Nintendo Reportedly Arguing Switch Joy-Con Drift "Isn't A Real Problem"

How disgraceful if true. I can assure you it's true. I've never had this kind of problem with previous console controllers within months of getting them

Thats what the money maker said to the the spender. edit: I mean do that not here me yelling about be some how getting my joycon fix during a covid. Edit: now I know were they get the name joycon the joy is its fun and partys, its great little ver of the wii remote, I can break them a part or make it a controller, cons: joycon drift.

This was the theory I had before. The reason they haven't done anything about it is because of the lawsuits. Fixing the problem would be used as an admission of wrongdoing.
Catch-22 nightmare.

Never experienced it on switch or switch lite. But I often use pro controller or Hori split pads so I’m not really a good sample.

I've owned consoles before and my controllers wore out. I usually bought another instead of taking the company to court. Man, I've been doing it wrong.

Never had a problem with my Switch if I'm honest. And as I've had it day one, if I did start to drift, I would assume they need replacing...again, not via a law suit.

Didn't Nintendo of Japan president Shuntaro Furakawa come out recently and say that he recognizes joycon drift is a problem? Or am I just remembering incorrectly?

Just repaired mine with cheap 10$ kit from amazon that came with 3 spare joysticks... I hate that the joycons are sooo poorly designed but I love my Switch too dearly to hold a grudge at Nintendo... But I do hope newer hardware versions (pro next year?) will not have the same issues !

@Abeedo he lied.

I've had some drift on the first set of joy-con that came with my launch Switch. What I'm mostly experiencing though is unresponsiveness, connection issues and joy con just randomly turning off, all with the dock and Switch in plain sight, in front of my tv. Very annoying.

@Snatcher Thank God! Now that Nintendo has retracted their statement, this surely means my Joycons have stopped drifting!

Edit: I went and checked. Sadly they have not.

It's too bad an otherwise great console is tainted by this one issue that I believe could be fixed if Nintendo would only put the neccesary effort into it. One thing is for sure: not buying a pro model until it's confirmed these issues are fixed. We're three and a half years in, come on Nintendo.

Ah, yes, it isn't a real problem when we've had to send all of our Joy-Con in at least once AND one time, one was completely replaced. Nope. Not one bit.

Never had this happen with any other Nintendo system, though my Wii U GamePad has loose sticks and some of our GameCube controllers have stiff joysticks.

Yeah Nintendo, not like I had to send TWO PAIRS of Joy Cons to you guys only to find that the I can JUST PUT RUBBING ALCOHOL AROUND THE STICKS OR ANYTHING!

so how is everyone's day so far?

I'll just stick with the contact cleaner method. Yeah It's a temporary fix but I'll take that over shelling out 70 dollars for a new pair or taking them apart everytime they start drifting. The cleaner is affordable and it only takes 5 minutes. New controllers are not and instead of waiting for them to be fixed or a new set to be shipped i could be playing my games.

It is what it is. Every game system has it's quirks.

Nintendo is willing to sell shoddy thumb sticks as much as any business looking to trade crappy wares for your cash. To me, the Switch marks a slide in their concern for quality hardware

"Cue outrage" is right.

It's silly to say it's not a problem at all. But you'd think, reading some of the nonsense people post, that joycon drift is a bigger problem that COVID-19 or the genocide in Yemen or the problems in Hong Kong.

But it's 2020. Outrage culture is very real.

The issue isn't the drift itself since thats an inherent risk of joysticks but how widespread it is with Joy-Cons

@Dezzy "Catch-22 nightmare"

Yeah. And extra tricky for the japanese culture I guess.

Only way out would actually be a new Switch model where the drift issue is fixed - but can be communicated as just part of the new model - instead of admitting an issue on the current one.

Any complaint is outrage, any reaction is being triggered. I do hope nuance makes a comeback one of these days.

Consumers: after six or seven months of usage, my joy cons acts funny, it's kind of moving on its own🤔 WTF!!

Nintendo: ehnn! It's not a real problem. You know what? It hasn’t caused anyone any inconveniences

Consumers: 🤯🤯.

Unbelievable, Nintendo lies!!

Just admit it Nintendo your controller hardware has a real issue, you're covering it up to safe yourselves.

Maybe it's time for all of us that are experiencing joycon drift to come out and sue Nintendo for defective product, the same way they fight against piracy.

@xxx128 my bros have the same issues. I had a joy con drift issue...do they make them like they used to? I don't know because I had a N64 that had a joystick that limp to the left....stupid 1080.

@xxx128 Nah, go google how many others have it with the ps4 controller, no chance. My friend gave me his battered one when he sold his console and forgot about the spare controller and it works just fine despite the wear and knocks.

So i am on the band wangon of no joycon troubles after 3 years. I also have 3 different sets. All work fine no drift. Got 3 kids so they get shared around

Like many of us, I’ve had dozens of wireless controllers but had never experienced drift before I bought my launch switch.

2 sets of joy cons with drift so bad they completely ruined your progress in games. Fortunately the 2 pro controllers don’t have an issue for me (or Nintendo’s coffers) or the hori split pad.

@dil_power how is the quality

Cue outrage alright. Hearing this is worrying. While I thought we would get closer to an official acknowledgement/solution what with all the lawsuits and all, Nintendo just re-emphasizes that it doesn't want to admit that they screwed up. Great. Really f***ing disappointing.

There's no way they'll be able to convince anyone of this.

Guys we are all just imagining the drift, trick of the eye or something when our characters start wandering around on their own in game.

Bought two Switches at launch, may just be an early model issue but both left joy cons were quickly replaced with the Hori D-Pad ones and not had any issues since

Love their brands as much as the next fanboy but let's not pretend Nintendo gives and F about us, it's all dollaz.

@GrailUK They wore out within a couple of months?

I know it sounds as though Nintendo is being a giant tool about this, but this is all posturing by lawyers. Nintendo is fully aware this is a problem, but they can't have the case decided by a judge, so the lawyers have to string it out as long as possible with whatever opposition they can muster. Nintendo is realistically looking to settle this as painlessly as possible, and in the end we'll probably get our joy cons fixed or a check for a few dollars.

