Nintendo has claimed Switch 2’s new Joy-Con analog sticks will be more durable than on Switch 1, when asked about potential stick drift issues.
Joy-Con drift has been a significant issue for Nintendo Switch since its launch in 2017, and despite revisions in the controllers’ internals, it’s a problem that reportedly persists.
‘Joy-Con drift’ is when a stick can register input when there is none. For example, a controller with Joy-Con drift could be left completely still, and yet the player’s character could be moving slowly in any direction.
Two significant lawsuits over Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift were dismissed in the US courts last year. A year earlier, following growing noise around the issue, Nintendo announced it would repair all Joy-Con controllers suffering from Joy-Con drift in the EEA and UK, even if they’re out of warranty.
As part of its Switch 2 reveal this week, Nintendo announced Joy-Con 2, the larger controllers for its next-gen console which connect magnetically, and feature new, bigger sticks. However, there was no mention of if they’re drift-resistant, amid previous hall effect stick rumors.
VGC asked Nintendo if it had taken measures to protect Switch 2 from Joy-Con drift, and a spokesperson replied: “The control sticks for joy-con 2 controllers have been redesigned and have improved in areas such as durability.”
Speaking during a developer roundtable event attended by Eurogamer, Nintendo Switch 2 hardware design lead Tetsuya Sasaki also responded to questions about how it had improved Joy-Cons following years of complaints about drifting, but did not say if it was fixed.
“As you may have witnessed and felt, the new Joy-Con 2 controllers for the Nintendo Switch 2 have really been designed from the ground up, from scratch, to have bigger movement and smoother movement,” Sasaki said, without going into further detail.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct took place on Wednesday, providing a wealth of information about the Switch 2 hardware and software. We’ve rounded up all the news you need to know about Nintendo’s next system.
VGC played Nintendo Switch 2 following the Nintendo Direct, and you can read our full impressions via the link.
