Nintendo Has "No Plans" To Add Switch Lite's D-Pad To Future Joy-Con

Last week Nintendo also had "no plans" to release a Switch lite.

Nintendo releases things whenever THEY want to, not whenever some nobody journalist asks them.

That's a shame... I would've paid LOTS of cash for a proper D-pad. Alas, twas only a dream... 😞

I thought about giving away my Hori arcade stick now that the Switch Lite will have a d-pad. (for a 2D fighter/brawler fan a stick is mandatory) But then I remembered that Switch Plus/Switch Pro/Switch Two is on its way. That'll have a dock, so there's no point in letting go of my arcade stick just yet.

He very quickly switched from "no plans" to "nothing to announce", which is not the same thing.

I've said this on several pages on this site but if you want a D-Pad and you already own the standard Switch, then buy a Pro Controller or buy a Hori 3rd party Joy Con. Way cheaper than shelling out for an additional system that won't even have shared save files as a Day 1 feature (as pointed out by another article posted here today). If you have a family and are looking at adding a cheaper additional Switch, sure buy a Lite. But if it's just you and you've been itching for a D-Pad, there are cheaper options than buying a second Switch.

With one of the features that people are complaining about not being on the Switch Mini, is the ability to snap on/off joy-cons for instantaneous multiplayer, I can see why.

Can’t wait for this topic to end and people move on after today. We get it. You like the D-pad... next.

@gloom I'm sensing a few more articles.

Makes sense. I don't think Hori would appreciate the competition to their D-Pad joycon.

The inclusion of a D-Pad, the smaller size, the slightly longer battery life... I'm all over this new Switch.

Of course not. That's how they will try make people to get the Light version any way. 2 birds with 1 stone. lol

Makes sense. If you want to use left Joy-Con as its own controller, having a D-pad would be extremely clunky.

One of the most stubborn video game corporations refuses to add a well-requested feature? Well call me shocked.

I'm not too concerned. I've already got a Hori D-pad left joycon for portable play and a 8-BitDo SN30 Pro controller for docked play, and the D-pads on both are great so my D-pad troubles were already sorted a while ago. =)

Don't personally care too much considering I've found the buttons just fine so far. I mean to my big fat thumb it feels the same as a D Pad.

@Xelha yea both suggestions arent going to work if your mobile and would prefer full joycon functionality.

I don't see why. I pretty much never use the Joycon as two seperate controllers because they're tiny and uncomfortable. Having one with a D-Pad would make no difference to their oh so precious symmetry and ability for 2 player at any time, meanwhile it would give people like myself who would like a classic D-Pad for some games the option to do so. It would harm literally nobody whilst being a bonus to others and if anything, it gives Nintendo some easy money from those of us willing to buy another joycon solely for this difference.

Alongside that, I also don't see why they can't release a Joycon with the """D-pad""" and analogue stick mirrored. I would much prefer a symettrical layout and considering you can take them off and swap them, it's baffling why it isn't an option at all.

It's baffling why they don't do a lot of things. The Switch is almost made to be easily customised to the users liking and they just absolutely don't allow you to do that through offical means.

@Emperor-Palpsy When the request is completely impractical and unreasonable, the term "stubbornness" no longer applies.

@gloom
Can't wait for people like you to stop visiting articles that doesn't interest them just to make a comment like yours.

Makes sense. Each JoyCon will always be playable alone.

@thatawesomedude I'm in no real need of a D-pad, but in what way exactly is asking for a controller with a very minor variation in the plastic mold (why does this word mean two completely different things) "impractical and unreasonable"?

But I want it! A lot!

It really is a bizarre stance in my opinion. The JoyCon rails seem perfectly tailored for this sort of thing. They obviously are fine with putting a D-Pad on the switch - so why not just continue to bundle the Switch with existing JoyCon, and sell a D-Pad version for those that want it?

@KoopaTheGamer
Then it’s a great thing they don’t ship the Switch with a left joycon like that.
The apologetics in these comments is just sad.
@thatawesomedude
Ooooooooh this is the peak right here. So it’s unreasonable and impractical for them to do this eh?
You’re the exact sort that previously enabled Nintendo to get away with not having an account system for digital purchases for over a decade.
@westman98
Except they refer to the Switch Lite built in controls as joycons which obliviously cant be separated.
@nintendoknife
Because they’re ideologues more or less. It’s like I mentioned before years ago they’d use the same words to shout down people that wanted an account system for purchases, they’d use absurd rhetoric to explain how tying purchases to a system was actually better than the account system used by the rest of the world. In this situation it’s humorous because of the obvious cognitive dissonance considering Nintendo history with the dpad and the Switch’s abundance of 2D platformers that benefit greatly from a real dpad but that confliction leads to the insane logic we see here.