I've had my Switch since launch with 2 sets of Joy Con's. Up until recently I've never had an issue so always wondered what all the fuss was about.

Recently though, particularly since I've been playing 3D allstars it's happening alot.

The left joy con's keep randomly losing connection and sometimes Mario seems to have a mind of his own and runs round in circles.

Can be extremely frustrating in a tight situation where you need precision control.

I've certainly had my use out of them and wouldn't begrudge buying a new set if I knew that would resolve the issue.

The weird thing is that it doesn't do it all the time, sometimes I can play for hours with no problem them bam. So annoying

I love doing precise tight platforming challenges in sunshine with the camera spinning in circles

Or the switch menu moving to the right so I can't play the games on the left

Or being stuck in f smash

Or not being able to run full speed in 2d games

6 times, each time fixed by Nintendo without hesitation... clear admission of guilt right there.

I've had drift on my two pairs of joycons (launch Switch grays and launch era red-blue). Had drift in April 2017, had it repaired. Again in August 2019 & just last month in 2020 the rails chipped and lights stopped working & they detected drift then and repaired the joysticks again. Love the switch, hate the shoddy joycons.

Oh, Nintendo. you silly company you.... 🤦🏻‍♂️

Drift bricked my Switch.

I cannot play it.

FU Nintendo.

@Dezzy Nope, at least not legally, but perhaps in terms of publicity. Federal Rule of Evidence 407 says evidence of subsequent remedial measures is inadmissible for the purpose of showing a product was defective or had a defective design (among other things)

@LEGEND_MARIOID Never had a controller wear out in 2 months! I've had one thrown out of a window in disgust and smashed to bits lol...but the shop wouldn't replace it hahah!

And this is why I've been opting for the PS4 version of a multiplatform game...

Joy Con drift will disappear with the warmer weather. It’ll be like a miracle.

I still haven’t experienced it. Got mine in 2017 🤷🏻‍♂️ What I have noticed is the cheap plastic used on the sticks of pro controller which leave a dusty white debris around the stick. 👎

Those joy-cons are just low quality. They're flimsy: not up to the requirements of long repeated rough play.

I just wish they didn't charge so bloody much for replacement ones. They're basically a consumable; you should be able to replace them for a tenner or so. They're just flimsy bits of crap.

@variableman I hope Furakawa-san doesn't get joy-con drift on his own Switch. Thoughts and prayers.

Hahaha not a problem?
I have had five Joycon issues so far on five different left side JoyCons. And I take good care of mine. In the same period no issues with my PS controllers or other hardware.

I still love my Switch

Glad I got mine at Elgiganten (DK retailer) as they send them in, and extend the warranty each time). So never really cost me more than a bit of time over the three years or so (apart from needing to have an extra spare).

I still have my day one Joy-Con, and they STILL do not drift. However I take good care of my hardware.

In the same time I had 2 PS4 controllers break on me.

What do you expect them to care about their product quality? They dedicated their resources into the jailbreaking company.

Looks like Nintendo doesn't want to give away the money just yet. They'll use the money to create the Switch Pro without joycon supports then they'll either appeal or settled out of court after the Switch Pro made them millions of smackeroos.

Yup, both my left joy cons drift. It's quite irritating. Usually I play with the pro controller anyway but there are times where I want to use the joy cons and... yeah.

Currently just hoping for Nintendo to release the Switch Pro already with revised controllers honestly.

@PoundShopOrwell What made you choose a Bergman pic on a Nintendo news site?

Latest statement from the President of NoA, Doug Bowser:

“Joy-Con drift is just Sony’s latest hoax. It’ll disappear by itself, trust me. You’ll see. It’ll disappear, just like that. Like magic. Poof. We’re doing a great job. Everything’s going great. Amazing. Fantastic. We’ve got the best people on the job. Best in the world. Trust me, really. My dad works at Nintendo. I mean, my kids’ dad. He’s a pretty swell guy I hear. Probably the most swellest ever. Certainly the handsomest. And certainly the smartest. That guy is one SMART chicken. But like, not a chicken. No way. More like a dragon. A BIG dragon. And let me tell you one thing, they don’t have smart guys like that over at Sony. Nope. They’ve got, like... maybe one, two guys who are like, even 10% as smart as that guy. Probably more like 0.10%. Not so smart. Just a bunch of losers. Total losers. And suckers. And phoneys. Yeah, like should be called PHONEY not SONY cause of how crooked they all are. Bunch of crooks. Sad.

...You want to talk about Joy-Cons? Who said anything about Joy-Cons? Not me, that’s who. Did you know I once got a perfect score in Wii Sports Golf? You probably didn’t. Nobody reports that. And not just once. Every time. I get holes-in-ones every time. Even on par 5. Even on par 6, 7, 8, BAM! In the hole. Just like that. Y’know, they call me the God of Wii Sports Golf... /rambles on inconsequentially ad infinitum/”

Left joycon is drifting. About 90% of my gaming on the Switch is with the pro controller, so the joycon drifting is definitely premature.

I had my left joy con drifting and Nintendo UK repaired it FOC. It's pretty bad that it's coming to this based on the fact so many joy cons have this problem.

This is a misleading headline. There are no public statements from Nintendo saying that. The law firm is the one making that claim.

I had it on 3 out of 4 joycons!!! Was unable to play for months whilst awaiying the repair. Nintendo did it and gave me a extra years warranty.

I have controllers that have no issues from over 20 years ago, this is very much a major hardware issue in the joycons

Just fix it Nintendo. Those things are expensive.

Is that what causes my Switch to behave as if I'm continually pushing my analogue stick to the right?

Poor reporting, NL.

Nintendo didn’t go on record as saying “it isn’t a real problem”; the law firm fighting the case paraphrased the attitude that Nintendo is taking, and you’ve turned it into a quote.

