Microsoft revising Xbox 360 d-pad?

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 August, 2008

For PES and SF IV, apparently.

Microsoft is set to release a new Xbox 360 controller with an upgraded d-pad, a third-party publisher has told Eurogamer at Games Convention.

The controller, which looks exactly the same as the old one, will be able to register 32 directions through the directional pad, we were told.

Our men on the ground sent back these photographs, which don't exactly shed much light, and report that the d-pad "feels looser".

Apparently the controller is in use on Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 stand at Games Convention and will also be supported by Street Fighter IV.

That should help the Capcom beat-'em-up overcome concerns that the d-pad will be insufficient to put up with its thumb-crushing combos.

We've contacted Microsoft for comment. (Update: Microsoft has confirmed that the pad exists and says it is a limited-edition promotional item designed to work with PES 2009.)

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Mugwum Verified Operations Director, Eurogamer Network #1 4 years ago

    I believe rumble is a last-gen feature?

  • Triggerhappytel #2 4 years ago

    I would hope so. The poor d-pad is the only weak link in otherwise probably the finest first-party controller ever released.

  • SeesThroughAll #3 4 years ago

    Good.
    I recently tried playing SC IV at a shop with a friend, and the d-pad made the game nigh unplayable.

    Change the d-pad, it's about time.

  • asphaltcowboy #4 4 years ago

    Indeed, it is the only letdown in what I consider to be on the of best pads I've used :) It is possible to shave a bit of the plastic off your existing controller around the dpad, but that's hardly ideal. It's good they're finally addressing this... Was considering buying an arcade stick for SFIV's release - we'll see how this pans out first.
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 13:47

  • Vin #5 4 years ago

    Sweet.

    I've got SF Anniversary sat here waiting for a proper playthrough.

  • Vice.Destroyer #6 4 years ago

    That is potentially the best news ever. But those pictures look as if the d-pad hasn't changed? If they could licence the nintendo d-pad, I would be a happy man.

  • K-Project #7 4 years ago

    Is it really that bad on the current 360 then? I've played with some pretty bizarre D-pads over the years, but I always managed to get used to them eventually, and was still able to pull off that important Sho-Ryu-Ken when I had to. I can't imagine it's as bad as the GC one or the N64 one...

  • Zomoniac #8 4 years ago

    Who the hell wants digital control on a football game??

  • DrDamn #9 4 years ago

    Not sure this is where I want to see them go with a d-pad. You've got a stick for lots of directions, first and foremost a d-pad should be able to do the basic four well - something the current pad doesn't do. Thought if they do sort it out then it finally removes the only weakness the pad had.

  • Vice.Destroyer #10 4 years ago

    The GC dpad was awful because it was just so tiny. But the N64 and SNES ones were genius.

    first and foremost a d-pad should be able to do the basic four well - something the current pad doesn't do.
    +1

  • bloodflowers #11 4 years ago

    Oh dear - this is going to make so many games so much harder to play. Idiots.

  • Lutz #12 4 years ago

    It's shocking really, that they've got the evolution of the best control pads in the world (Namely saturn and Dreamcast) and lumbered it with the worst d-pad since the SMS.

    Glad to see it fixed. Now just don't mess with anything else.

  • Stuz359 #13 4 years ago

    The snes one was the best ever.

  • dr_faulk #14 4 years ago

    lol, bring back the SNES controller!

  • jonsaan #15 4 years ago

    why don't they just make pro evo fully analogue?

  • Gnort #16 4 years ago

    Hopefully they improve the d-pad response, as many others have pointed out, the d-pad is the weakest link in an otherwise excellent controller.

    However, the problem wasn't that the old controller didn't register enough directions, the problem was that it registered the 4 directions poorly. I've had to get a Hori arcade stick for fighting games on the 360, and the stick on that is actually mapped to the d-pad, so it only outputs 4 directions (plus it can register 2 of those directions at once for diagonals, for a total of 8), and that is enough to easily input quarter circles, half circles and dragon punch motions. I could do all of those easily enough on the the PS2 pad's d-pad, which was also just a 4 way input.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #17 4 years ago

    As many dpads I have tried the ones by Nintendo are always the best.

    I am glad though that MS wants to do something about the pad because games like SF IV will be much better with a proper dpad. Still the announcement comes a week too late because I already ordered an XFPS so I can use my PS2 peripherals on the 360, mainly the fighting stick for SC and especially SF IV.

  • nickthegun #18 4 years ago

    It doesnt need to sense 32 directions. It just needs to be able to reliably find the 8 it already uses, hateful piece of shit that it is.

