This spicy leverless DIY kit has tiny circuit boards under each button so you can create your own rapid trigger Hitbox
By Jacob Fox
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This spicy leverless DIY kit has tiny circuit boards under each button so you can create your own rapid trigger Hitbox
16 September 2025
It doesn’t come cheap, though.
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(Image credit: Zenaim)
Hall effect and other analogue input technologies are taking the gaming world by, well, perhaps not by storm but at least by light drizzle. Now, it looks like this tech is coming not just to pre-built fighting sticks but to any fighting stick or arcade controller that can physically house this new button kit from Zenaim.
The Zenaim Arcade Controller Button Module Kit (via PC Watch) is set to launch in Japan on September 25 for 29,700 yen which, according to Google’s currency conversion, works out to $202 at the time of writing. Not cheap, then, but I bet if you’re in the market for something like this, you wouldn’t have been expecting something particularly cheap anyway.
It includes buttons, a circuit board, and cables (or ‘harnesses’, according to machine translation) to connect the two. So it’s not exactly a hot swappable affair, more of a ‘replace all the internals of your fight stick chassis’ kind of deal.
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Going by Google’s machine translation, the company explains: “While controllers with rapid trigger functionality have existed on the market until now, the only option was to purchase a fully assembled product, and there were no products that met the growing demand for customization.”
The goal is to “increase physical input speed while minimizing the risk of erroneous input.” And that is, I suppose, the goal of any ‘rapid trigger’ input. This kind of input allows you to re-actuate a button the instant you press it again after having let up on your previous press of the button. That is, you can press the button again without having to have it reach the initial actuation point, as it will be ready for re-actuation from the moment it measures that you’ve started letting it spring back up.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Zenaim)
(Image credit: Zenaim)
(Image credit: Zenaim)
What’s particularly impressive about this is that these are standalone buttons with all the magnetic switch tech built into the underside of each one. Usually you have one big PCB with sensors that the magnetic switches will sit on top of. With this, mini PCBs are attached to each switch, with a larger separate PCB to connect to that acts as a controller.
The specs list a 0.75 mm “stroke amount”, a pressing force of 50 g, and an actuation range of 0.1 mm to about 0.65 mm, and a reset range about 0.05 mm lower than this. It also has a “temperature compensation function”, which I can only assume means the switches take into account surrounding temperature and adjust things to ensure everything stays suitably, well, rapid.
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The buttons included and inputs supported are: Right / Left / Up / Down / A / B / X / Y / RT / RB / RSB / LT / LB / LSB / Back / Home / Start / Lock. It connects via USB-C.
The company explains the kit was designed in collaboration with pro gamers from Zeta Division, a Japanese esports org with teams in fighting games such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate, as well as other non-fighting games such as Valorant. Obviously a product like this is only worthwhile if it actually benefits performance, so being the result of a collaboration with pro players is a good sign.
It’s a niche product, of course, and it’s expensive, but I’ve seen how much some in the fighting scene are willing to spend on fight sticks, and I reckon a product like this could do well. It means you won’t have to replace your most beloved arcade controller to get rapid trigger tech, just its buttons.
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Hardware Writer
Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob’s led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world’s #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It’s definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.
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