Yes I don’t agree on Nintendo’s stance either, but this is an example of click bait.

I'd like to see the email from Nintendo lawyers where they claim that JoyCon drift "isn’t a real problem or hasn’t caused anyone any inconvenience", because that sounds like a bold hill to die on.

@GrailUK Ha ha, fair enough. I'm sure I saw a weird youtube video of someone dropping a Switch out of a helicopter or something and it survived and was reasonably playable. Just had a crack somewhere or something.

Yet these dang joycons! I've never experienced anything like this before with numerous console controls

My left Joy Con started experiencing drift last week. I play Mario 64 with the Pro Controller, but Galaxy with the Joy Con is getting very annoying now. I don't want to buy a new set either, they're quite expensive, and they haven't solved the issue as far as I'm aware.

"It's not a big, it's a feature". If that's the case, screw you Microsoftendo

I was lucky in that it took 2 and a half years to start on mine but I can't use mine anymore it's that bad. Because of lockdown I haven't used my Switch undocked as I haven't taken it anywhere and have a pro controller for home use so I haven't bothered to get it fixed yet but the memory of it is rage inducing.

All of my 4 joy cons are affected by joy con drift. I tried to get in touch with Nintendo Austria/Germany customer service, but they don't give a f***, so I had to do it myself. That means on top of my initial investment I had to invest another 25€ to get replacement analog sticks.

Paying for new joy-con's and getting rinsed again is a problem. In fact, I've lost confidence in Nintendo hardware. Any new developed tech will be bought very, very cautiously if at all! There ya go Ninty! Con enough people and your integrity gets flushed away.

Knowing Nintendo they prob see it as part of the experience and think we should accept that.

There needs to be more noise about this.

Naturally, if they admit that it is they open themselves up to a 65million units of compensation liability.

Article title is a little misleading. The article reads more like the lawfirm is implying, by their own statement, that Nintendo believes “Joy con drift is not a real problem“. Nowhere in the article has Nintendo actually stated themselves that it is not a real problem, as the title implies.

In the immortal words of Ivan Drago of Rocky IV:

"You will lose!"

I have 3 Switches (one original model, one newer model, one Lite) and two Pro controllers. I play Splatoon 2 and I have four other family members playing on them. In the past year one Joycon and both Pro Controllers got drift (I am amazed that journos never mention that the Pro Controller has the same issue. I contacted Nintendo and a Pro Controller repair was $40.) Is that end of the world? No! That’s the rest of 2020.. But did I expect two $70 “Pro” controllers to malfunction after 1-2 years? No. To replace them all would be $210 ... and the new controllers could still fail. It’s hard to make that kind of investment. And this bug makes every game worse. Splatoon sucks when you randomly can’t aim, but you live in fear in Animal Crossing that you might accidentally tell an animal to get off your island. Same with many other games. Some Joy Con drift choices can be devastating. And there is no third party equivalent to Nintendo controllers because only Nintendo controllers can power on the system, have the rumble and motion controls, and NFC. They won’t allow 3rd parties to have feature parity and actually compete or I would get an 8bitdo.

Nintendo are really extracting the urine with this one. I've had to replace my left joycon analogue stick twice, purely due to drift making games unplayable.

@BreathingMiit get one of these and you can fit a new one in 3-4 mins. I've done it twice now. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Replacement-Joystick-Analog-Nintendo-Controller/dp/B07VLYGLF4

Nintendo fixes drifting for free on warranty, so i can't understand why someone sue Nintendo.

My left Joy Con suddenly got heavy drifting after 1 year. Fixed.
Right Joy Con drifts down sometimes, will probably need to fix that too.

I've had my Switch for over a year and a few months. I bought it last May 2019 I think. Haven't had the drift yet. I've played 700+ hours of Fifa and almost 100 hours of Hollow Knight + a couple of RPG games. I think I have been really careful in handling the switch especially the left joycon for the fear of the drifting. I do believe the joycon drifts and this is unacceptable for a company as big as Nintendo to deny the drifting issues.

Had my Switch a couple of years before I first had drifting. Same time my PS4 controller started drifting.

I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to say its not a problem without some kind of defence. Nintendo probably have a decent law team with the amount of times they get lawsuits. I question the creditability the statememt, this is just to drum up support and cause outrage.

I should do something about my drift...

@Paperboy that used to happen to me too, turns out I wasnt updating my joycons. Thats an additional manual update that you have to do on the settings. Hope that helps you out!

this is ridicolous, Nintendo hardware quality in this generation is disapointing, where is the companie notorious for the resilience of it products, Switch hardware quality don't live with the standard of the companie, that even have a still working Game Boy that suffered in the Golf Wars, Hiroshi Yamamuchi and Satoru Iwata would be very sad and disapoited by Switch hardware quality.

@Yanina They’re playing the finest game of all.

So would this be a statement from Nintendo of Japan themselves, or from Nintendo of America? Just genuinely curious. Plus, didn’t the CEO of Nintendo of Japan admit it was a problem recently?

I still can't believe people have so much time on their hands they can sue Nintendo. Perhaps if they put that time in to enjoying their hobbies and working they would be able to afford a new set of joycons instead of refund begging like tramps on the street. Unless of course there hobbies and jobs include suing people in which case i don't know what to say.

@Moonlessky I've updated my joy con in the past, but not recently, so I'll definitely check that, thanks a lot! Isn't it weird though the joy-con don't automatically update when attached to the Switch?

lol not a real problem
i barely play switch in handheld mode anymore due to the constant drift issue. tired of fixing/replacing the joysticks too.

I truly don't understand why some people cannot accept that just because they haven't existing joycon drift doesn't mean others haven't. If you only have two joycon and can't afford to buy a spare controller while they are out for repair, your Switch turns into an expensive paperweight. My friend didn't have joycons for months as she sent hers out for repair just as COVID-19 hit and had to wait until repair centers reopened. That's not fair to her.

Use WD40 on the sticks and the problem is solved !!! How many of you, crybabies, have even tried without reading this histories of doom ?

