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Joy-Con drift: Nintendo repairs controllers outside the warranty period
by Domagoj Belancic
New Nintendo patent could solve annoying stick drift problem
13/9/2023
Translation: machine translated
"Smart liquids" should do the trick: Nintendo has filed a patent that deals with the inner workings of the original controllers. It is possible that the ever unpopular stick drift problem of the Joy-Cons will then be a thing of the past.
According to videogamechronicle.com, Nintendo's new patent describes how a special fluid - referred to as "magnetorheological fluid" - in the Joy-Cons is supposed to register the player's stick movements. It should then thicken in the direction of the movement and thus build up counter-pressure. This is intended to push the stick back into its original position after being pressed, thus counteracting stick drift. Stick drift means that the Joy-Con performs an unwanted movement in the game: The character runs too far or the cursor suddenly moves to the side.
Whether Nintendo's new patent will actually be used and, above all, whether it can really prevent stick drift is unfortunately not yet known.
Stick drift: I've experienced it too, unfortunately ...
Although Nintendo wanted to take care of the problem, the complaints from users about the controller sticks drifting have not stopped. At least Nintendo bowed to pressure from the gaming community after years and repaired the Joy-Cons free of charge - even if they are no longer under warranty:
I had to deal with the drift problem of the Joy-Cons myself. Not only once did I want to throw them against the wall when I fell to my death from a high tower in "Zelda - Breath of the Wild" because my game character thought he just had to run off to the side - you can see that in the video below. At least I can confirm that the Joy-Cons actually came back working correctly after being sent in for repair a few weeks later.
Ironically, I had bought a new Switch Pro controller to tide me over during the repair - which was also slightly warped from the start. And it wasn't cheap. Imagine my annoyance at this for yourself.
Can Nintendo finally get to grips with stick drift?
Since Nintendo has not yet been able to fix the problem, there are legitimate concerns that the Switch successor, which is eagerly awaited for 2024, and its controllers, will also drive us daddlers to white heat with stick drift.
Maybe Nintendo really hit the mark with this new patent.
Have you experienced the stick drift problem yourself? And if so, what was your most unpleasant in-game accident with it?
Cover photo: Wachiwit/Shutterstock
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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