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submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Joysticks: Probably Still Drifty

Joy-Con joysticks use a potentiometer to read the voltage at a wiper that slides across a strip of resistive material. That material wears down over time, or plastic and dust can dirty the sensors.

Stick drift is a huge problem with other Switch models. One survey found that 40% of Switch owners had problems with their Joy-Cons drifting, and things didn’t get any better with the Lite or OLED editions. After a bunch of lawsuits, Nintendo’s president even admitted it and apologized, setting up a free repair program for customers in some parts of the world.

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[-] [email protected] 1 points 11 hours ago

everyone: Nintendo is a horrible company that does shit that's harmful to consumers and the gaming industry!

also everyone: WOW can you believe I was able to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 the literal day it released?!?!

We really showed them. 🤷‍♂️

[-] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago

450 USD and they won't spend an extra 40 cents on hall effect sticks?

[-] [email protected] 36 points 2 days ago

It's intentional. How else are they supposed to sell you a new set of joy cons every year?

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

Have you even thought about the shareholders?

[-] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The more I learn about the Switch 2, the less I want to buy it. thanks Nintendo I'll wait until Ryujinx 2 comes out

[-] [email protected] 33 points 2 days ago

Joysticks still drifting is an embarrassment.

[-] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

It would be, if that were the case.

This article is not alledging a systematic pattern of stick drift in the Switch 2, like there was with the Switch. It isn't even saying that so much as a single case of stick drift has been found.

What it's saying is that the Switch 2 still uses potentiometers, a technology which can be susceptible to stick drift. You know, like every single other major console ever launched. So, as of now, we have no particular reason to believe that the Switch 2 will drift worse than the PS5 or any other system.

That said, all the major players are dragging their feet a bit longer on Hall effect sticks a little bit longer than is warranted, Nintendo included.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

like every single other major console ever launched

dreamcast would like a word

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

Dreamcast can't come to the phone right now, it's dead.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

You're absolutely right! Dreamcast and Saturn make a very good point: The major players are dragging their feet way longer than is warranted.

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[-] [email protected] 63 points 3 days ago

One thing I will always appreciate about the Steam Deck is how repairable it is. I think that's probably the feature I most desire in any device now going forward.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago

And, as luck would have it, the thing that breaks on mine is the track pad and I cant find a replacement.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

I thought ifixit was carrying everything?

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[-] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago

I will never, ever buy the switch 2 then.

My gamecube controller still doesn't drift. Nintendo can do better.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

Your Gamecube controller also isn't Hall Effect.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I think we should wait and see how prevalent the drifting is this time around before freaking out. Of course it's going to happen to some people because every stick that uses this technology has some incidence of drifting, but that doesn't mean it's going to be as bad as last time. I have lots of these kinds of sticks on lots of gamepads over the years and only the joycons have ever drifted.

[-] [email protected] 43 points 3 days ago

I don't care that people bought a Switch 2 if it makes them happy. For me, this was the first Nintendo console in a long time I had no interest in. There was no innovation here. It's just a minor upgrade in specs over the Switch with maybe better online?

Nothing about the Switch 2 is going to supplant my Steam Deck, so why waste the money?

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[-] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago

Yet suckers keep buying that junk. Luckily I just hate Nintendo.

[-] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago

Lack of innovation: checked. Locking users into their ecosystem: checked. Chasing only shareholder value : checked.

The only thing diferentianting them from Apple now is the pricing, which hasn't reached outrageous levels ( yet ).

I used to respect them for doing their own thing - sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but in the end still innovating. Apparently not the case anymore.

[-] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago

The only thing diferentianting them from Apple now is the pricing, which hasn't reached outrageous levels ( yet ).

Software is priced at Apple levels.

[-] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Honestly, I don't mind if Nintendo didn't innovate. I have just wanted a "normal" console from them in a while like a return to their SNES/N64/GameCube days. When they still actually tried to remain competitive, and in the case of the SNES and N64, were technologically ahead of the competition. Sure there were some innovations, but in comparison to the Wii, Wii U, and Switch, their older consoles were more "normal" for their time.