I just got the notice from Nintendo that the left joy con I sent in for fixing is on it's way back to me. We'll see how that goes. The right one is very slowly starting to show signs of drift. The contact cleaner method works for a little while but the drift eventually comes back (came back hardcore with the left one every time). I caved in and bought a set of new joy cons when all this started happening a while back so I plan on sending any back for repairs when needed and my gaming won't be interrupted while I wait. Still a huge disappointment this is even a issue.

Joycon Drift vs team executer.... Who's the real crook here?!

That's like Microsoft denying it's RLOD on 360 🙄

What a joke.

Even if it only impact a small amount of user it is certainly a real problem for them.

Just hugely arrogant and tone death. This is no way to run a company.

It seems correct. I do not know anyone that has had the problem and I myself have never experienced it even with a three years old Joy-Con.

IT`S NOT ABOUT JUST CLEANING. IT`S ABOUT LUBRICATE !
SO DON`T USE JUST CONTACT CLEANER !!!

I've had issues on two sets of joycons so far and I know others who have as well

but take better care of your stuff

I treat mine like a baby, and most of my stuff still works 35 years later

Wow, Nintendo is making it really easy for me to not give them anymore money.

It blows my mind that they can try to say that it hasn’t caused anyone any inconvenience. It not only has been an obvious source of grief for gamers but it causes Nintendo inconvenience, for crying out loud. How many thousands of JoyCon have they had to repair over the years?

They’re not admitting it because it makes them liable to fix it. They’re staying the course and hoping the problem goes away. But it won’t.

It was the right side Joy Con that got me. Very annoying when the camera angle on certain games would just move on it’s own. Same with the Switch menu.

Of my launch model Switch, the left Joy-con got stucked a year later. The right stick started to drift six months after that. The pair I bought as shortly as the left stick was not working, started to fail way sooner. I replaced all four Joy-Cons. And without Nintendo, since I live in a third world country. Most of the complainers live in places where there's actual Nintendo service, and they repair them for free. You underestimate the service you get. I love my Switch too much. and controllers should wore off over time. On the Joy-Cons, it's obviously way faster, and even the Pro Controller drifts, but I remember that the N64 controller's stick also drifted, and it was waaaay worse. And no one complained about it.You just went along with it.

@jobvd tools were pretty decent however I cant comment on longetivity of new joystick yet since I only used for a couple days but I am confident I can easily replace it again.

@fafonio to be fair my original joysticks probably started drifting within less than 3 months... I cant imagine these knockoffs are much worse than Nintendo's ***** design

"Joycon drift is not a problem but we're happy to fix any drifting joycons you send to us for free"
-Nintendo

@dil_power is the feel of the sticks the same

Here's the biggest problem that must be overcome but alot of people don't admit to.
1. Documentation of issue from beginning.
2. Document repairs or lack of fixed repairs or failed mulitple repairs
3. Eyewitness accounts are danger pitfall in itself and worse when only Video recording no way to verify it.
4. Biggest Problem of All Claims : Anecdote =/= data
5. If then shown you have a justification.

If that can be done they you have a justification but having no documentation gives you little justification. I see the Lawyers asking people for personal video stories of so called evidence showing their lack of legal basis and Documentation. This to me tells they have lots of holes in their suit going forward. Video evidence that can't be challenged is problematic in itself and is only one side response when the other party can't question how or what was being said or done during that recording. So you can can see why video evidence that can't challenged in a court of law won't help the defense. Especially those giving can't be asked by the Defended retort questions.

@LEGEND_MARIOID So, you never bought a new PS3 or PS4? It is kind of sad that Nintendo's quality control is getting as bad as Sony's has been for years (or decades), but they're seemingly almost at the same level by now.

@alien011 Where are you getting Nintendo QC information from and not from he/she said? I like to know and so would alot of other Nintendo users.
Here's something to remember.
Anecdote =/= data.......

I sent my left Joy-Con in for repair probably around the time Nintendo agreed to do the repairs for free. Not even a month after I got it back, it once again started drifting again. As much as I love Nintendo, I had the sneaky suspicion that they

1) either didn't do any repairs

2) Did and whatever this design flaw in the Joy-Con is something bigger that needs to be addressed

3) Or they sent me a whole different Joy-Con and it was on its way to drifting.

I don't really know. But what I do know is if their attitude is to release really shoddy products and not seriously acknowledge when there is an issue, I am fully prepared to move on from Nintendo in the future if this is how it's gonna be.

@alien011 Yes, yes I have. What is your point? My point still stands.

During these past years since launch I've had 6 joycons and three of those started to drift within a year of use.
So 50% of my joycons.

@LEGEND_MARIOID The 1st gen PS4 controllers also broke fast, the L- and R-trigger buttons and the joysticks were the main issues.

nintendo being dismissive. nothing new but it's very insulting and frustrating. i've had to deal with a total of 3 joycons pair with the drift issue and only one was sent for repair and it still drifted 2 months after, this is where i completely gave up. They're deffinitely not getting my money with their next gen offering. Joycons cost 99$ in canada, we deffinitely shouldn't be dealing with such crap when $70 controllers from microsoft and sony have none of these issues. Believe it or not, i have seen people say it's ok it's the norm because you can fix them for free. yeah sure, crawl back in your basement , this is not ok that the drifting issue is the norm.

@Edu23XWiiU Ugh but even you admit joy-cons wear faster than most current day controllers!

@SwitchForce TronixFix. And my own joycon. It's the way those things were constructed, the contacts get dirty way too easy. You can fix joy con drift by taking apart the joy con and then the stick itself and clean the contacts with rubbing alcohol, but that doesn't neccessarily fix the problem (and you might break the stick's housing).

Nintendo is making it worse for themselves by digging their heels in like this. They could win the case but the fallout from them digging their heels in could meaningfully hurt them.

@Casual_Gamer95 Sony controllers have their own problems. The L- and R- triggers wear out way to easily (also a pretty easy fix, I normally use silicone from a hardware store for that), the rubbers on the sticks themselves wear off way too easily and the potentiometers are pretty bad. I do like Xbox One controllers, because they don't have an internal battery, but the potentiometers aren't too good either.