I’d double dip on the Switch Lite for the D-Pad and more comfortable handheld experience, unfortunately the fact that Nintendo won’t allow the same account across multiple devices is preventing me doing so. Shame because this looks very nice indeed.

@MarioFan02 T'was only a dream? Hori already makes one and there are also countless other available options. The standard left Joy-Con is removable and easily substitutable. Seriously, if Nintendo started making one, what would it solve besides giving you an even more pricier alternative to Hori's offering? This whole "issue" doesn't even really exist. It's just a myth widely spread by the fact that it's so easy to make non-thought-out complaints on the Internet. The reality is, not only is there no practical reason for Nintendo to make one, and no one is truly bothered by the fact that they don't.

Nintendo should just bundle the regular switch with the joycons we have already, but sell one "single player" joycon that has a d-pad. Or make different bundles, one with the basic joycons, one with a d-pad joycon and maybe a bundle with both.

@SalvorHardin Nothing sad about being reasonable and trying to understand the reasoning behind Nintendo's decisions.

Sure, they could make a left Joy-Con with a D-pad, but it would not work as an individual controller (or at least not well). I'm sure many players would take it nonetheless, but for an average consumer without much knowledge about these products, it could be misleading.

I'm sure Nintendo has investigated the possibility, but made a decision against it, for some reason.

@Emperor-Palpsy

Lol no doubt.

I still can't understand why they don't just sell a single left joycon with the dpad.

I mean; that's a whole new level of head in sphincter.

@SalvorHardin
I don't see where Nintendo refers to the Switch Lite controls as JoyCons.

@geox30 hahahahahahahahaha

"We wouldn't expect Nintendo to change the design of the original Joy-Con"

No, but one might expect an alternative Joy-Con design that they wouldn't have to go to a third party to find.

Meh. The buttons on the Joy-Cons work just as well as a D-pad in 98% of situations.

Huh?!

"Home button lights up when you receive a notification". Well they are acknowledging it officially, let's see if we Switch owners get something for that right Joy-con...

Joy con d pads, dad pads, con pads......who cares.

Launch one with the Switch Pro model with "enhanced" joycons, but not included with the system. For now, cash in on the lite model.

@Xelha No. Nintendo should give a proper hardware instead forcing people to get an extra controller. This is just marketing stuff to get more money out of people. That's why they won't include it. Simple

@roadrunner343 Developing a controller costs money. Simple. I guess Nintendo doesn't think a D-pad JoyCon would sell that well.

I'll stick with my Zelda Hori joycon for handheld play.

You know what else launches in september? Switch Online SNES games, games that need a proper d-pad .

Such a clever company!

Why do I have this urge to buy the Switch lite when I already own a switch? Considering this is the only Nintendo product I've bought since I was a teen with the GameCube, I'm drawn to buying more of their stuff like Joycons, in a 1000 different colours, just because.....

Anyway I will hold off as I'm not keen on the debut colours

I would love it in Matt Black with the turquoise buttons

I don't know why they wouldn't release a single left Joycon with a D-pad that you can buy as an option (with all the bells and whistles the Hori one is missing)

Of course, they also had 'no plans for a Switch mini' either.

While the hori is great I just wish Nintendo would make the d pad magnetic like an Xbox elite controller. Problem solved. You want buttons put them on, you want d pad, put it on. Really goes with the switch name anyway lol.

My pikachu hori joycon is totally fine for me. It doesn’t feel too noticeably different for me to continue using it.

You can get a JoyCon with a D Pad for 20 bucks. Its missing rumble and wireless, but if you just want a D Pad for handheld mode it works great.

Time to over-analyze stuff...
"There are no plans, or nothing to announce, in terms of further variations of Joy-Con."
I believe the correct way would be "There are no plans, or anything to announce...". ERGO, double-negative. He is saying there is something to announce. Buckle up and prepare your tin-foil hats we will have D-Paded Joy-cons.

They dont have to completly get rid of the current joycon designs, just offer us the choice to buy ones with dpad lol

Who needs a d pad when you only have 2 nes games dropping each month anyway? 😉

Call me a heathen, but I much prefer directional buttons to a D-pad.

Hori joycon solves this issue cheaply for handheld while procontroller solves it for docked mode. I’m just pretty angry my pro controller has dpad input issues. I even tried tape mod on the contacts and pivot point and it still glitches. Hard to stomach spending another $70 to get a non defective dpad when I am not even 100% it wouldn’t have the same issue

@sanderev "Last week Nintendo also had "no plans" to release a Switch lite."
No plans are far different then saying there is nothing planned. Your missing the semantics.

