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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

One of the biggest issues that's plagued the Nintendo Switch since its launch in 2017 is stick drift. In fact, Nintendo faced several lawsuits as a result of the issue, with an ex-repair supervisor previously stating that the workload to fix drifting Joy-Con was "very stressful".

Now, while we can acknowledge that Nintendo has undoubtedly been working hard behind the scenes to mitigate the issue for the upcoming Switch 2, we're nevertheless disheartened to confirm that the Joy-Con 2's joysticks will not be Hall Effect.

This comes via our interview with Nintendo of America's Nate Bihldorff, who outright confirmed the exclusion. Notably, he didn't specify whether or not the Pro Controller would include Hall Effect sticks, but the way in which he quickly deflects onto another topic probably implies that it won't:

Let's jump off the sensitivity stuff then and talk about the stick of the Switch 2 Joy-Con because it feels so different to the original Switch's analog stick. So is it a Hall Effect stick? Were you inspired by the Hall Effect stick?

Well, the Joy-Con 2's controllers have been designed from the ground up. They're not Hall Effect sticks, but they feel really good. Did you experience both the Joy-Con and the Pro Controller?

Both!

So, I like both, but that Pro Controller, for some reason the first time I grabbed it, I was like, "this feels like a GameCube controller." I was a GameCube guy. Something about it felt so familiar, but the stick on that especially. I tried to spend a lot of time making sure that it was quiet. I don't know if you tried really whacking the stick around but it really is [quiet]. I'm thinking back to my Smash Brothers days, where you just whack it. [The Switch 2 Pro Controller] is one of the quietest controllers I've ever played.

Bihldorff's comments on the supposed quietness of the Pro Controller is also echoed in the Ask the Developer interview with producer Kouichi Kawamoto, senior director Takuhiro Dohta, and general manager Tetsuya Sasaki. When discussing the Pro Controller, Kawamoto said:

"In particular, the left and right control sticks are quieter and don't make noise, even when they're moved quickly to the edge. Also, they glide very smoothly, so we've taken to calling them 'smooth-gliding sticks'."

Sasaki then confirmed that Nintendo had been running a long-term project to create the "pinnacle of all controllers", but notably stopped short of saying whether he believed the company had achieved its goal with the Switch 2's Pro Controller.

Of course, it would be foolish to make any assumptions as to the durability of the Joy-Con 2 sticks at this stage, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens following the full launch of the Switch 2 on 5th June 2025.

It's Official, Switch 2 Joy-Con Will Not Feature Hall Effect Sticks

Controllers have been designed from the ground up

www.nintendolife.com

 

[Magic Carpet]

BWAAAA HAAAAAHAAA

that sux,

 

[Baemono]

No Hall, no Oates, this day is terrible

 

[Lethal01]

Sounds like they are using some other techniques, will see how it pays off

 

[jshackles]

Just makes it easier to drift in Mario Kart

 

[RoboFu]

I have a 8bitdo with hall effect and never use the joycons on switch so its a non issue for me.

 

[MadchesterManc]

Hopefully the sticks are as easy to replace this time too

 

[Fermbiz]

 

[Astray]

I wonder what flavor of copium we'll be getting today.

 

[kevboard]

look, if they want to continue to have to repair every single joycon for eternity instead of just adding something to prevent that, it's their loss.

Nintendo still has to repair every single joycon stick even if they are out of warranty in the EU, that can't be financially insignificant

 

[lh032]

ok so Sony will still be very comfortable FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

 

[LordOcidax]

Nevermind… Looks like is a new design.

 

[Deft Beck]

Of course not! What did people expect?

 

[Tarin02543]

I'm happy to know we will have the latest in smooth gliding technologie

 

[alphachino]

I wonder what flavor of copium we'll be getting today.

probably crow.

I'm definitely not buying switch now. I've upgraded my OLED Steam DEck to hall effect, and my joycons on my OLED switch and lite. I also upgraded to Mobapad M6 Pros on my OLED switch which have Hall effect.

For PC, I use Gamesir Cyclone 2, which features TMR sticks and they are even better than Hall effect. I have put my Dualsense and Dualsense edge on sabbatical until I upgrade those to TMR too later.

No fucking way I'm paying a premium for Switch 2 with LCD and regular sticks. At least not right away. They can go get fucked.

 

[Banjo64]

Some ask him about poll rate and latency please

 

[DoomGyver]

Looks like another Nintendo generation of Docked only with an 8bitdo ultimate for me.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Cheap assholes.
8bitDo for me then.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

Disappointing, but I have controllers with no hall effect that has worked well for over 10 years, so we just gotta hope they figured out a better way to build them.

 

[Griffon]

I need to buy a couple more 8bitDo controllers.

