
Because I used to enjoy buttons too, but when I got used to dpads I could never go back, to the point even in sidescrollers I'd rather have my thumb rest naturally on the stick and use that rather than cramp my thumb to use buttons

Also the dpad in PS4/PS5 controllers aren't individual buttons like the Switch. There's a pivot so they are proper dpads (tho I really don't like these)

Haven't tried the d-pad eXtreme case since I don't have anymore plans to mod my joycons, but I've tried proper d-pads on a Super Nintendo controller. I don't mind them, but I prefer separate buttons like with the joycons.
And yeah, none of Playstation are properly individual buttons since there's a pivot, but while it functions more or less like a traditional d-pad, I've heard people disliking them because they are separated on the shell, so playing with the d-pad is not as comfortable as with a proper Super Nintendo or NES d-pad.

I find that modern dpads just kinda... Suck? The xbox 360 ones are the worst since I'm not convinced it isn't an analog stick in disguise.

My favourite dpad hands down is the one on the PSP but I find the one on the switch joycons to be delightful to use. Up actually is up and down is down. None of that "I hit left but slightly too high and so it registered as up" nonsense.

I agree that the worst d-pad of all time is the Xbox 360, and after that the Gamecube's at least for me since it's too recessed for my fat fingers.

 

[daemonspudguy]

I detest the separate buttons with a burning passion. I can't entirely explain why, I just do. It's the second worst d-pad I've ever used, beaten only by the Xbox 360.

 

[Error52]

It genuinely hurts my thumb to use the Switch joycon D-pad after a while. Those edges kinda jab into my thumb and it is just unpleasant. The Playstation D-pad isn't my favourite but I don't have this problem there because the buttons actually cave in and point towards the middle so the gap between them is very small.

Then the Switch pro controller is a nightmare for completely different reasons, so that's fun.

I also genuinely really like the Xbox Series D-Pad. It's one of those things that makes you go "oh no" when you first see it, but in practice it genuinely works really well and feels both comfortable and precise.

 

[_TheGuy_]

Easier to pivot with a traditional d-pad. 2D games/fighters will have you creamed with the 4-button style. I've used those extremerate ones and noticed an immediate improvement, but had to switch back just for co-op's sake.

Try playing Hollow Knight with strictly the dpad(no analog stick). The difference is night and day in gameplay