@sanderev "Nintendo releases things whenever THEY want to, not whenever some nobody journalist asks them."
That's Nintendo why let press release determine when and how you introduce your products.

No big deal. I never used it on Vita, PS4 or Xbox One. I don't miss in on Switch. Did not know that people still use it. Prefer analogs sticks.

I'm not super disappointed, after seeing how bad the d-pad is on the switch pro controller, I am going to have to take it apart and modify it sometime as it still messes me up in Tetris 99 every once in awhile.

A little problem sensitive D-Pad for Tetris 99. High Pressure to press Accidentally D-Pad for Tetris 99. Better Joycon to perform Directional Buttons.

How about some joycons that don’t drift first. All four of mine are starting to go coo coo. Lol

@thatawesomedude

I'd like a Nintendo branded one because their quality is always better. I have the Hori one and just bought a 2nd one because after a year of use it doesn't lock into my Switch anymore. But for $15 I can't complain too much. Still my preferred controller for handheld play.

@DarthFoxMcCloud Saves are already able to be transfered so it will be on day one of the mini. As for the mini and people wanting to buy it because of a budget I'd say no they should save the extra hundred as it is way more of a better deal period. If you travel a lot and just would prefer to play on a handheld then get a mini but don't forget to get a third party controller like the hori or a pro controller as it will be needed to play many games as the same article you read probably stated. So yea honestly a switch for the extra hundred is completely a better value and is still portable.

@Tao applauds And I agree.

Honestly, I don't think the absence of a D-Pad on the left Joy-Con is that big of an issue. I had no problems with it, and I still don't.

Even then, when I am playing on a TV, I use the Pro Controller, and that has a D-Pad, so anyone who is desperate to have a D-Pad for the Switch can use the Pro Controller or a GameCube controller.

No big deal because the Hori option works really well, and is a quality product. Nintendo should always have made it a proper d-pad anyway. Playing on separate joy-con controllers is rare, and would be still playable using the d-pad points as buttons anyway.

I'm surprised they didn't shift the right stick to the top, because the only reason it's low is so the right joy-con can be used as a controller. I guess Nintendo didn't want the Lite to look too different from the base model.

I play on a Pro controller most of the time, and the D-Pad has this nasty habit of registering an "Up" input when I push Right. It killed a few runs in Tetris 99, and I switch characters in Hyrule Warriors while trying to change items. I'm okay with the Joycon's directional buttons for those days when I've had enough. Now if only my secondary Left Joycon did't have a drifting issue...

@KoopaTheGamer: "Makes sense. If you want to use left Joy-Con as its own controller, having a D-pad would be extremely clunky."

I've always thought this and makes total sense. I don't have a problem for the buttons but they were mainly so you can detach it to have another separate controller, while everybody else just wants a d-pad. Makes it harder to play multi-player games.

@roadrunner343 because Nintendo don't want that money for reasons no same person will ever be able to fathom.

@Giygas_95 Same to me. Maybe because I haven't played enough fighters or something but Blazblue and commands for ryu/ken in Smash is fine for me.

I just wish the sticks would behave!

@DABYX My original right joy con had that problem as well as an unresponsive B button, but since I replaced them about a year ago, my second pair is still doing just fine.

i just use my pro controller even when I take it to go with my I take my pro controller with me. Rarely do I use the joycon even, doesn't help my joycon doesn't click in super great on one of the sides.

@Dirty0814 Actually I don't think saves will be swap-able between devices in the way I was referring to. Yes you can transfer your Nintendo Account over but it can only be on one Switch at a time. What I was referring to and what an earlier article on NintendoLife was talking about is the ability to play through a game like Breath of the Wild on your Switch connected to your tv and then you have to leave so you put that Switch to sleep and then pick up the Switch Lite and immediately carry on from where you left off (without having to go through the time-consuming process of moving your Nintendo Account).

You can have your account linked to more than one switch, you can only register one switch per account. Registering only allows anyone to play your games on that switch. So if you have a switch you can register that console and buy a switch mini and link your account to it. From there your games are still accessible and all saves are in the cloud if you have NOS. the only thing you won't be able to do is register two switch's to one account. So save transfers will be possible from day done actually. Registering multiple units to one account will not and will most likely never be but linking to multiple units is already there.
It will work the same way as PS does it really. You cannot transfer saves via cloud without ps plus.

@cleveland124 Well, my Nintendo branded Joy-Cons don't lock-in anymore either, besides Hori is high-quality and offically licensed. If Nintendo made one the only signifcant difference would be the price.

The Hori d-pad works good for that.

A D pad would be great.

I know there's already a Joycon with a d-pad, but I'd prefer one that rumbles and can be used while detached from the system.