Japan’s Switch Online SEGA Genesis controller has six buttons

We recently learned that a SEGA Genesis controller will be offered as an optional product for fans to buy as part of Nintendo Switch Online. If you’re a member, you’ll have an opportunity to buy the device, which is compatible with the classic games that will soon be added to the service.

What you may not know is that in Japan, a different version of the SEGA Genesis controller is planned with six buttons. The western version only has three. It’s true that the SEGA Genesis controller was initially limited to three buttons when it originally released, though it saw a different version with six buttons later on, and it wasn’t just limited to Japan.

Nintendo shared a brief statement with IGN about the SEGA Genesis controller situation for Switch Online. The company said:

“For the U.S. and Canada, a replica of the original SEGA Genesis controller is the available model. This was by far the more widely used and well-known SEGA Genesis controller in these regions.”

Nintendo Switch Online will be updated in late October with a new Expansion Pack tier with the opportunity to play SEGA Genesis games as well as N64 titles. Controllers for both systems will be sold at a later date.