Video shows possible drift issues already arising with the Nintendo Switch Lite



The Nintendo Switch has been a success in many ways, but where most can agree that the console has fallen short, is in regards to the Joy-Cons; ever since the launch of the Switch, Joy-Con drift has become a rampant issue. Such problems were assumed to be done away with the Switch Lite, the smaller, more portable oriented variation of the Switch, which lacked the detachable Joy-Cons. However, once a teardown of the new hardware had taken place, it was revealed that the joysticks used within the Switch Lite were almost identical to the problematic ones from the drift-ridden Joy-Cons, meaning that it was entirely possible for users to still experience drift.

Such a problem could be much worse for the Lite revision, as the control sticks are connected to the entire system, and cannot be removed and replaced as easily as they can be with the original Switch. In a video posted by Alexis Javier, he shows off his brand new Switch Lite playing Breath of the Wild, and you can quickly notice that input is being registered on the right joystick, despite the user not pressing any buttons. Now, the video in question could just stem from an unlikely rare, faulty unit. Or, it could have been done in order to raise outrage during the launch week of the Switch Lite. As of the time of writing, this video appears to be the only popular source showing off possible drift with the console, but only time will tell if drift will begin to impact owners of the Switch Lite.
 

medoli900

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I don't remember if the Vita's stick generated as much uproar. They are the exact same as the joycon, and also had drift issues (I had drifting issue on a brand new vita, replaced it, still had issue, bought a replacement joystick, that also had issues (thankfully I got refunded) before finally getting a working joystick.).
 

codezer0

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I don't remember if the Vita's stick generated as much uproar. They are the exact same as the joycon, and also had drift issues (I had drifting issue on a brand new vita, replaced it, still had issue, bought a replacement joystick, that also had issues (thankfully I got refunded) before finally getting a working joystick.).
The difference is people actually wanted to buy the Nintendo Switch, unlike the Vita that seems exclusively supported by dudes living in Akihabara. :rofl2:
 
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ChibiMofo

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Nintendo obviously decided that a disastrous recall of all Switch Lite's was preferable to a disastrous non-launch of the Lite.
Disastrous and costly. They won't be forgiven by their fanbois until their next Mario or Zelda release.
 

FAST6191

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How do you figure?

So Nintendo hosed up and made the original Joycons badly such that under seemingly low or normal* use that the sticks wore out, leading to false inputs (classically we would call it a dead zone for the stick being made too small, in this case by wear outside anything like acceptable timelines, here though the term drift was used).

*I have seen a few design discussions on controllers over the years. The manufacturers design them to take considerable abuse, and *points at most old Nintendo consoles* -- the Nintendium jokes were not made ironically.

As the fault was seemingly a design defect rather than a manufacturing one (nobody used the wrong/contaminated material, used out of tolerance parts or skipped a deburring step or something) that leads to two main solutions. 1) change the design 2) change the materials to handle the conditions. During a teardown it was noted that the design is seemingly the same** and nobody pointed out a non visible material change. A material change is possible (the film there is not so radically different to motor brushes and very interesting things can happen there when you make material changes, though many of those are visible in the sorts of shots that video had) but pending some kind of confirmation of a material change then it is reasonable to ponder the option for a failure to come back.

**using such a surface in the first place is already a risky move -- there is a reason most others attempting anything like this use digital encoders or expensive material choices if they must do resistance based stuff.
 

codezer0

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I use my switch for more than a year and have not drivting issues and I use my joycons...
Good for you. However, just like the atrocious hinge design that has plagued every DS from the lite all the way up until the (3/2)ds generation, it's only a matter of *when*, not *if* it'll happen.

Just like the horrible n64 analog stick grinding itself into chalk dust and making precise movements impossible.
 

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I don't remember if the Vita's stick generated as much uproar. They are the exact same as the joycon, and also had drift issues (I had drifting issue on a brand new vita, replaced it, still had issue, bought a replacement joystick, that also had issues (thankfully I got refunded) before finally getting a working joystick.).

No, they are not. The caps are one solid piece on the Vita, not solid on top with a rubber flap that can be flipped up. Vita sticks are not remotely the same as the Switch's. If they drift, it's for entirely different reasons or manufacturing defects.

Also, Nintendo could easily fix this by allowing recalibration of the dead zone manually (even just a joystick sensitivity slider that increases the deadzone.) They won't, though.
 
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gamesquest1

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I'm actually wondering why they didn't switch out to the 3DS analogue stick design, i don't think i have ever seen a failed 3DS analogue stick other than when there has been an obvious "accident" involved, seems like they redesigned the wheel and it kinda failed, when they already had a decent slimline analogue stick solution already at hand, in stock and with a proven reliability
 

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No, they are not. The caps are one solid piece on the Vita, not solid on top with a rubber flap that can be flipped up. Vita sticks are not remotely the same as the Switch's. If they drift, it's for entirely different reasons or manufacturing defects.
The caps are easily replaceable. What I meant is that the mechanism of the stick is the exact same. Look at a disassembled Vita stick and a disassembled Switch stick and you'll see that they are the same.
 

The Real Jdbye

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This looks like just a minor calibration issue that would be solved by recalibrating (stick does not center properly), which is different from the drifting issue where the stick registers movement over time (even when recentered it will drift over to one side within a few seconds)
That said we will probably see the same drifting issues crop up as with the OG Switch. It just seems a bit early for it to start happening already.
 

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Here's a video that explain why joycon drift. If we are to assume that the stick are the same in the lite version, no recalibration is able to fix it, since it's hardware issue, which happens to be the same issue with the Vita.
 

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The Nintendo Switch has been a success in many ways, but where most can agree that the console has fallen short, is in regards to the Joy-Cons; ever since the launch of the Switch, Joy-Con drift has become a rampant issue. Such problems were assumed to be done away with the Switch Lite, the smaller, more portable oriented variation of the Switch, which lacked the detachable Joy-Cons. However, once a teardown of the new hardware had taken place, it was revealed that the joysticks used within the Switch Lite were almost identical to the problematic ones from the drift-ridden Joy-Cons, meaning that it was entirely possible for users to still experience drift.

Such a problem could be much worse for the Lite revision, as the control sticks are connected to the entire system, and cannot be removed and replaced as easily as they can be with the original Switch. In a video posted by Alexis Javier, he shows off his brand new Switch Lite playing Breath of the Wild, and you can quickly notice that input is being registered on the right joystick, despite the user not pressing any buttons. Now, the video in question could just stem from an unlikely rare, faulty unit. Or, it could have been done in order to raise outrage during the launch week of the Switch Lite. As of the time of writing, this video appears to be the only popular source showing off possible drift with the console, but only time will tell if drift will begin to impact owners of the Switch Lite.


@Chary Dude no joke nintendo is gonna get another lawsuit on their ass x'D there is a legit action lawsuit being made!! Look!! https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/09/switch_lite_added_to_joy-con_drift_class_action_lawsuit -hopefully i don't get in trouble for this o _ o
 

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