Sorry Nintendo, Joy-Con Drift Means I Won't Buy Switch Lite At Launch

Stuck with the stick?

Nintendo's Joy-Con headache is only just beginning, with the company now facing a class-action lawsuit relating to the drifting analogue sticks on its innovative Switch controllers.

[ZAF]

You people and your opinions no one asked for

[patrick1]

Kind of like what you're doing right this moment. I feel this article and remember my experiences with the PSP when the analog would drift, though i never experienced it with another Nintendo handheld.

[Bahamut-Shin]

do you undertand that the drift problem will be even bigger in a console where you can not replace the controlers?

[StalinSupremacy]

Drift is real; i had to replace a left joycon stick because of it, was a major hassle cracking that plastic piece of shit controller open. This time though with the lite, instead of replacing a singular controller now the whole molded gaming unit needs to be cracked open. This is a terrible fucking idea on nintendos part, especially if they haven't changed the inherent mechanical flaws causing drift (i.e. the metal rubbing on & degrading the graphite sensors causing ghosting/drifting)

[darthv72]

I would think drift could be eliminated with the lite. The controls are directly wired instead of having to sync like the originals.

[luckytrouble]

That has absolutely nothing to do with the drift. The drift comes from the fundamental hardware that detects the actual movement of the stick. You move the stick, the movement against the graphite pad relays positioning through the board via sensors. Basically, pad touches board, board detects, board relays movement based on what gets triggered. The actual transmission of the movement beyond that was never the issue. The movement against the graphite pad causes it to break apart over time, and the particles of it end up getting in the right places to always detect movement in a particular direction. Any fix is always temporary due to the nature of the flaw.

Essentially, if Nintendo uses the same hardware for Joycons to put together the button sides of the Switch Lite, it will absolutely be at risk of suffering from the same problems. Since this is just a subset of the Switch, you can figure Nintendo will use as many of the same parts as possible to get more beneficial bulk purchases, particularly with things like sticks.

Odds are highly against Nintendo making a smart decision here to change production, sadly.

[bluefox755]

Yeah, I've had drift problems with various consoles over the years. Not sure that being modular has anything to do with the problem. Furthermore, it seems like they probably had the design down before all of these problems became public.

[darthv72]

good to know.

[xander70769]

Plus with the Lite it doesn't have removable joycons, so when this issue affects someones Switch Lite the solution won't be as simple as just buying replacement joycons (which are stupid expensive as is.)

Now you will either have to replace the whole unit, or I imagine an alternative would be taking it into a repair shop, or figuring out yourself how to take the thing apart and repair the sticks. This is not going to be a good time for future Switch Lite owners if it suffers the same problem.

[Tross]

I mean, this is a legit concern. One would hope Nintendo would use only the best components for the controls literally attached to one of their models, but the fact remains that if there are problems, there's no way to switch them out and replace them with another Joycon.

[Baza]

Switch lite is made to be CHEAP. Joy-Con drifting is eventually going to happen. No thanks.

[JunMei]

I think it's important to note that the people saying this, were like to never buy it in the first place.

Your concern is legitimate, but since it's another product, it won't magically have the same problems, it may have fewer problems, it may have more problems. One cannot know until time deals its hand.

[shuvam09]

Nintendo...
Best components...

Bwahahahaha...

[Tross]

Ha, true. It's probably a fool's hope. The point is, if Joycon drift is a concern with replaceable controllers, there's a huge chance those who can't switch them out will be screwed. Ummm...pun unintentional.

[JackBNimble]

You're better of with the original switch where you can replace the joycon , after all eventually all controllers start drifting depending on uses.

[badz149]

@JackBNimble

"You're better of with the original switch where you can replace the joycon..."

you're saying it like the damn thing cost $10 or even $50 like the xbone and DS4. a pair costs a freaking $80.

[Soybetaboy]

Greed is massively strong with Nintendont

[TheManicCoder]

The same is true for any business who has shareholders and strives to report good earnings every quarter. So, basically everyone in the gaming business including Sony and Microsoft?

[Sirk7x]

Might be greed, or might be huge engineering oversight.

[shauzy]

literally no one asked for your opinion

[esemce]

No one asked for your crappy attitude either.

[shauzy]

i didnt ask for yours

[iplay1up2]

Nintendo is fixing them for free! How does the author know Nintendo is not fixing the issue before the lite launches?

[rob-GP]

That'll be why they said they won't be buying one at launch - give it a few months and see what other peoples feedback is I guess. That way, you can gather info on if it's still an issue or not. At least with Joycons, if you have an issue then you can just send in the Joycon whilst keeping the switch to play with another controller - if it goes in the Lite, you have to send off the whole unit.

There is an issue with sending Nintendo a unit for repair as well (which I don't know if anyone has covered). I've had 3 issues with my 3DS' over the years, I've always sent them to Nintendo and had them 'fix' it. All they do is replace the unit with a new unit. So, if you still can't take your saves off the unit and you get an issue, sending it in to fix a controller is basically saying a possible "goodbye" to your save data (which they won't transfer or backup for you).

[King_Noctis]

But the Switch lite doesn’t have the Joycons.

[chrisoadamson]

It has sticks.. which more than likely are designed the same way as the joycons in how they operate . That's what people are concerned about . Integrated means no swapping them out if drift occurs

[AllMightyFox]

to the fan boys who refuse to acknowledge an issue with Nintendo and their hardware ….

Please buy and enjoy your Switch Lite,

when it busts and everyone laughs at you for not knowing better due to your fan status, just accept you aren't intelligent.

[Platformgamer]

the switch lite is so poor made man ahahhaha
i'm waiting for a switch 2.0 with propad bundled and selled at 100$

[Sirk7x]

Sure you are.
We don't know how it's made. The concern is that they might use the same set-up that's inside the joy-cons, which is prone to degradation. No one wants that. I haven't had any problems with either of my Switch consoles, but I recognize the fact that others have, and want to see Nintendo address it.
We want a good product with lots of games, and solid customer service from a company that isn't afraid to admit to, and rectify mistakes.