My original Nintendo Switch is looking more than a little worse for wear now. It’s been through several thousand hours’ worth of use, numerous trips, and almost daily use since I bought it back in 2017. I’m awaiting the first Switch 2 direct, even as I’m not ready to say goodbye to it.
I’ve had a longer relationship with it than I have with my spouse, but there’s a key difference to note. They have an excellent sense of direction, while my Switch just seems to veer off to the left or right inexplicably at every opportunity.
Yes, like a lot of long-time Switch users, I’ve been a victim of Joy-Con drift several times. My Switch unit itself might be an original launch model, but it’s been through at least half-a-dozen Joy-Con changes over the years.
As much as Nintendo has enjoyed trying to sell us on a whole garish range of color options, official Joy-Cons are expensive, and third-party ones just haven’t compared for me. I’ve certainly never dared to buy a Switch Lite, despite the fact that I’m a gremlin who likes to game in bed in the dark, because I couldn’t trust how long it might last.
Almost a decade later, with additions to the family such as the Switch OLED behind us, the problem hasn’t been resolved. It’s a fear that gnaws at the back of the Switch owner’s mind, and the discourse around it isn’t going anywhere.
There’s even more at stake now that Switch 2 has arrived. When the system’s rather premium price point was revealed, as with that of its accessories, I was immediately wary about potential drift developing, and rightly too, it seems. Some are even on the fence about the purchase as a result.
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There May Be Trouble Ahead
The day after the Switch 2’s launch, IFIXIT dissected the system. The conclusion was that the potentiometers utilized by the controllers would suggest that, as before, wear would mean that drift could set in over time.
As of yet, there’s no saying how new features like the mouse controls could be adversely affected by such issues.
The outlet also noted that disassembling the controllers to get to the point that at-home fixes could be made was perhaps needlessly complicated. Considering these two factors, it may be that drift will be more problematic, in the fullness of time, than it was for the original Switch.
As for how widespread the issue may be going forward, it’s impossible to say at present. Nintendo does offer a help page detailing some methods for potentially addressing controller issues, which it deems “responsiveness syndrome or so-called “drifting,”” but there are some things that we want to have handled professionally.
Sending those precious controllers away for repair, should it be deemed necessary, isn’t the most enticing prospect. It implies, after all, that we can tear ourselves away from unlocking everyone in Mario Kart World, and that’s not easily done.
We don’t yet know how this will all play out. For a wider picture of the situation, we’ll have to wait until those Joy-Cons have aged considerably more. Still, all those prolonged sessions of smashing the landscape into smithereens in Donkey Kong Bananza, potential Game of the Year material, will probably help ‘age’ those controllers a little.
A new console release is a perfect time to learn some lessons and implement some ideas that arose in hindsight. This was one of the highest-profile complaints about the previous system throughout its lifespan, after all.
Unfortunately, though, signs point to Switch 2 having a life marked by the dreaded drift as well. Nintendo does have a potential answer hidden away, though.
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Donkey Kong Bananza Review
No more monkeying around, it’s time to ape out.
