Nintendo Is Permanently Reducing The Price Of Switch Joy-Con

"The price reduction will apply to single Joy-Con products only" - so no practical price drop then.

Would be great to see joy-cons drop to $59.99 for a pair. $79.99 is just too much. Especially when brand new DualSense 5 controllers are going for $60. I’m guessing X Series controllers are similarly priced.

They need to do this everywhere if they're not gonna fix them.

Nintendo reducing the prices of Joy-Con, is not gonna make the dreaded Joy-Con Drift disapier

I would like to think they are bringing an improved JoyCon to market to address the drift issue but I hold little faith in that.

@Zidentia agreed. It’s been 3 years so probably they just don’t care. I need them to fix their “Pro” controller as well. Drift sucks.

I spent over 70 bucks on BROKEN Joycon that were drifting after using them once. I feel like Joycon is a waste of money and you should just buy a pro controller. The price drop is cool, but I really just don't care. I am not supporting Nintendo's bad business practices, so I am not going to buy any more Joycons. (I am not trying to start an argument, I am trying to share my opinion!)

That's wonderful! Then I can get even more drifting for my money

It's...

"We're sure a drop in price would be well received..."

I'm sure you're wrong. People would rather the issue be fixed rather than a price reduction on a single Joy Con when they're typically sold in pairs.

Cool! Bring it on.

Thanks to the fact that these break so fast, it’s only nice of them to lower the price

@LatsaSpege Pro Controller also drifts. It just takes three months more.
Really: They shouldn't reduce the price of a broken product - they should completely replace it!

This is nice to see. The exorbitantly high cost to replace malfunctioning ones makes purchasing this otherwise decent controller unjustifiable (I'm surprised people even purchase new first-party ones at all considering they cost $70 and continue to routinely malfunction over time).

Mine do not drift but I'm really sad nintendo quality has gone out the window. With so much reported drift uts impossible to say anymore that its a user error. Revise the design and lower the price of remaining stock seems like the smartest thing to do

Not good enough nintendo. Reducing the price of joycons is good, but fix the problem. Stop taking little steps. This has been a problem for too long😠.

Could be they're trying to get rid of old stock cause a new revision is coming soon. Or something like that.

@Supadav03 I’m not informed on all the features of Dual Sense 5 but the joycon aren’t a basic piece of kit. There’s a fair amount of tech in them.

for the price they charge and the issues it has its a fffffffffffffffffffff joke.

I'm about 99.9% positive that when Joycon first went on sale in the US 3 1/2 years ago they were $39.99 for one and $69.99 for the two pack. At some point in the US the single Joycon disappeared and two packs went up to $79.99.

So I'd just like to see them go back to where they were, $70 for two, even if they don't bring back the singles.

So far we have 4 joycon, the 2 that came with the system and a 2 pack of blue I got at clearance on Target for $38 that someone had returned, they've always had issues but work in a pinch. We also have 1 official Pro and at least 2 faux $15 wired Power A and a wireless Power A that was about $30. We just keep going thru them. But I'm not buying any more Joycon unless they have a non-drifting revision or a 1/2 off sale on Newegg or something.

@arabiansanchez I love the joy-con & understand you are “kinda” getting two controllers when you get a pair but the DualSense 5 has just as much tech packed in. PlayStation made a big to-do about it and how DualShock 4 can’t be used for PS5 games due to all the features the new controller adds that you’ll need for PS5 games. Dualshock 4 can be used to play PS4 games on PS5 though.

So if percentage lowered is the metric, then that would be about $54 down from $65 here in Canada. I wish they weren't so gosh darn expensive up here!

@Coxula Oh, I have had a Pro Controller for over 2 years and it has not drifted once. Weird.

That's good for mix-and-matching color schemes if you don't want one particular color from a set.

@Supadav03 The DualSense is $70.

@LatsaSpege I hear it happens on pro controller but rarely.

Dumb that it counts only for the single joy cons and not the ones included with the console. Nintendo, your business practice is more wonky than the Tower of Pizza sometimes. Get your act together, you dingos!

