Random: Nintendo's New 'Button Collection' Toys Can Be Used For Real Controller Repairs

I’ve never seen something like this. This is so freaking cool!

Give me 500 of those N64 sticks!!

This is unexpected.

guess this goes on the bucket list if I ever get to visit Japan. That list is way too long already.

These are cool. I wish I lived in Japan sometimes, but the amount of plastic in my house would be even worse than it already is!

Do you think Nintendo had a warehouse of spare buttons and was like "what do we do with these?"

I personally never understand the appeal of GameCube control design.
Why peoples really like that controller design?
The button placement of A B X Y are really terrible in my opinion, compared with PS2 controller with symmetrical analog buttons, the gaps between D-Pad buttons and the placement of command buttons with D-Pad buttons are really perfect for me to play Rhythm games like DDR on PS2.
And for N64 controller, it looks even worse than GameCube controller.
PS1 controller (with analog buttons) looks way much better than N64 controller in my opinion, not to mention the color scheme for PS1 with light grey color and colorful shape symbols for PS1 command buttons (Square Triangle Circle Cross) looks more appealing for me than the color scheme of N64 controller.
Well, sorry I didn't grow up by N64 and GameCube games during my teen age.

Welp price for these just shot up on ebay.

(Granted my OG N64 controllers are fine. I never played mario party so I didn’t destroy my controllers the way apparently the rest of my generation did. )

This is so cool! I really want to get my hands on the SNES EU/JP buttons one!

@Anti-Matter In the case of the GameCube controller, it's NOT about the looks, but about the design that just feels great in your hands and it's very ergonomic. Not to mention that the triggers are analogue, which was a function way ahead of its time. For me the GameCube controller design is stil peak ergnomic design.

As with all things, however, it all comes down to personal preference and taste. I personally dislike the PlayStation 2 controller design. To each their own.

@Ryu_Niiyama Smash 64 did that for me, 😆

@Anti-Matter why does it matter how it looks? It’s the only controller where you can literally feel what buttons you’re pressing. It’s still my most preferred controller, as long as I won’t need to use the D-pad.

I happened upon a Gashapon store at my local mall, so if this ever comes west, I am all over it. Right now, the most "Nintendo" thing they have there is Kirby and Pokemon. Rather clever these are made from genuine Nintendo spare parts. I can't say I'll be tinkering, but cool regardless.

I bought one of the older designs when I went to Japan earlier in the year. I found it hard to resist pretty much all the gashpon machines in Japan, but it was impossible to ignore an official Nintendo one in the official Nintendo store.

I really want them to just release these for sale in the west. Unfortunately I can see these just being a niche one-off thing that never leaves Japan and gets to be eye wateringly expensive amongst collectors. I can't even find these being resold on ebay.

@Fyrus92 @Pillowpants
Maybe I have different opinion based on my gaming experience.
I played Dance Dance Revolution games on PS1 & PS2 since early 2000's era and if you take a look PS1 & PS2 buttons placement, it really mimicking DDR Arcade panels and my thumbs can navigate the buttons of PS1 / PS2 controller smoothly like the way I played DDR with my feet. It's perfect for me.

But when I look at GameCube controller design, it might be suitable for games like Smash Bros but it doesn't suitable for games like DDR Mario Mix.
Why?
Because of the button placements of A B X Y, doesn't mimicking the DDR panels position Up Down Left Right, while the D-Pad of GameCube placed at the bottom so it made the playable buttons for my thumbs really uncomfortable since the button placement is asymmetrical, doesn't work well for playing DDR.

For my case, the button placement for gaming controller really have impact for my gaming experience.
I felt really comfortable using symmetrical buttons controller like PlayStation style controller than GameCube style controller with asymmetrical buttons placement.
Even the analog buttons position placement really have huge impact for my gaming experience, especially when playing 3D platformer games like Ratchet & Clank.
The symmetrical analog buttons at the bottom really fit with gaming style than the asymmetrical analog buttons like GameCube / Switch controller.

This is big news for the sm64 community.

Wow, that's actually really awesome. Even if in an unconventional way, Nintendo offering replacement parts for their old controllers has to be commended.

@nebzila there’s a few of the nes buttons on eBay if you search for Nintendo gacha button but yeah can’t see any snes ones 😢

It’s a shame Nintendo keeps much of its best loot for Japan only.

