Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con may have the same stick drift problem as original Switch
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Of course they will, they make too much money off people buying replacements. Since the games also got an increase in price, I expect the joy-cons bought separately will also be marked up by a non-trivial margin.
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Unless they change away from using cheap potentiometers, it will.
For those not aware: A potentiometer ("pot" from here on out) is effectively a resistor where you move a contact back and forth. When it is at one end, the resistance is very low because electricity barely moves through the resistive material (often graphite). When it is at the other end, the electricity needs to move throughout the entire stretch of graphite. With very basic math you can figure out what percentage X and Y you are at which translated to analog movement.
Designed well? The contact moves across the resistive material in a way where there is no damage (scraping). Given infinite time it will eventually become a problem but that is well beyond the lifecycle of the console.
So why do analog sticks wear out so fast? Because they aren't enclosed systems. Dirt and dust WILL get into the chamber and then it gets caught between the contact and the material and scrapes up said material. This leads to drift in the sense that dirt causes the contact to stick and loss of precision as material is scraped off. That is why electric contact cleaner was a great stopgap but couldn't actually repair any damage.
So why is the switch in particular so shit at this? Because an xbox or playstation controller has a big rigid plastic cover that more or less seals the pot off from the environment. It isn't perfect but you are getting very little dirt and dust into the controller and up that dome.
The switch? It is a rubber flap over the joycon that you can lift up with your finger. Great for cleaning, horrible for keeping clean.
I haven't looked too close at the new joycons but I would be shocked if they changed that design. So they will almost definitely still suffer from excessive drift REAL fast.
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Of course they will, they make too much money off people buying replacements. Since the games also got an increase in price, I expect the joy-cons bought separately will also be marked up by a non-trivial margin.
They've been bumped up by ten dollars for the switch 2 vs 1 so there's that.
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They've been bumped up by ten dollars for the switch 2 vs 1 so there's that.
Let's hope gulikit quickly puts out a hall-effect mod for the new versions (or the new versions still use the same joystick module as the original)
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Of course they will, they make too much money off people buying replacements. Since the games also got an increase in price, I expect the joy-cons bought separately will also be marked up by a non-trivial margin.
they make too much money off people buying replacements.
Didn't they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
Between the damage to their reputation it would cause (knowingly releasing a very flawed product despite having already publicly apologized for it years ago) and the potential for more class-action lawsuits down the line, it seems like it'd be profoundly shortsighted for them to do this.
But maybe the profits from selling replacements outweighs all that in their eyes. I sure hope not. One would hope the profits from a considerably more expensive console and moderately more expensive games would be enough.
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Unless they change away from using cheap potentiometers, it will.
For those not aware: A potentiometer ("pot" from here on out) is effectively a resistor where you move a contact back and forth. When it is at one end, the resistance is very low because electricity barely moves through the resistive material (often graphite). When it is at the other end, the electricity needs to move throughout the entire stretch of graphite. With very basic math you can figure out what percentage X and Y you are at which translated to analog movement.
Designed well? The contact moves across the resistive material in a way where there is no damage (scraping). Given infinite time it will eventually become a problem but that is well beyond the lifecycle of the console.
So why do analog sticks wear out so fast? Because they aren't enclosed systems. Dirt and dust WILL get into the chamber and then it gets caught between the contact and the material and scrapes up said material. This leads to drift in the sense that dirt causes the contact to stick and loss of precision as material is scraped off. That is why electric contact cleaner was a great stopgap but couldn't actually repair any damage.
So why is the switch in particular so shit at this? Because an xbox or playstation controller has a big rigid plastic cover that more or less seals the pot off from the environment. It isn't perfect but you are getting very little dirt and dust into the controller and up that dome.
The switch? It is a rubber flap over the joycon that you can lift up with your finger. Great for cleaning, horrible for keeping clean.
I haven't looked too close at the new joycons but I would be shocked if they changed that design. So they will almost definitely still suffer from excessive drift REAL fast.
Why a flat stick like the one used on PSP not considered an alternative on Switch?
It seems perfect for transportability.
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they make too much money off people buying replacements.
Didn't they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
Between the damage to their reputation it would cause (knowingly releasing a very flawed product despite having already publicly apologized for it years ago) and the potential for more class-action lawsuits down the line, it seems like it'd be profoundly shortsighted for them to do this.
But maybe the profits from selling replacements outweighs all that in their eyes. I sure hope not. One would hope the profits from a considerably more expensive console and moderately more expensive games would be enough.
I don't know for sure if it was ever a thing in the USA. A cursory search only showed mention of Europe offering that repair. I didn't even bother checking and just went straight for the hall-effect replacement sticks when I had joy-cons that drifted, probably a bunch of other people in that same boat.
IMO, the profits from this would still come even if they offer repairs. I'd venture to guess many out-of-the-loop parents would just buy the replacements 'cause they probably think their kid is abusing it somehow. The good ol' "sigh 'n buy" phenomenon to keep the kiddos entertained.