Doesn't matter when they're still fundamentally broken.

I miss when nintendo controllers would actually last... i’m still pissed off about my pro controller drifting when it’s never once been a problem i’ve had with any other console.

We already HAVE seen permanent reduction in price for a Joy-Con set i most of Europe.

And to be honest, they were pretty overpriced at launch.

@Supadav03 Thanks for that. The joycon probably could be cheaper now, 3 years down the line but I don’t think it was a bad price in the first instance. It was thought Nintendo were originally selling them at a loss. The right joycon also has more in it than the left: namely the nfc reader and the infrared depth tracker. So there could be a case for the separate joycon being different prices I suppose. A bit messy though.

@Zidentia I thought they did (there were small confirmed changed I believe) when they released the slightly upgraded switch with longer battery life.

Not sure if this applies to separately purchased joy-con? Any one bought any new joy-con in the past year and had drifting issues?

I’m not buying any more until drift is fixed. I’ve sent all 4 of mine in for repair, the left ones twice.

@Giancarlothomaz Why did you feel the need to comment that? Did you really think it would make you look smarter?

@Coxula No it doesn’t. The pro controller does not have the same drifting rates as the joycons, not even close. There's a reason "Pro Controller Drift" is not a phrase. Because pro controllers aren't susceptible to drift. I've had my pro controller for a year and it has no issues. Quit spreading lies already.

As soon as the 'quality of life" got removed, drifts came in 🤔👍 its not worth the price as it is now with these flaws.

@Coxula I have had my pro controller for over a year and it doesn't drift for me. Though it varies from person to person but I can confidently say that pro controllers in the very last last way longer than joycons and not just 3 months more mind you.
But pro controller drift is still a problem that should also be addressed.

Pay < 20% less for something that doesn't work? Neat.

I'd love to see a poll about who uses pro controller vs joy cons. I only use them when portable or like required by the game

They should drop the price for joy-cons because 80 something dollars is not worth it at all. They should be priced 39$ plus tax and there a good price. Nintendo needs to stop being greedy and start pricing things at a fair price.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan Pro controllers will never drift unless you throw them and forcefully play with the thumbstick. Which will never happen unless you're 4 or someone who gets angry. So l don't know what that person is talking about xD

eh, you guys will still keep buying Switch games and accessories so they don't care.

I never use my joy-cons because they are too small and cramp my hands, but I let my nephew use one the other day and it's when I first noticed it was drifting.

Now I get it. It really pissed me off. Should I but new ones? Will those not work? I mean I never used mine and they broke. What's the point? They can price them however they want. A price drop won't make a product that doesn't work more appealing.

Still overpriced.

@Supadav03
Agree, I think that is a far more reasonable price point

Nintendo just doesn’t care. “Ya know, fixing the Drift on Joy-Cons is just too much work, so we’re reducing the prices! In Japan. The rest of the world can get borked, good day.”

Mm, not ideal, but I'll take it.

Still not cheap enough. I’ve got one joy con drifting and the other has a non-functioning shoulder button when separated from the system - so no two player Mario kart, no Fit Boxing or Keep Fit Adventure

I have been dealing with drift for what feels like a year and I am only 13 so I don't have enough money but if they reduce it I will be so happy is it can't get repaired because there is no Nintendo stores in the UK.

For anyone saying that Pro Controllers don’t drift...I have 4, and have had drifting issues with all of them over the years. One of them is basically unusable at this point. Why Nintendo doesn’t offer to fix them for free in the same way that they do with Joy-Cons is beyond me.

@Zidentia @koffing Nintendo will solve the joycon drift issue and redeem themselves from it no matter what you say. Also, pro controllers do not have a drift problem, it’s extremely rare.

