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]

The extreme pricing might have something to do with that. Also, Nintendo's "limited supply trickery gimmick".

Also a lot of stores canceled pre orders due to tariffs not due to them not having more Switch 2 consoles.

Sadly tariffs has made the other consoles rise in price so unless Nintendo is dumb enough to price the Switch 2 higher that the base PS5 when the new Switch 2 price gets revealed; the things will sell.

Outside of the USA however? No clue.

 

[SylverReZ]

Same JoyCon with drift, different construction, is one way to describe this. Drifting to a console near you.

 

[raxadian]

Same JoyCon with drift, different construction, is one way to describe this. Drifting to a console near you.

Don't forget the cash button at least some people will press by accident.

 

[ViDeOmAnCiNi]

From what I can tell (from researching it) the hall-effect stick modules USED to be larger and more $ than the regular ones but now in 2025 they are the same exact size and cost mere pennies more than the regular ones. We'd have paid $1 more for the console to have the better stick modules for sure.

Nintendo missed the boat on this one unfortunately. sad.

 

[Jayro]

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.

For $94 USD (@MSRP), HALL sticks should already be included in the Joy-cons.

 

[raxadian]

Again Nintendo can and will brick your Switch 2 if you break the terms and conditions, that includes tampering with the hardware so... the least they will do is ban non authorized controllers in an update.

 

[aoimatsuri]

if this one is also fixed with a piece of cardstock i don't know how nintendo is making it out of the next lawsuit

This time its fixed with a piece of your mom's creditcard

 

[raxadian]

This time its fixed with a piece of your mom's creditcard

Also the new terms and conditions literally protect Nintendo's ass from lawsuits unless you do them on your own cause it bans class action lawsuits.

 

[Newwaverap]

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

Yes, there’s also the need to be an contrarian and to tell everyone how much of a contrarian they are which is also as annoying to some.

 

[Deleted member 702243]

Eh, the magnets are not that strong and the sticks are plastic, is the sensors under the stick that actually move things.

no one's saying the magnets would physically pull the stick into a random direction, it's the sensors that can be affected by external magnetic fields and give wrong readings

and it doesn't even need to be a very strong magnetic field either. the rog ally for example has hall effect triggers that interfere with 3rd party hall effect stick replacements. the right stick is fine but the left stick being up higher is too close to the left trigger, and the magnetic fields interfere with each other

there are ways to mitigate this problem but it's not perfect. for the joycons the magnets feel like they're near the top of the controller, so maybe the right joycon would be fine but the left one would have problems with hall effect

no way to know until it is tested though and I dont think anyone tried yet?

for what it's worth, the new pro controller uses ribbon connectors for the analog sticks instead of soldered on modules