@SwitchForce As quoted from https://www.everything2.com/title/The+plural+of+anecdote+is+not+data#:~:text=The%20plural%20of%20anecdote%20is%20not%20data%20,is%20not%20causation%20%201%20more%20rows%20

"Anecdotes are not data, but they play an important role in contributing to knowledge. An anecdote is a form of information. It is a form of evidence, to be given its due weight."

No it's not direct data, but it's important information. Especially in this case when there are thousands and thousands of these cases occurring.

https://www.polygon.com/nintendo-switch/2019/9/28/20888540/nintendo-switch-joy-con-drift-lawsuit-switch-lite-repairs

This website contains the entire documentation to the class action lawsuit. All 100 pages from the website that outline testimonies, the logistics, the hardware behind joy-cons, and the justification for the lawsuit in the first place. I implore you to look at this. I get that you like Nintendo. So do I. But if you have a YouTube channel, you should also care about the fanbase right? Instead of dismissing Nintendo fans for the sake of bowing down to Nintendo, I think you should really see the significance of this issue!

Whom was dismissing whom now. If they don't document the problems from beginning to end. You have no basis to go off of and the other side can side this will dismiss the case.
And again.
Anecdote =/= data
You have to have Reliable Data to backup claims so they can't poke holes in it. That is why Lawyers now are asking for people video claims that makes it problematic.

@alien011 Honestly never heard from the numerous owners of 1st gen controllers I know or read that anywhere in gaming media. I am far more a Nintendo console gamer though tbf but the Ps1 to 4 controllers have never had a drift or trigger problem for me.

Sure, may get knackered controllers after years upon years of heavy usage by multiple ppl, but drift after 2 months? Never had a problem with previous console controllers after mere months usage. Like more than one joycon controller after mere months as well.

The current joycons I have seem to have lasted a little longer though , thank the Lord.

Behind the L- and R- trigger buttons there is a silicone button. On the PS3 and before these silicone buttons were filled, on the PS4 Sony decided to save some millicents (or microcents or whatever) and removed some silicone from inside the button, so that PS4 controllers have a small ring of silicone over the contact. I hope you understand what I mean from the description. The trigger button itself is shaped like a triangle, with only a very thin part pressing into the silicone, which then presses down the contact. If you play a lot of racing games, for example, where you have to press one of the trigger buttons quite a lot, you get a permanent crease in the silicone from the constant pressure. If this crease is deep enough, the silicone won't press down the contact anymore, which means the trigger stops working. You get (or used to get) quite a lot of PS4 controllers with defective L- or R- trigger, and that's generally because of this. Fixing it is quite easy, you go to the hardware store and buy some silicone normally used when setting up your bathroom and then fill up the hollow part of the silicone button with it.

@SwitchForce The problem also lies in the fact of Nintendo's lack of ANY data. This lawsuit started over a year ago. If Nintendo really had the data on their side, they'd release the data. Someone else who just like you thought Nintendo was a perfect angel of a company said that they would only believe this was an issue if Nintendo released the statistics regarding how many joy-cons had been sent in for repair due to joy-con drift. The problem is, Nintendo one year later still hasn't done it. Why? Because it's inevitable it would only hurt their case because the numbers are not on their side. Instead we get a statement with nothing to back it up saying that joy-con drift is not a "real issue". Despite the fact that even you yourself had experienced joy-con drift and many other Nintendo fans had also, and the fact that even when not in warranty, Nintendo is fixing joy-con drift specifically for free, it's clear that there is an issue. Like I mentioned, the documentation of the class-action lawsuit goes over this in detail. It even as I said, outlines the hardware and technology behind the joy-con analog stick and can explains the cause of why these sticks are prone to drift more so than other analog sticks.

....Really? Sometimes I just don't understand you, Nintendo. You except us to really live with this defect even though fixing it really isn't fixing the problem?

Happened to me last month! Had to send one in and took almost 3 weeks to get it back. Thankfully I also have a Switch Lite I can use so it wasn't a burden. But this problem is real! I had that switch since December of 2017, and while it took a long while, it's still a problem.

@JoeyTS The reason why the joycons are more prone to drifting than other controllers is actually relatively easy. The PS4 and the Xbox controllers both use two potentiometers to have a two-axis-system (pretty much like the N64) and both of these potentiometers are pretty much encapsuled. The Joycon only uses one potentiometer, which isn't encapsuled at all. That means that a lot of grime from your fingers, dust, sweat and so on gets in there and ends up on the potentiometer. If you get too much dirt in it you'll have a permanent contact between the two parts of the potentiometer, resulting in Joycon drift. My guess why Nintendo used this system: Space. A controll stick with two potentiometers needs more space and the Joycons are already pretty full, with a lot of stuff cramped in.

@xxx128 I had two PS3 controllers do this, but this is happening over a decade after launch, not a couple of years and it's usually from mishandled and abused controllers. My original controller has been through multiple moves, a house flood, various children hands, and the second was bought used so who knows what with that one.

@PBandSmelly I know, it’s the BEST, right?!

I had setup to have mine fixed by Nintendo, but then Covid happened so I never sent them in. I haven't had a single issue with them since March, as if they just fixed themselves or Nintendo released a patch I didn't know about. I'm still debating on whether or not I should still send them in.

@bluemage1989 Yes, such a good hot take. My eyes rolled so hard I’m blind now.

This is what the company you defend thinks of you.

@bluemage1989 Hobbies? Like playing video games, it's kinda hard to enjoy that hobby, when your left joy-con drifts. I have a Switch from launch, that I can't play in handheld mode because of that and I refuse to pay a hundred dollars for another pair of joy-con controllers, so I play docked with a pro controller because it's a cheaper option.

As for free time, I can't speak for everyone else, but due to the pandemic at hand, I've lost about ten hours of work per week, so yeah I guess I've got some free time.

