No Hori product I've touched has been very good. I have experience with their Switch game cases (which are way too tight around the game cards), and a couple of their controllers. I got the Hori Battle Pad (Pikachu one) for Smash 4 when that came out and it's not good. Sticks regularly reverse input, and it feels like it's made out of extremely cheap cheap plastic, the lack of rumble on that one was forgivable because it was a Wii classic controller in a GameCube layout. I've tried their wired Switch controller too, which also felt cheap, and should not lack rumble. It makes sense for it to lack gyro, but I still don't like it because it really didn't have to be a wired controller. There are other third party controllers for similar prices that are wireless with gyro and rumble.
Of course, I get that the wired Horipad is very cheap, but there are really good wireless controllers on Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress that only lack NFC and HD Rumble (having normal rumble instead).
And how is the Switch supposed to communicate with the components if Nintendo doesn't release the necessary specs?
That's not how it works. Otherwise PS4 controllers paired to the Switch with an adapter wouldn't support gyro or rumble but they do, nor would unlicensed third party controllers have these functions. The reason for Hori's crap controllers not including features is because they're trying to cut costs. Yet other controller manufacturers can deliver a product for the same or cheaper that have the missing features. The only feature that would actually require Nintendo to supply a component would be HD rumble.
The controllers register on the Switch. The Switch tells the controllers to rumble because they have vibration motors. They rumble. A game with gyro controls tries to use gyroscopic aiming. It'll work if the controller has a gyroscope. There's no special thing Nintendo has to release. The controllers don't need special Nintendo released drivers or hardware to be able to work with the Switch.
There's something fishy here, either Hori can't use those things or they have to pay more to Nintendo, I always thought that it was the former but PowerA made new wireless controllers that wake up the Switch and have Gyro (no rumble whatsoever or NFC). I'm thinking that being officially licensed by itself costs what adding those features but not being licensed would, because Chinese/other brands can have those features but also Nintendo can update and brick them.
If Nintendo could easily brick or black list controllers they would already be doing it. Hori isn't including a bunch of features to reduce cost. Both gyroscopic controls and vibration aren't owned by Nintendo. Neither is the concept of an NFC reader, it's in virtually every recent smartphone. Officially licensed controller manufacturers aren't including features because it saves money. If Hori, Power A, and 8Bitdo (whose controllers already have gyro and rumble, just no HD rumble or NFC) are signing contracts that prevent them from putting in basic components they're fools.
Nintendo either can't block these unauthorized third party devices, or they won't because they're afraid of a lawsuit.
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