  • Arwin #19 4 years ago

    Just make sure that when I press down, it actually registers as down and not left. This would make me happy. However, what makes me less happy is that it's taken this long. I guess I'd probably sooner buy some proper arcade sticks. Wonder if they'd help with lumines ...

  • mossychops001 #20 4 years ago

    360's new game pad.

    http://up load.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

  • stepneg #21 4 years ago

    The original xbox pads had the best dpad, really accurate and my thumbs can take hours of street fighter on mame and kawaX with minimal skin loss. The current 360 one is shit compared and ruined street fighter 2 on XBLA so this is good news if they don't make it worse.

  • The_Inquisitor #22 4 years ago

    Respect To MS for doing something about it at last. Sony changed theirs out of desperation but MS didn't need to do anything from their point of view.

  • Cyhwuhx #23 4 years ago

    .::: There is a god!

  • peteb #24 4 years ago

    I liked the saturn dpad!

  • Rash' #25 4 years ago

    Well let it be said MS don't address flaws in their designs... Now if they could only sort out that hardware issue.

  • Xerx3s #26 4 years ago

    The only thing the needed to do is give it more space around the edges really.

  • Colin8703 #27 4 years ago

    You could all go and buy the Hori Arcade stick instead as it's built for stuff like this.

    It makes Soul Calibur and Virtua Fighter play amazingly and is about the same price as a pad.

  • Ryze #28 4 years ago

    Yes!

  • peteb #29 4 years ago

    They should really make an actual StreetFighter IV edition pad, like with the Halo 3 ones. That'd be sweet.

  • Tweakmonkey #30 4 years ago

    32 directions? That's ridiculous and stupid.

  • Nikanoru #31 4 years ago

    What the fuck? 32 directions?

    Somebody doesn't get what the hell the function of a D-pad is. Jesus. Whoever came up with that should be fired.

  • Ryze #32 4 years ago

    @Rash'

    Guess what? Just for you, M$ took on board that very comment, borrowed Doc Emmet Brown's time machine and fixed it last October.

  • illusiondance #33 4 years ago

    ha ha, anyone try the shortcuts on Oblivion?
    ouch.
    Hopefully MS will look to the sega's excellent pedigree for D-pads. Its still pretty shocking how they made such cheap crap for both xboxes. (Though i suppose they thought old school fighters would be a thing of the past.)

  • muzzer77 #34 4 years ago

    Try redesigning the 360 with better parts, then maybe a new pad is worth a purchase.

  • jiveguy #35 4 years ago

    Somebody doesn't get what the hell the function of a D-pad is. Jesus. Whoever came up with that should be fired.

    Surely its function is to move stuff in directions. Being able to move stuff in 32 directions means it's better than 8 or 16. We went through this shit with bits centuries ago.

  • darc #36 4 years ago

    Cool. I'm completely unable to press UP on the D-Pad without also pressing LEFT unintentionally. Maybe this'll help?

  • Rash' #37 4 years ago

    Ryze, Tell that to the my neighbour's Elite.

  • miiiguel #38 4 years ago

    I did the math.

    69% of the comments are from PS3 users, who posted just to say PS3 SFIV is da bomb and stuff. Good job!

    But the Prize goes to "uncool_ dude", with the pearl: "Doesn't matter, i'm getting SF IV for the PS3. Plus there are better joysticks out for the PS3 too. "
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 17:17

  • Nikanoru #39 4 years ago

    Surely its function is to move stuff in directions. Being able to move stuff in 32 directions means it's better than 8 or 16. We went through this shit with bits centuries ago.


    ...ok.

    Stop, and try again: what is the function of a D-pad on a controller that already has two omni-directional sticks?

  • miiiguel #40 4 years ago

    @evilxfox:
    "evilfoxhound
    20-Aug-08 17:50:19 DjFlex52, and you'd complain about them even if they gave you a million pounds for free. In fact, you're an 360 owner, why are you even in this Sony thread?

    *Looks at other's profiles* hold on, most of you are xbots O.o. No wonder PS3 threads are always full of hate.
    Edited 1 times. Most recently by evilfoxhound at 17:51 on 20/08/2008
    ignore poster "
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 18:01

  • Ryze #41 4 years ago

    @Rash'

    Your neighbour's Elite... wasn't a Falcon bought after October!

  • DAN.E.B #42 4 years ago

    i read somewhere they were going to do that ages ago, before the elite was announced!
    whats taken so long??

  • BoffBoff #43 4 years ago

    I predict a 32-direction pad will actually be WORSE. It already goes left/right when I press up/down.

    Get the 4 basic inputs right, then make it handle any 2 directions at once. Just the same as an arcade joystick. Problem solved.
    Or buy a load of old SNES pads and retrofit that baby into the 360 controller!