@bluemage1989 Dude, shut up.
Joy Con Drift is completely unacceptable from a modern consumer electronic device.

It's frustrating and Nintendo needs to fix it and own up to it! In my small world of people we have 3 switches. And an extra set of joycons.

8 joycons and two pro controllers total.

One joycon left stick had to be replaced.

3 three left sticks exibited drift. Thankfully wd-40 electrical contact cleaner was able to fix.

One of the two pro controllers started drifting bad, like about a 75% pull to the left. Not cool. Took apart and cleaned.

For comparison: three 3DS's, one 2DS flat, one 2ds XL and one DSlite. One issue of start button not working on a 2ds flat. Zero other issues this is with kids owning!

Three n64 controllers, two snes, genesis, cube, and 3d saturn controllers, no issues beyond n64 sticks a little loose. Not totally playable and no drift!

Several wiimotes, classic controllers, nunchuks and random third party controllers. No issues!

Nintendo has a problem and needs to own up to it!

I plan on making a 90 second video to submit!

Bonus fact! Out of three switches, one had the cooling fan crap out! Ended up doing surgery myself for my sister and installed new thermal paste and a new fan.

Bonus fact 2: My OG NES, SNES, two N64 several Gameboys, 3ds, Two cubes, three Wii's ( including a dumpster find) two wii u's ,sega cd, saturn, Dreamcast. Have had one issue out of all these systems, launch day Wii video card crapped out on about year 2, Nintendo repaired for $40.

Fast forward to current day: $150 fee for repair. I fixed in 45 min for about $24 in parts.

Nintendo had dropped drastically in hardware quality with the switch. It's bad. Very bad. Still love my switch, but Nintendo needs to own up to the issue and make a major design change with the sticks and also increase the quality of the switch construction.

Guess I'm not a good example, but I've been playing since launch day and got no drift in either my pro controller or any joycon... but I don't think everybody would be arguing for nothing.

I expected this to be fair.

If Nintendo come out and openly admit this is an issue, they'll have to replace millions of joy cons for free, not to mention recall those ones on the market.

Microsoft did that with the Xbox 360 and red ring fiasco. But it would be much harder for Nintendo to do the same, by harder I mean it would cost Nintendo way too much money to even entertain this notion.

They're desperately hoping this issue will go away if they ignore it long enough and keep saying "it's not really a problem". Because the alternative could genuinely ruin them.

You also need to consider, if Nintendo did admit to this, everyone will want a replacement, drifting or not, you'd want to replace it and Nintendo would have to do it for free.

They would need to pay both sides of the courier service too. Also all stores would send back all unsold joycons.

It would be a disaster and it could ruin Nintendo, they don't have Microsoft's deep pockets to even entertain such a thing.

I won't even mention the Lite, that would be a whole other can of worms. If the issue is indeed with the design of the controller as suggested, the Lite would need to be totally replaced or at the very least a new casing would be needed, the cost of such a thing would be catastrophic.

Edit: had drift twice and both times got it replaced so I know all about the annoyance of this.

@Yanina To your point, part of Bloomberg's report about a Switch Pro is the Joycon manufacturer patenting a new optical Joystick design as opposed to analog.

I can only hope that fixes Joycon Drift!

I got the letter from the law firm on that and I will be sending photos.

My original joycons that came with the device started having issues within the first couple of weeks, which I would put down to, "Oh, maybe the coffee table was kinda in the way?" but soon became "MY GOD THERE ARE ONLY A FEW FEET OF OPEN SPACE BETWEEN YOU AND THE CONSOLE".

My partner bought me a new pair of joycon one Christmas, which I immediately began to use as my main pair. I was also under the impression that drift had been fixed in later joycons, maybe I'd read something along those lines? A few weeks in... same thing. I persevered with them, until there came a point where as soon as you connected the joycon, they started wildly scrolling through the game select screen, any menus you might be in, spinning the camera around... They do the same connected to the Switch, too. They're essentially completely unusable now, and I've had to go back to my original pair with the more minor drifting. How long until they totally give in to the drift, too? Luckily we also have a pro controller which has never had any issues, but as I play Ring Fit and maybe 25% of my play is handheld I really do need a pair of working Joycon.

It's certainly not due to lack of care on my part. I look after my devices. I've never smashed a phone, I don't get gamer rage, I carefully attach my joycons back to my Switch when I'm done. I don't sit on them, or toss them around, and they've never been dropped. If drift wasn't an issue, then there wouldn't be so many reports of it happening. I love Nintendo, but I'm so disappointed by their apparent stance on this.

I love people defending Nintendo not saying it's a problem or fixing it by saying it would be used in a lawsuit. You know what they could've done? Just not made a ***** controller that somehow costs as much as actually quality ones. Mine got it and I don't even use them because I don't play portable.

Thankfully my Pro controller is fine.

I didn’t believe the drift thing was a widespread problem until it started gradually occurring for me a few months ago and increasingly got worse.

It has got to the point where I can only play my Switch in docked mode with a Switch Pro Controller. Playing in handheld mode with the Joy-con is impossible. It is incredibly frustrating.

I was going to send them to Nintendo for a fix, but the Australian service centre was shut down due to Covid-19. So, I either buy a new Joy-con set for $119 or wait.

Sad times.

Nintendo is only hurting their reputation with this lie.

@Ventilator "Nintendo fixes drifting for free on warranty, so i can't understand why someone sue Nintendo."

you missed the point.

the point of multiple countries suing nintendo is to force them to release a physical revision of the joycons that will not drift prematurely like the current ones.

It's a widespread issue that has affected millions of people already. it's angering people because nintendo, instead of actually fixing the problem, offers free repair by replacing the joysticks, which in turn will STILL end up drifting later or shortly after the repair process. So their "solution" doesn't fix anything currently, it's not a permanent solution, it's a temporary one.

i've had 3 pairs drifting and one was "fixed" but drifted 2 months after again. So i'm among the people that re pissed off and want to see nintendo accountable for the poor hardware quality.