Probably my most loathed controller of all time. 3-D rumble. Um... Ya. Another gimmick with zero use outside 1-2 Switch. My son and I have had 8 pairs between us. Everyone of them has the same faults. Sometimes multiple on one joycon. No led lights, can't play sideways in desktop mode, drifting, can't pair joycon together, can only pair one to switch, doesn't pair when attached, repeatedly unpairs itself. Really is the most ill conceived product. Reducing the cost? How does that help. How about an apology and a recall followed by free replacements.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan Awww you got me! How did you figure it out? I MUST just be a TROLL. You are so CLEVER.. My 2 Pro Controllers didn’t have drift it was all in my head. Or maybe it’s my fault for playing Splatoon. Yep, I was doing it wrong. No one else has this problem. No seriously don’t Google it. You don’t need to.. I made it up for kicks. The other accounts here that mention drift are clearly all just mine. This is what I do for my free time. Right @Synecdoche ? And, yes, deep down I desperately want my two pairs of Joycons to keep drifting because then I will have nothing to complain about! I only complain about Joy Con drift to feed my empty husk of a soul. Nintendo is DEFINITELY going to address this any day now. I mean they didn’t in 2017 or 2018 or 2019 or 2020 but it’s definitely happening soon. Good Golly! (I am feeling kinda snarky right now. It’s unfortunate that gaming site forums are so full of vitriol. I don’t deal well with being attacked for talking about my experience and sharing my ideas. Sick of negging.)

Why go for a price cut for the Joy-Cons but not Switch as well? $200-$349 is way too much plus tax. Why can't everything be $50

@koffing You perfectly describes yourself in that comment, even though you were trying to be sarcastic. The fact that you’re so desperately trying to say that Nintendo won’t fix the issue proves that you really don’t want things to get better. You were probably one of the people who said the Switch would not sell well, or that Nintendo would never change their YouTube policies, even though they did. I and many other people don’t deal well with selfish pessimists like you who want to discourage others from playing Nintendo games and from having faith that Nintendo will solve an issue. Talk about being self-centered.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan
I have no idea who you are but this is trolling plain and simple since nothing you said relates to my comment nor was it directed at you.

@asmi8803 to my knowledge they did not address the drifting as it is still an issue even with newer units.

@koffing
the drifting is definitely an issue. The Pro controller is not immune either as many people are coming forward.

@Zidentia You’re trying to discourage people from having faith in Nintendo that they will fix this issue, all because you have such selfish pessimism. I’d say you’re the troll here.

So responding to those reading my back-and-forth with Donkey Kong Fan. Nintendo makes great games and historically great hardware. It’s expensive and you need to prepare that your controllers might break. Drift is a common issue. Budget for it. Nintendo will fix Joy Cons for free but you can be without a controller for weeks. A Pro Controller fix is $40 which is $20 less than a new one on sale. And despite the nasty comments you can enjoy Nintendo games and recognize their flaws. We can all enjoy their games without pedestaling them or fanboy vitriol. The gaming world is a big tent. I hope people will continue to support each other here, celebrate Nintendo and all the excitement its games bring us, and that mods will nix any fanboy behavior that resorts to name-calling and accusations. We don’t need that here. https://xkcd.com/386/

@koffing Why should we budget for the fact that Nintendo was too lazy to fix the most glaring problem of their controllers for 3.5 years? The Joycons are the most poorly made controllers by Nintendo by far. You don't even have to try to break them before they start having problems. My Joycons were drifting constantly and both thumbsticks had come completely off within the first year of use, and I wouldn't pay another $80 just to have the same thing happen again. No controller in the history of Nintendo has been this horrible, and they're still charging a ludicrous amount for these even though they've clearly been shown to be objectively bad.

$60 and no drift is what is needed

@CT2401 ... cause you want to play Nintendo games? You can read my previous responses to see where I am on the subject of Joy Cons. I think it’s clear.

@LatsaSpege @Coxula @Ghostchip @Jacadamia @Donkey-Kong-Fan @Synecdoche As others have mentioned, Pro controllers also develop stick problems. I've been using mine for 2.5 years now, and I first noticed minor drift at the 12 month mark.

