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.

  • Phelpssan@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    While I agree with the overall message, I’d say this is on Nintendo for not doing proper communication on the topic. They must know this is a major concern for most people who had a Switch.

    Yes, I get they don’t want to acknowledge the drift problem publicly, but surely someone on their marketing team can still come up with a way to discuss the improvements they made and alleviate fears.

    • catloaf@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Given the casual nature of the target audience, I doubt it’s a major concern for most owners. For enthusiasts, yes absolutely, but if you went around to random Switch owners, I doubt they’d even know what you’re talking about. Most of my friends haven’t had significant issues.