The only other controller I've experienced a drift with is my first 360 controller I used for 5 years and which took accidental beatings often. Meanwhile the Joycons that came with my Switch and didn't so much as get bumped started drifting to an insane degree a year later, and the new pair I spent $90 on only 6 months later.

But yeah Nintendo, totally not an issue.

@Giancarlothomaz Imagine crediting hardware to ***** presidents. Even more when Switch itself is a product that came from Iwata era in the first place. Kimishima and Furukawa had nothing to do with this, the product came that way already, much like online service and other stuff.

That's classy Nintendo. Just like how dead pixels aren't a real problem, right?. ^^

@Casual_Gamer95 Okay then. It's still weird that Nintendo admitted the drifting earlier, and now they suddenly doesen't anymore officially.
If new ones also starts to drift is damn annoying.
Nintendo have by far enough money to replace all Joy Cons.

Microsoft spent billions and fixed all Xbox 360's at the blink of an eye of 1st gen consoles to not get bad reputation no matter the cost.
Ballmer said. Just fix them all worldwide and the case is out of the way.
Nintendo should do the same as Microsoft. Pay for it and be done with it. Move on.
Sounds easy, but it isn't. After all Nintendo is a old stubborn Japanese dinosaur like Sony.
Sony never admits anything either and never will.

Good luck playing Zelda BOTW with left joy con drifting all the time. Made the game a lot harder.

@Pod That's classy Nintendo. Just like how dead pixels aren't a real problem, right?. ^^
Did you say that to LCD from laptop to TV as well. This is a Trolling line at best.

"Nintendo fixes drifting for free on warranty, so i can't understand why someone sue Nintendo."

Exactly to the point why the suite is having problems going forward. It's called $$$$$$ bottom line. If they were suing to fix problem why are they asking for $$$$. I have yet to see car and business do that same results fixing but not Admitting to faults during recalls or legal cases. To compare Companies that Admitted guilt vs those that didn't. I can guarantee those that didn't admit was far larger then those at fault-even then those company would still said they didn't break the law. And if they go to Arbitration and they paid little in return to the clients. All the $$$ went to Lawyers first if they got any settlement.

It's like Corona to me. I just read about it in the media and don't know one human being who's affected by it. But I know: it's a serious thing!

I notice it once in a while in Animal Crossing, when my islander mysteriously turns another direction on his own. I think Nintendo has tried to correct it through firmware updates, and mostly with success, I'd say.

@Razer your points on the impossible costs involved are spot on. If they jumped in this in 2017 it would have cost a fraction of that, but they kept producing the things for years, and the second shortages of switch moved a ton more units. Lite never ever should have released until this was solved.

I've replaced 4 left sticks so far. It's an annoying repair, too. Not the worst, but annoying.

@LordVal i mean, you're surrounded by people that have been affected by joycon drift right here in this very thread....

@Yanina Japanese culture usually requires permanently denying a problem ever existed at all, while working overtime around the clock to quietly fix it, and never tell a soul, and never admit it was fixed, because there was of course never a problem to fix to begin with.

Current joycon wouldn't have the problem if Nintendo were doing it the Japanese way.

This is a really click bait title headline. Nintendo didn’t actually say those words - they’re from the legal team who are suing Nintendo.

This drifting issue, I think, is blown a little out of proportion. I have had a launch Switch with 2 set of Joy-Con with probably 3000 hours between them and I’ve never had a problem. 2 colleagues at work both have a Switch and they’ve never had a problem. My niece has Switch - no problem, my nephew has a Switch - also no issues.

The thing is, if someone doesn’t have anything to complain about, then you never hear the other side. I think the ratio of drift:no drift is way higher than those afflicted with this problem would like to think. Granted it definitely should never happen in the first place, and people who have this issue definitely have a right to complain. Nintendo did apologise in an investor meeting, so they know it’s a problem. And they should be fixing any of these issues for free... which they are... but it’s America... so let’s sue everyone. And their dog. Free money for all (lawyers)!

@Heavyarms55
I didn't spend money to buy Covid-19, or HongKong issues, or Yemen genocide. Yes, those are global problems, but that doesn't mean I have to spend every second of my life talking about those. There are other problems, albeit first world problems, and as a first world citizen, I talk about those as well.

If you order a pizza, and they deliver it cold, do you not complain because of Covid, HK and Yemen? If you bought a car, and it wouldn't start the next day, do you shrug it off because of Covid, HK and Yemen?

@NintndoNik
It's great that you and everyone you know haven't had a problem. It would have been a non-issue if you and everyone you know were the only people who ever bought a switch. Just because you didn't get covid doesn't mean covid doesn't exist or "it's a little out of proportion."

If you didn't have the problem, then thank your stars, but for f's sake, stop trivializing the experience of those who have the issue.

@Razer
"They're desperately hoping this issue will go away if they ignore it long enough and keep saying "it's not really a problem". Because the alternative could genuinely ruin them."

Genuinely ruin them? Like how admitting guilt could "genuinely ruin" poor little Ghislaine Maxwell? So we should let them get away with saying "it's not a real problem" after bringing out a shoddy product, because it could ruin them? Why didn't Boeing think of that line of argument?

Who needs corporate accountability when there are people like you willing to bend over and take it with a smile?

@TheHeck I didn’t “trivialise the experience of those who have the issue.” You’re assuming the wrong thing. I’m actually trivialising the entire American way of life where they sue literally everyone and everything for the smallest of grievances.

I also like how you took my anectode about myself and everyone I know not having a Joy-Con problem and then made a massive jump to implying that I think COVID doesn’t exist or “it’s a little out of proportion.” Like what? How did you even get there? I actually think COVID-19 is the biggest threat to humanity in our generation.

And why do you quote my “little out of proportion” line when I relate it to Joy-Con drift and then attribute it to your made up stance of mine on COVID-19!? That’s not how you argue. You can’t take something of mine that I say about one thing and quote it in relation to something completely different. 🤦‍♂️

Now, I can understand anyone who has an issue with a product they’ve bought complaining about it - I do it myself! That’s why I said - “it definitely should never happen in the first place, and people who have this issue definitely have a right to complain.”