In my case, the left stick now suffers from permanent intermittent resistance in the "up" direction. I apply the simple fix of opening the stick calibration screen (under the system menu) and slowly making a few full rotations, so that the cursor travels steadily along the on-screen circle. This fix, however, only lasts for several minutes, and has become a fixed ritual when I activate my docked Switch.

What a shame this issue has become. I take great joy in using my flawlessly-performing NES, SNES and GCN controllers, and I even violated a long-standing rule in order to purchase a Switch in its launch year. I rather like the separated, "loose arms" nature of the Joy-Con. I quite appreciate the Pro Controller when it functions properly. And I absolutely adore HD Rumble (where are the new, richly haptic Wave Race and F-Zero, oh people of Kyoto?). Even so, I certainly won't be buying any future Nintendo hardware until my local and online communities can both attest to their good functioning over a timespan of years, at least.

@Supadav03 you only get 1 tho you get 2 for 80 bucks still cheaper for 2 joycons then 2 ps or xbox controllers

@rjejr that's Walmart. Walmart has everything Nintendo $10 cheaper than elsewhere. At least the ones near me do.

@COVIDberry Video, or it didn’t happen.

This is probably so they don't have to offer free JoyCon repairs in Japan. Which reminds me that I need to pay some money and get my original JoyCons repaired. GRRRRR.

@RastaJedi You may be right, could have just been Walmart. I drove my kid there to buy Astral Chain day 1 for $50. It's like a 5 minute drive.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan answering my "Pro Controller also drifts" commentary: "No it doesn’t. ... Quit spreading lies already."
Yes, they do. I have 4 of them for reasons: Two of them drift.
So stop telling me being a liar for no reasons.

@rjejr I never heard an explanation as to why, but it's always been that way around me. I love it!

@Coxula Post a video or you’re lying. I’ve had one pro controller for a year and it’s not drifting at all. There’s a reason “pro controller drift” is not a phrase and there’s also a reason why Nintendo is not being sued because of the pro controller. Again, quit spreading lies.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan

A sample size of 1 is the ultimate proof. Don't let people tell you differently.

Here is Nintendolifes guide to fixing pro controller drift if yours ever starts drifting. But I'm sure you'll never have that issue and they created that guide for the sole purpose of upsetting you.

https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/guide-how-to-fix-a-drifting-nintendo-switch-pro-controller

I'm pretty sure everyone can guess it's because of the drift. Wouldn't it be better to just fix them instead of selling discounts on possibly nonworking items?

Yes but only if NoA follows through with it by bringing back single Joy Cons to North America.

That said it’s only a temporary fix, those Joy Cons will eventually get drift as well. Unless you replace the faulty Joy Con’s joystick entirely then it’s just kicking the can down the road.

Nintendo has been abusing his fans lately, myself included. I wonder what they are going to do to get their trust back the next gen, with the Switch U or whatever they come up with.

I see so many people complaining about drift, it's quite simple to fix. My one joycon used to drift pretty bad, i got some WD-40 electrical cleaner for like 5 bucks, lifted the little flap under the joy stick, sprayed it, hasnt drifted again. It's been about a year and a half since i did that, and my switch is used on a daily basis. Quick, easy, inexpensive fix.

It's like they know that people just want to buy the left joy-con, because it sucks, but refuse to accept it.

I think it's for the best, they make most of their money from software so having controllers that work perfectly should be a priority.

...now can we get it confirmed for Europe? Even if I have to deal with the Nintendo UK store I'd buy them for a discount.

YAY! Yay! Yay. yay... yay?

@ToadBrigade

Pro Tip: Want to get rid of your Joy Con Drift? Just grab a Q-tip, dip it in some rubbing alcohol, put it around the Joy-Con Sticks, and there. They're fixed.

I'd pay $10 more for a more durable joycon.

Sticking w/ my post from last week that $39.99 was the price at launch. Could be wrong, but I feel I'd remember if Nintendo had the audacity to charge $50 for 1/2 a controller.
They were $40 for a single at launch, $70 for a pair.
Then the singles disappeared.
Then the pair went to $80.
Now the singles come back at $40.

