Hori is making a left Joy-Con with a D-pad — with several catches

Hori is making a left Joy-Con controller for the Nintendo Switch that features a cross-button directional pad, in lieu of the stock Joy-Con’s four buttons, but it comes with some serious drawbacks.

The first is that it appears to be available in Japan only. But even if it does come west, or if you import it, there are several functions on the Switch it does not support. Notably, it only works in handheld mode, meaning you can’t slap this and the right Joy-Con into the Joy-Con Grip and play off the TV, nor does it work for local multiplayer.

Even playing with it in handheld mode loses more features on the left side: No HD rumble and no gyroscope. And there’s no SL or SR button use, or the Sync or Player LED light, but as these are on the side of the Joy-Con that is docked to the Switch, you wouldn’t use them anyway. Oh, and, it only comes in dark blue, so it may not match your current Joy-Con color coordination.

Hori’s page touts it as perfect for playing fighting games and classic titles, with a D-pad in its traditional gamepad location, down by the left thumb. For those who want both the feeling and aesthetics of a D-pad and don’t mind losing the rumble or tilt control on the left side, the D-pad left Joy-Con will go for ¥2,480 when it launches in July, which is almost $24 USD right now.

For those who insist on a D-pad but need more versatility, there’s always the Pro Controller when your Switch is docked or in kickstand mode.