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they make too much money off people buying replacements.
Didn't they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
Between the damage to their reputation it would cause (knowingly releasing a very flawed product despite having already publicly apologized for it years ago) and the potential for more class-action lawsuits down the line, it seems like it'd be profoundly shortsighted for them to do this.
But maybe the profits from selling replacements outweighs all that in their eyes. I sure hope not. One would hope the profits from a considerably more expensive console and moderately more expensive games would be enough.
You say shortsighted yet people have been putting up with it for eight years and all they do is gripe online about it or buy third-party solutions. Nintendo did not take much time reputational or financial hit because of it. If they did, they would’ve fixed it. No speculation required.
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Why a flat stick like the one used on PSP not considered an alternative on Switch?
It seems perfect for transportability.
Been more than a minute since I touched my PSP but I remember the stick on that (and the Vita?) being pretty dogshit. Less of an tilting analog stick and more of a weird slidey one. It is Nintendo so whatever they do is amazing and perfect but they probably wanted to use the same parts on both the pro controller and the joycons.
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they make too much money off people buying replacements.
Didn't they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
Between the damage to their reputation it would cause (knowingly releasing a very flawed product despite having already publicly apologized for it years ago) and the potential for more class-action lawsuits down the line, it seems like it'd be profoundly shortsighted for them to do this.
But maybe the profits from selling replacements outweighs all that in their eyes. I sure hope not. One would hope the profits from a considerably more expensive console and moderately more expensive games would be enough.
Didn’t they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
I know die-hard Nintendo fans who were unaware of it until I let them know. It's not like Nintendo advertises it publicly.
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they make too much money off people buying replacements.
Didn't they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
Between the damage to their reputation it would cause (knowingly releasing a very flawed product despite having already publicly apologized for it years ago) and the potential for more class-action lawsuits down the line, it seems like it'd be profoundly shortsighted for them to do this.
But maybe the profits from selling replacements outweighs all that in their eyes. I sure hope not. One would hope the profits from a considerably more expensive console and moderately more expensive games would be enough.
I used it a few years ago, and it was fine and i didnt have to pay anything. I wish Sony offered this because I'm on my 4th ps5 controller...
If it's not fixed in the new one, they can screw off... it's bad enough they got away with it, but to totally redesign everything and still say yes we'll keep the defective parts going forward is a big no from me.
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I don't know for sure if it was ever a thing in the USA. A cursory search only showed mention of Europe offering that repair. I didn't even bother checking and just went straight for the hall-effect replacement sticks when I had joy-cons that drifted, probably a bunch of other people in that same boat.
IMO, the profits from this would still come even if they offer repairs. I'd venture to guess many out-of-the-loop parents would just buy the replacements 'cause they probably think their kid is abusing it somehow. The good ol' "sigh 'n buy" phenomenon to keep the kiddos entertained.
Nope. I've sent several pairs of Joycons (at least 4 sets) to be repaired by Nintendo absolutely free of charge. Never had an issue though I remember the process being a little convoluted.
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Why a flat stick like the one used on PSP not considered an alternative on Switch?
It seems perfect for transportability.
I said the same thing about the same type used on the 3DS but I guess for people who grew up on analog sticks, the flat design is not comfortable or lacks precision in some way, which is weird because I hate regular analog sticks because my thumbs never stay centered and I dislike the curve motion compared to the flat design which feels more akin to a mouse, which is what I primarily use on PC.
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TLDR: They've redesigned the sticks to drift less but they still don't use hall effect sticks, which would completely fix the problem
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Nope. I've sent several pairs of Joycons (at least 4 sets) to be repaired by Nintendo absolutely free of charge. Never had an issue though I remember the process being a little convoluted.
Well hot damn, didn't know about it
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Didn’t they start offering free repairs at some point due to it being such a widespread issue? Or did they stop doing that at some point?
I know die-hard Nintendo fans who were unaware of it until I let them know. It's not like Nintendo advertises it publicly.
They initially also only did it in places that consumer protection laws would force them to. Some markets (at least initially) didn’t get the same benefit.
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Been more than a minute since I touched my PSP but I remember the stick on that (and the Vita?) being pretty dogshit. Less of an tilting analog stick and more of a weird slidey one. It is Nintendo so whatever they do is amazing and perfect but they probably wanted to use the same parts on both the pro controller and the joycons.
It is Nintendo so whatever they do is amazing and perfect but they probably wanted to use the same parts on both the pro controller and the joycons.
What? The stick hardware on the pro controller is essentially the same thing that's in Xbox and PlayStation controllers. The joycon stick hardware is much smaller.
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They're not even out yet and they redesigned the entire stick. Stop throwing a fit about every little thing ffs
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Well hot damn, didn't know about it
I will say that in the latest pair of Joycons I didn't even wait. I just swapped them for hall effect ones from ifixit. Well worth it in my opinion.