Pair should really be $70 if the singles are $40. OK $74.99.

@Supadav03 dualsense 5 is 69.99 not 59.99. not much of a difference in price. Nintendo offers gyro and you basically have a hybrid 2 in 1 controller so the price is perfectly fine.

@Coxula they do replace it if you contact them. As for the pro controller I have a day one controller and no issues at all with it. I also have three switches and 12 joy cons and we have had issue with only one set. The joy con issue is not as big of a issue as people let on.

Out of my 4 controllers (red and blue for each side), 3 of them have had drift, two had shoulder buttons not working. But, sent them in to UK repair and they sorted them for free.
It's shame it was needed, but just like computer games nowadays, send it out unfinished and just patch it later

@HotGoomba could you elaborare please? i have an old deifting Joy-Con I might try this on, since I don't use it anymore.

$40 is still insane... Got my Hori Split Pad PRO for $49 after my Drift issue. Never looked back.

Find I Use the back triggers more than motion control anyway. They will be perfect for Age of Calamity

Why do I fear they feel they're going to win the lawsuit, stop free repairs, and then expect their customers to buy new joycons

I feel like this is the first ever gen of gaming where Nintendo have dropped the ball. Yes, saleswise it's great but some of the admirable qualities of Nintendo are fading. Quality control was a cornerstone of Nintendo and the drifting is appaling. The limited time releases of digital content is something even EA and Activision don't do. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was missing from All Stars (ok that last one isn't as bad...)
I wonder if there's some management change in the company causing this slide. Concerning...

@Dirty0814 “perfectly fine” for YOU. Many of us feels it’s to expensive. Even if DualSense5 is only $10 cheaper (it packs gyro too) it’s still cheaper & is a brand new product, not 4 years old. Plus I’ve never had drift issues with PS or Xbox 1st party controllers the way I have with all 3 sets of $80
Joy-cons I own.

I LOVE Nintendo, Switch & the joy-cons BUT they either need to be reduced in price or be fixed of all drift issues. That’s my personal opinion. Feel free to agree or not.

Still too expensive for something where so, so many are having basic problems with. (Drift makes the joycon usesless and unusable)

I recently bought a pair because my left one is not working. Tbf, it was time to upgrade because both were starting to get old.

Damn I was really hoping to get drop on the two joycons. $99 is too expensive for me.

Still too expensive if they dont fix the problem.

@ComposedJam I have no idea

@clvr this video should explain it better:

https://youtu.be/GURa16H_QvM

They stopped selling loose ones here in my country, only in pairs.

I had completely forgotten that these were available individually!

Just remember that it is all fixable, right now, with a deadzone adjustment in software, that nearly EVERY SINGLE piece of software ever written except Switch software has the ability to adjust.

https://old.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/g8a0bc/fix_joy_con_drift_by_adjusting_stick_deadzones_on/

Both emulators had it. There is a zero deadzone on the sticks. This translates into negative and you move. Simple fix. Nintendo wont do it and I hope you understand why by now.

Did the math, with taxes from differing provinces in Canada. It's MORE EXPENSIVE to buy two individual Joy Cons than it is to buy a set, assuming both are at full price.

@HotGoomba thanks, I'll take a look later tonight! Have a good one 😄

Lol typical Nintendo.

Might as well just sell left joy cons. All of mine have drift.

Nice, so they're finally bringing the price more in line with the cheap quality of this product... oh wait, no it still costs 40 Euros, way too expensive for this subpar controller.

For that price, I'll just get an 8bitdo controller.

As it is, the price of Joycons, both singles, and pairs, are too expensive, and they have problems, mainly the drift. This problem would be worsened if there were more titles that required no other controller, but the Joycons. It reminds me of the WU, in that a lot of the Gamepad hardware went predominantly unused in numerous games. To my knowledge, I don't really use much of the Joycon hardware, except occasionally the hd rumble in Odyssey, and also occasionally the nfc in the right Joycon.