So complain. Complain all you want. Everyone with the issue should complain. Not trivialising people afflicted at all. But don’t be surprised if you’re part the “vocal minority.”

@NintndoNik I can't remember a time where people have been so upset with hardware from nintendo. In fact I've never bought the warranty on a Nintendo because they've never malfunctioned for me. People world wide are upset with how Nintendo has made the joy cons. And Nintendo has been sued on the issue in other places than America. I can understand someone not liking America's suing culture but in this case even if you have experienced otherwise maybe give the benefit of the doubt to such a loud and large group who are clearly frustrated.

Yeah I totally trust the lawyers for the plaintiffs to give an honest and forthcoming account of what Nintendo's lawyers said in court.

Let's put it this way: if Joycon drift wasn't a problem, then Nintendo wouldn't be offering a free repair service (at least in the US).

Nintendo never actually said this, but regardless, if it isn't an issue for them, then why is NoA offering free repairs? I just got back the four Joy-Cons I sent to them for drift.

I wouldn't interpret too much into this.
This is a case for lawyers and lawyers will say the things that, in their opinion, gives the highest chance of success.

I got my 4 Joycons back last week. The frustrating drift on all 4 is temporarily fixed.

But now one of the left Joycons has a new issue. It just disconnects from the Switch randomly, even when it's slided into the console. I need to reattach it for it to work again, but it only works for 5-10 minutes. I think the new problem is even worse.

Nintendo's worst controller since, well, ever.

@SKTTR I had the same thing happen after sending my pair in for repairs. I immediately sent it off again for another repair, and it has been fine ever since. But I agree, a frustrating experience for what is otherwise a great gaming system. When everything works as it should, playing on the Switch is pure bliss.

@NintndoNik The only reason Nintendo is fixing them for free is because of the lawsuit. People complaining accomplished nothing.

I'll do the journalism for NLife, since theirs is total *****.

Here's the quote from Shuntaro Furukawa:

“Regarding the Joy-Con, we apologize for any trouble caused to our customers,” Furukawa said in the statement. “We are continuing to aim to improve our products, but as the Joy-Con is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the United States and this is still a pending issue, we would like to refrain from responding about any specific actions.”

Source: https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/30/21308085/joy-con-drift-apology-nintendo-president

Make of it what you will, but he's not commenting due to the lawsuit. Anyone who's had to deal with legal proceedings before (me) knows how hush-hush it always is.

Honestly this is something that seems to happen to all controllers after a while if they have enough wear. Could be a bigger issue on the Switch but the Switch is far from the only console that has had this problem.

I hate using the joycons and their unresponsiveness so much that I spent $180 on 2 Pro Controllers so that I don't have to deal with them.

They're repairing both of the ones that came with my console (which both exhibited the issue recently) for free, so I feel like, as long as they're fixing it for free I don't really feel bad if they don't also pay out a huge class action settlement

While I do think this specific issue has been a little bit over represented in the media, it's undeniable in this generation Nintendo has enough issues where it's impossible to just buy a controller with real confidence that it will work and continue to do so properly as well as their previous controllers did. Whether it's the pro controller d-pad which is pretty bad, the left pro controller stick needing contact cleaner when the up direction doesn't work, joycons disconnecting mid play and joy con drift.

there are some fanboys here, the joycon drift is embarrassing and very nearly ubiquitous; there is no reason to soften the blow.

Took about two years for anything to start to go wrong for me, but it has been pretty much constant since then. I own four joycon and have had drift on all of them. One of my neon yellows went in for repair at the beginning of this year, and it's on the blink again. At least the repairs have been free, but they get sneakily recorded as a "calibration issue"

@TheHeck hey calm down,I'm not saying they shouldn't admit to their guilt here. I'm just saying what would happen if they did admit to it.

You need to pipe down.

But having said that, if Nintendo did admit to this and it put them out of business as a result, would that make you happy?

Grew up on Nintendo, I have had every main console system except WII (but I did get two WII U's and still have them). Never had a desire for Switch for whatever reason. Anyway, reading this article, I can't believe what I'm seeing from some people okay to throw more money at the "Pro" version of Switch if it ever comes out in hopes this will not be a future issue on a future system. Nintendo's dismissal of their problem will never matter to them as long as people are willing to still purchase the product that "drifts" and has drifted me away from a company I had once thought was different from the rest. I think WII U is as far as I will go with this company unless they change direction.

I experienced this problem, it was real.

Interestingly enough.... I had joy con drift and replaced the analog sticks.

2 weeks later, they started to drift worse.

I though “hmmm, I wonder” and put the original sticks back in and for some reason they haven’t drifted yet!

People have been thinking there’s wear and tear inside the analog stick’s housing but if that was the case then this old stick should still drift? Right?

I’m beginning to think it’s a defective connector / ribbon. Design flaw that makes them slither out slightly. More investigation in my workshop as soon as they start drifting again.

Oh my God.....really? What the heck is with all the "controller drift" nonsense. I have owned a PlayStation 4 sense launch, and have had to replace controllers due to the fact of them getting wore out or I like the new color or whatever and I have never, never had controller drift. I have owned a Nintendo switch since launch and I use the Joe cons and my GameCube modeled one and again hours upon hours upon hours of playing with them and never experienced drift, at least not the way they're describing it. The only time I've ever turned on my console and "Huh, my controller is drifting", I just turned it off Make sure the controller is perfectly flat as in that the controller stick is not being pushed and I turn it back on and what do you know it works normally! Or on the joycon I just resync the darn things. And I have spoken to many many many of my friends who have played games for the past 20 years and none of them have ever said oh yeah this is nothing but controller drift issues.... Are we so spoiled as a culture that we can't problem solve anything without screaming lawsuit?

I still don't get it. I haven't had any problem with my joycons during the years I have my switch. Neither had any of my friends (another 7 people in my nintendo online group).