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.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      I remember during the initial console reveal, basically the only thing they had to say was that the sticks are larger and smoother (in motion, not the caps themselves).

      I don’t know if they mentioned much else later, but they were very tacit about their durability/longevity. I don’t have much hope that things will be better, at any rate. I still bought a Switch 2, because I know it will still bring me joy to play, but as much as I enjoyed the comfort of playing with a Joycon in each hand, I’ve learned from the original Switch to avoid using the Joycons where possible and opt for a separate controller when playing docked (I’m just using the Pro Controllers I have left over from my original Switch).

      • Phelpssan@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        I haven’t gotten a Switch 2 (probably will when there’s more exclusive games), but I’m definitely going to avoid the Joycons as much as possible and just use my 8bitdo Ultimate and my old Pro Controller (which has been modded with Hall Effect sticks).