For me, they are still too expensive if the problems have not been addressed.

If they fix the problem, then I would gladly buy a new pair at full price!

@Zidentia "Joy-Con +" controllers incoming!

Honestly I can see them pulling a "Wii Motion Plus" with the Joy-Con to have better joysticks, analog triggers and reduced drift.

Okay, maybe not All of those things, but a new model of Joy-Con with some added feature seems plausible if a "Super Switch" is actually being developed right now.

NINTENDO ARE DIRTY!

Slap in the face of Nintendo customers.

I would rather they just permanently fix the damn things.

This surely has been said, but should have been that way from the beginning.

And the drift Nintendo, what are you going to do about the drift? And are you going to fix/replace my drifting left Joy-Con?

@GamePerson19 Maybe for the Switch Pro, or at least the Switch 2... there’s a lot that could be tweaked with the Switch’s design... just wondering if Nintendo will stick with the Switch brand or go off trying something crazy.

Still too high for the problems they have. I’m honestly about to start looking into third party options. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hmm.. I think the price for a set of joycons should go down also. Nintendo would probably sell more if they had more color options and a slightly lower price point-$ 69.99/ pair.

As for the drift doesn’t Nintendo fix them for free still if you contact them? I know it sucks but it’s something. Also if you don’t want to send them in you can buy an analog stick on Amazon for about $8 and fix it yourself in less than 30 min. I’ve had 3 drift issues over my 3 sets of joycons all in the left analog stick. I had to send my first set in before it was free ($40!) and decided to try to fix it myself the next time it happened since the repair cost almost as much as a new joycon. I will say that I haven’t had any repeat drift issues once they’ve been replaced so I wonder if there’s a difference in the quality of the new sticks.

@GamePerson19 I would be great with that especially if it fixes the problem. I have been waiting over six months on a fix for my Joycon and I may just but one but not until they fix the issue.

i dont think ive even seen single joycons sold individually in my stores. and the price cut still makes them cost half the price of a full set. so, yay?..

@koffing
I have most of the consoles Nintendo made, portable and not, and this is the first issue I have had. I did give them some leeway initially but now it is a true problem because they have no fix unlike the Wii controller problem. They have acknowledged it but that helps little in this situation. I waited until I could not stand it and requested repair on the left Joycon six months ago and still no word. Certainly the Pandemic has impacted them I will grant you that but there needs to be a permanent solution.

Kay. Will only be interested if they're drift-free.

@chardir That's true.

Still overpriced, should be $19.99 each at the most

If they release a right side purple con I’ll def pick one up. 💜

Why can't they release gray joycons as singles? Am I missing something?

@cleveland124 Using your logic, here's the ultimate proof that PS4 controller drift is a huge issue:

https://techtalk.currys.co.uk/tv-gaming/gaming/how-to-fix-analog-stick-drift-on-your-ps4/

As I said there is a reason why "pro controller" drift is not a common phrase. And the fact that you posted an article instead of a video proves you're either lying, trying to fear monger, or both.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan

You clearly don't understand what I was saying as I said one use case was proof of nothing.

Are you saying Nintendolife is lying? Because it would seem so as I just gave a link to their article and I didn't give an opinion. How about you take it back a step instead of calling anybody who experiences issues or has a different opinion a liar. It makes me think you don't know how to form an argument and just focus on trying to bully people.

Oh my GOD Nintendo! It's been almost 4 damn years! Just make new, better JoyCon already instead of selling the same old broken garbage!

@Andy_Witmyer Yeah. You did miss something. For some reason, Nintendo DISCONTINUED the gray JoyCon. At least I think that's how the story went.

@Bermanator That is incredibly effing stupid. I love Nintendo, but cancelling their solid grey controllers is just so... them. It's peak Nintendo!

so basically by reducing the price they are stating that they're not willing to fix the issue within the controller itself. Instead of fixing them they rather just drop the price and not even to a good one. Nintendo's controllers are way too expensive for the quality they offer.