Nowadays they just make underpowered hardware that only truly sells because its usually the cheapest console available and has the Nintendo logo on it. Except Switch 2, which started charging cutting edge tech prices for tech that was cutting edge like 10 years ago. All of the pricing of a better Switch without any of the real improvements except a newer processing unit and slightly bigger screen.

Give me a Switch without a screen. No battery. No detachable controllers. Just a brick that plugs into the wall and the TV, compatible with a Pro controller. Probably could even sell that at a reduced price too. Maybe even overclock it and give it a bigger cooling solution to get better performance. Maybe Nintendo's newer games can actually run at a stable 60 fps on their own hardware finally.

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

Everyone was telling me that this time they would have fixed it. Called it. I think I'm down to one joycon that doesn't drift :P

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I've never had stick drift with PlayStation or Xboxes despite people telling me it's a problem. The switch though is awful for it.

I don't know what they do to make their analogue sticks so bad but they're definitely getting them from the world's cheapest supplier, apparently one that even Sony and Microsoft turned up their noses to.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

PS/Xbox controllers have more internal space, so their joystick modules are much, much larger than what goes in the joycon. That means they can have more material in the potentiometers, meaning less susceptible to wear and dust/dirt intrusions.

PS Dualsense joystick

Switch Joycon joystick

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

JoyCon 1s also have a flap that dust can get into, and that's likely a large part of the problem. This is fixed with JoyCon 2s, so I'm not sure why everyone's jumping to the assumption that they will be equally brittle.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago

I've genuinely had more fun with an 80€ Anbernic loaded with old Gameboy games than any other modern console.

[-] [email protected] 17 points 3 days ago

Disappointing to say the least.

My wife loves the switch but has gone through 3 or 4 different sets of controllers. I tried my hand at repairing one of them and it was not fun -- to put it mildly -- and I do not savor repeating the experience. I honestly did not know there were hall effect replacements for the original joycon sticks, and wish I had known that when I replaced the one I did.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

did the nintendo management change or something? did we get new laws about repairable devies standards?

so im just wondering what did you guys expect

[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

Honest question; was it not possible to mod the original JoyCons to add hall-effect joysticks?

Yes, end users should not be responsible for having to do this - but if a cottage industry exists to repair/upgrade drifting joycons that would be awesome to see.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

The problem is that it requires disassembling the controller. Apparently that's a quite the pain for the switch 2

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I did it. It was annoying. It seems it will be more annoying for the switch 2 (which I'm loving begrudgingly).

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

That exists, you can get switch form factor hall effect joysticks on aliexpress.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

Yes, it is possible

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I'll just buy a 3rd party joycon if it's supposed to drift anyway, at least they last a bit longer and cost much less

[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

That will show them

[-] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

I'm a little tired of the fearmongering from people who seem to be racing to the assumption that JoyCon 2s will definitely be as brittle as JoyCon 1s. We don't know that yet. Yes, we know it's not Hall Effect, but that's been true of the majority of video game controllers for a long time. JoyCon 1s were just anomalously defective in a way specific to that controller, and I highly doubt they haven't considered this with the 2. Until we actually start seeing a failure rate comparable to JoyCon 1s, can people just... wait and chill for a sec?

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[-] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I like that ifixit are specifically explaining the fundamental problem with pot based analog sticks because this IS an issue with every (pot based) controller.

That said: I still firmly believe the reason joycons last like a month and my XBONE controller is still going is because of the flap. Like... I'll always remember that the god damned PCB on my DS3 failed before the stick (you try platinuming Dark Souls 2 when pushing R3 triggers random buttons on the entire gamepad...).

For the "real" console sticks? The analog stick is a big plastic dome and you have to disassemble the entire gamepad to clean it out. For the joycons (not sure on pro controller)? It is a rubber flap that you lift up with a pair of tweezers... or just shove the nozzle of the electronic contact cleaner spray can through to clean. The former keeps both you and dirt out while the latter lets everything in and gets those specs trapped between the contacts a lot faster.

Don't get me wrong. If I am buying a third party controller (the gamesirs look shockingly good these days...) it better have hall effect or the other one. But potentiometers are fine IF you protect them. Like, the vast majority of knobs and the like are pots and people STILL use stereos and the like from the 80s with no issues.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago

Shoulda used the magnets for hall effect sticks rather then clacking joycons on the thing

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this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
537 points (98.6% liked)

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