I’m going to preface this by saying I am not a d-pad connoisseur. I rarely use them, I don’t play fighting games and I don’t really know the technicalities of what makes a good d-pad. As such, I never really hold a particular opinion one way or another on any d-pad I use, as long as it works, it’s all gravy.

But fuck me, I hate the d-pad on the OLED SD. Now, I am totally fine with the d-pad on my LCD SD, but this new d-pad is awful. It has so much space to slide around inside the shell, what the fuck is that about. Also the feel of the membranes on this d-pad is awful compared to the old SD. There is resistance that just snaps out as the membrane gives way and it just feels terrible.

What’s most egregious though is that I can press a direction to the point the membrane gives way and the button is fully depressed, but no input is registered. This mostly happens with the down direction and it’s not every time. I did try cleaning the contacts with isopropyl alcohol just in case something funky happened during assembly but no dice.

I am so shocked none of the early reviews were like “hey, this d-pad really kinda sucks”.

I’ve disassembled my OLED SD and put two little squares of electrical tape behind each direction button and it is now VASTLY improved. Still not great, but it atleast doesn’t anger me anymore and I don’t get ANY missed inputs anymore.

Otherwise, love it, I loved my old SD and I love everything that the OLED model brings (except the d-pad).

Eagerly awaiting some kind of third party d-pad mod.