February 23^rd, 2002 (12:00am) - Yes, its true, the Japanese Xbox pad CAN be used with the US Xbox, so for those who have problems with the size of the American Xbox pad, salvation is here.

IGN has confirmed this, and so has xbox.com’s Interactive Online Support in this short chat we had:

Question: Is the Japanese Xbox controller compatible with the US system, and is the US controller compatible with the Japanese version of the console?

( Michael has joined )
( Jean-Francois has joined )

-Jean-Francois : Hello and welcome to the Xbox Interactive Online Support, my name is Jean-Francois. Please wait while I search for the answer to your question, this will not be too long.

-Jean-Francois : Yes, both are 100% compatible Michael.

-Michael: Thank you!

Feeling like a jackass for not thinking of this before, I went back to xbox.com’s interactive online support to ask if there are any plans for the Japanese pad to be sold in the U.S., and we had this short, but to the point convo:

Question: Are there any plans for the Japanese Xbox controller to be officially sold in the U.S. market?

( Michael has joined )
( Jean-Francois has joined )

-Jean-Francois : Hello and welcome to the Xbox Interactive Online Support, my name is Jean-Francois. Please wait while I search for the answer to your question, this will not be too long.

-Jean-Francois : We do not know at this time if the Japanese controllers will be sold in America, however they are compatible.

-Michael: Okay, again, thank you very much.

-Jean-Francois : You’re welcome! I hope that you have found our session today helpful. Thank you for using Xbox Interactive Online Support. If you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate and come back to see us again.

Asking myself if Jean-Francois is even a real person, I decided to look around online to see if any ’net merchants were selling the damn thing.

I found that BuyRitegames.com is already selling the swank Jap controller for $39.99.

The Rage is also selling the "J-Pad" as well, for $38.00.

I have not bought products from either of these retailers myself, so I can’t tell you exactly how reliable these places are, but I’ve heard good things, but don’t blame me if you aren’t satisfied with how your order is handled.