@Anti-Matter Nintendo Power explained Nintendo's reasoning for the N64 controller when they first revealed it back in the day.
The three handles were meant to give game designers a choice between digital or analog control (the instruction manuals even had diagrams of how to primary hold the controller). The A and B buttons were larger because they wanted to emphasize those as the primary buttons.

The NP article claimed Nintendo thought their idea was great enough that they asked game developers to test their games by holding the controller with their hands inside a box to avoid revealing it before Nintendo's official reveal. (I mean it was a lot harder for the public to know about it before magazine reveals anyways back in 1995.)

Not surprised. They have the molds and factories for that.

So sad the GameCube stick isn’t in these. Those aftermarket sticks are just bad.

They should make ones with Switch analogs so we could replace drifting ones

Wow, that is very neat. I thought they were fake sticks and buttons, but they are actually real. Sadly those usually don't leave Japan.

@Kidfunkadelic83

How many thumbs do you plan on destroying?! XD

@Anti-Matter You can mainly thank Melee esports tournaments for cementing the GameCube controller as a golden standard, but you are right; it is a disadvantage for some games such as Mega Man X8.

@datamonkey I saw those but I'm from the N64/GC generation. I'm hoping we will at least get a gacha machine in the west.

There is a great video on YouTube about the shortage of N64 sticks.

I wonder if the GC C stick is actually the same, or if it just looks the same? The real C stick had a rubber tip on the end, while cheaper knock-offs are all plastic.

I was wondering about this! Might be the only way to get first party replacement parts for some of those old controllers. I hope they do more!

Why would you ever put those ugly purple buttons on the beautiful Super Famicom controller?
Damn it why weren't these around when I was in Japan.
Hopefully going back in a few year though

i need need NEED those n64 and gamecube ones

A quick trip to eBay (usa) shows that they're going for about $25-$35 individually and about $125+ for the full set. And honestly? I don't even think it's too bad. That's about what you'd pay if you came across these on a convention floor dealer's table, which is pretty much the only place I'd imagine you would find these if not online.

This doesn't seem like a big deal. It's just the plastic button covers, and springy mat. But if you usually have a problem, it's usually with the electronic components, not the plastic covers.

How much loose change do you have to pump into the gacha machine to get one?

Coming soon: "Small business owner" spending 100 yen and flipping it on ebay for $25.

This is insane. are you kidding me? what the actual hell? what!!! ffffff what????

insanely cool

@Anti-Matter the correct way to play DDR is with your feet, not your thumb

@Anti-Matter I'm with Anti-Matter on this. The Gamecube controller, while feeling great in the hands, and ergonomic, the ABXY buttons are just weird. Things like DDR aren't as intuitive, or the twin stick shooters like Super Smash TV... The ABXY buttons on SNES and DS, 3DS and so on mimic the D pad layout, so can be used similarly.

As far as mizure3213 swapping the buttons... I've always liked the colour of the European SNES controller, but have preferred the "concavity" of the XY buttons on the North American SNES buttons.

@eza
Well, i don't have the Arcade style DDR pad yet (metal DDR pad) so the only way i can play my PS1 & PS2 DDR games by using PS2 controller.
And my thumbs can move very fast to press the correspondent buttons for very difficult songs, well... I have been playing DDR for more than 20 years on both console and Arcade.

I want them as fidget toys, don’t see the point in using them for spare parts. We have people 3d printing most of those pretty well already.

It would have been so cool if these worked as actual controllers, like basically a joy-con, or wiimote+nunchuck set up

Of course it'd be mostly the same parts! What did you expect? These are most likely from the same molds used to manufacture the NSO Controllers which themselves seemingly use some of the same molds from the past, and the same molds as the Smash GameCube Controller which itself is the same as a regular GameCube controller. Though it is worth noting that there's no guarantee that these are the exact same molds from back in the day, as plastic-injection molds do wear-out over time and eventually need to be replaced, at least if what I know of The LEGO Group's manufacturing process is anything to go by.

@Anti-Matter Who said you need a metal pad to play DDR? Can't you just use a normal pad like everyone else? Also, such a typical Anti-Matter opinion, trashing a controller because it doesn't appeal to his highly specific gaming tastes.