Since its launch in 2017 the Switch has faced heavy criticism in one area above all others: the Joy Cons. And it's not just any part of the Joy Cons either, with the sticks being an incredibly common point of failure for users of the system. Dubbed "Joy Con drift", the detachable controllers seemed to gain a mind of their own as a particular part of the stick wore out faster than anticipated, leaving your inputs lazily moving to one side. Third parties have stepped up in recent years, offering sticks that use magnets for their sensors, removing the most common point of failure for many. But this isn't 2017, and we're not talking about the Switch anymore.

In the lead up to the Switch 2's launch a Nintendo VP confirmed that the console would not be using the drift-resistant Hall effect sensors many have put into their Joy Cons. It has been speculated that this is because of the mounting mechanism for the Switch 2's Joy Cons making use of strong magnets, but little was set in stone as to how Nintendo would address the underlying issues. Thanks to a teardown posted by TronicsFix earlier today we finally have our answer. You're probably not going to like it.

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In their teardown they show the finicky process of opening up the controller, and the unfortunate truth that the analogue sticks are only marginally different. Though it is too early to tell whether the changes made will be enough to limit the dreaded drift, the lack of updated technology will undoubtedly be a disappointment to those who had to deal with the issue on Nintendo's previous system.

Source

 

[raxadian]

Buying and installing (suitably shielded) hall effect / TMR sticks to replace the time bomb stock sticks in the Joycon 2 should be considered an extra hidden cost.

And good luck because Nintendo could ban your modified controller in an update. Yes that's something they can do.

 

[Xzi]

Yup, Nintendo just announced they will replace drifting joycon 2 controllers for free. Which means they know they will be prone to drift. Makes no goddamn sense, because there's no way that's more cost effective for them than simply using Hall Effect sticks in the first place.

 

[raxadian]

Yup, Nintendo just announced they will replace drifting joycon 2 controllers for free. Which means they know they will be prone to drift. Makes no goddamn sense, because there's no way that's more cost effective for them than simply using Hall Effect sticks in the first place.

The replacements won't happen everywhere. I never heard of someone being able to get free replacements in South America and Brazil for example.

Is one of the reasons I stopped using my Switch, joycons are fucking expensive to replace.

 

[gameboy64]

My opinion, probably best to just wait for better third party joycons to come out if these new Nintendo ones are just as much of a stinker as the originals.

Isn't it funny how some 3rd party Chinese knockoffs work better than the official ones?

 

[Karoi]

I'll wait a few years until the guinea pigs can tell me if there will be drift or not.

FOMO and hype driven intentional limited supply bullshit does not affect me

I have seen a video with stickdrift already.

 

[Xzi]

Is one of the reasons I stopped using my Switch, joycons are fucking expensive to replace.

There's a good reason Nitro Deck is so popular. For my part the joycons that came with my launch day Switch are still drift-free, as I have been using a Hori Splitpad Pro Compact when in handheld mode instead.

 

[SteamyMeatballs]

hype driven intentional limited supply bullshit

That has been Nintendo's marketing tactic for a very long time. Ever notice how every Goodwill store always has a couple of Wii systems hanging around like they're rubbish.

 

[Viri]

Fucking Nintendo, lol. You can literally buy 2 hall effect sticks for Switch for 99 cents off Aliexpress. lol

I already replaced them in like 8 Joycons, and it's a pain taking it apart with all those stupid ribbon cables.

 

[regnad]

Yup, Nintendo just announced they will replace drifting joycon 2 controllers for free. Which means they know they will be prone to drift. Makes no goddamn sense, because there's no way that's more cost effective for them than simply using Hall Effect sticks in the first place.

In the OP video, the guy speculates that the magnets used to attach the joycons might cause issues for magnets in hall affect sticks.

If so, that would make even third party drop in Hall replacements unworkable. Also watching the video you can see just opening up these new joycons is a huge pain in the ass compared to the last ones.

 

[Error52]

I'll wait a few years until the guinea pigs can tell me if there will be drift or not.

FOMO and hype driven intentional limited supply bullshit does not affect me

Dude stores still have a ton of Switch 2's limited supply FOMO my ass

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

Dude stores still have a ton of Switch 2's limited supply FOMO my ass

Mine don't. Guess it varies.

 

[moneychild]

The same shit...

Different toilet!

 

[G33ksquad]

Don’t be mad at Nintendo, it’s Alpsalpine to be mad at, Nintendo just uses their sticks like all other game companies. I wonder if Nintendo has even done any R&D to prevent drift or just says forget it and accepts the drift Alps sticks will eventually get, maybe all the game companies should work together to build better solutions.

 

[zachdotnet]

The real questions is how easy can the new Joy Con be disassembled when I inevitably have to replace the sticks lol

 

[IBNobody]

The real questions is how easy can the new Joy Con be disassembled when I inevitably have to replace the sticks lol

Pretty easy if you have a tri-wing screwdriver and a shim.

 

[TomSwitch]

Bad for reputation but that has already been spoiled by Switch 1 Joycon. Good for Nintendo pocket and that remain so. Smart move Nintendo!!

I bet it was designed to perfection—just durable enough to perpetuate revenue and they even add to the end user agreement that you can't sue them when the drift starts and just have to pay to continue to play.

This time they probably have patent protection to prevent unauthorized third party from making unlicensed joy-con and eat their cake.

 

[Bladexdsl]

the DRIFT and the furious

 

[TomSwitch]

the DRIFT and the furious

furiously buying more joy-cons, win for Nintendo and hopefully more and better games will come from them

 

[DeadSkullzJr]

Isn't it funny how some 3rd party Chinese knockoffs work better than the official ones?

Eh, yes and no. Chinese products aren't always good either, plenty of stinkers in that market too. What makes up for that loss though is the fact that so much manufacturing and such occurs over there, so despite the common pool of trash, there's usually a pretty good section of products to be considered if you look well enough. While I don't necessarily agree with the extreme over saturation of their market, I am at least glad that there are other options if all else fails. I'd rather there be more options in my own country, or maybe overseas outside of China, but that's far and few in between unfortunately.

 

[Exnor]

Well Nintendo will be replacing a lot of joycons here in the EU, since its mandatory to give 3 years of warranty after purchase.
Same sh!t happens with Xbox gamepads and i usually send back to be replaced 1 or 2 times during warranty.