 

[Moonjt9]

I routinely have 2-3k hours of gaming a year for decades. Not once have I ever experienced stick drift with anything except for the Switch. And I went through FIVE joy cons.

Of course we have to wait and see on the new ones, but this doesn't inspire confidence.

 

[Astray]

My question:

I wonder what flavor of copium we'll be getting today.

Didn't even take 10 mins to get my answer rofl:

That's not official That's an assumption…

Read the article, they actually interviewed a Nintendo exec and this was part of it, Nintendo Life of all outlets would not write the word 'Official' in their headline without having something.

Quotes from the piece, the man went rambling about his Gamecube days after he denied it:

Let's jump off the sensitivity stuff then and talk about the stick of the Switch 2 Joy-Con because it feels so different to the original Switch's analog stick. So is it a Hall Effect stick? Were you inspired by the Hall Effect stick?

Well, the Joy-Con 2's controllers have been designed from the ground up. They're not Hall Effect sticks, but they feel really good. Did you experience both the Joy-Con and the Pro Controller?

Both!

So, I like both, but that Pro Controller, for some reason the first time I grabbed it, I was like, "this feels like a GameCube controller." I was a GameCube guy. Something about it felt so familiar, but the stick on that especially. I tried to spend a lot of time making sure that it was quiet. I don't know if you tried really whacking the stick around but it really is [quiet]. I'm thinking back to my Smash Brothers days, where you just whack it. [The Switch 2 Pro Controller] is one of the quietest controllers I've ever played.

-------

probably crow.

I'm definitely not buying switch now. I've upgraded my OLED Steam DEck to hall effect, and my joycons on my OLED switch and lite. I also upgraded to Mobapad M6 Pros on my OLED switch which have Hall effect.

For PC, I use Gamedir Cyclone 2, which features TMR sticks and they are even better than Hall effect. I have put my Dualsense and Dualsense edge on sabbatical until I upgrade those to TMR too later.

No fucking way I'm paying a premium for Switch 2 with LCD and regular sticks. At least not right away. They can go get fucked.

I wasn't considering buying it at launch because I barely play my Switch 1, but even if I was, I wouldn't now until we get news on how easy it is to replace the sticks (Gulikit will almost certainly provide something here).

Insane that people are saying their current 8bitdo will suffice or whatever, are you telling me you won't use the Joycons that you will be paying for anyways? It's pure copium imo.

How would they know if it even works on a Switch 2? Nintendo isn't licensing anything to 8bitdo or Gamesir or whatever, they have no requirement to stay supportive of their existing goods.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

How else are they going to make you buy replacement Joy Cons? I hope replacement parts by third parties becomes a thing quick. I managed to replace the stick modules on my Joy Cons that had stick drift. Very simply process! Nintendo can fuck off if they think I'm going to be spending £75 on those things.

 

[lestar]

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

Booo! Fucking cheapskates.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

damn tariffs

 

[QLQ]

It comes with Stick Displacement Rotation In Feedback Tactility.

 

[cireza]

Did they at least improve the Pro Controller DPad ? Is it even possible to play SF VI correctly with this thing ?

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

damn tariffs

And that in Mexico and Canada you were exempt.

 

[alphachino]

How else are they going to make you buy replacement Joy Cons? I hope replacement parts by third parties becomes a thing quick. I managed to replace the stick modules on my Joy Cons that had stick drift. Very simply process! Nintendo can fuck off if they think I'm going to be spending £75 on those things.

yeah, it's a very simple process, but extremely fiddly and those tiny ribbon cables are known to easily break cos of how flimsy they are, plus the screws are often tightened too much.

Basically, hall effect sticks are even in extremely low-end emulation handhelds these days... not having them is inexcusable in the Switch 2 when drifting was such a prevalent problem.

 

[Shaki12345]

Nintendo revolutionized controllers but can't seem to get the basics right.

- Where are the analoge triggers?
- why did it take so long for a controller with 3.5mm headset?
- why did they remove the 80 hour lifespan of the WiiU Pro Controller?

 

[alphachino]

Did they at least improve the Pro Controller DPad ? Is it even possible to play SF VI correctly with this thing ?

I saw somewhere that the d-pad is more responsive and more tactile/clicky...

I'm glad at least that's changed cos the dpad on the original pro is the worst in nintendo history IMO. worse than the buttons on the joycons even.

 

[FalconPunch]

Yea, not surprising as Nintendo is the scummiest gaming company of the big 3. They knew that there was a hardware defect in the joycons. Over the course of 7 years, they made no attempts to fix the issue. Why? So that they could increase their profits by forcing users to keep buying their overpriced faulty joycons. In fact, they went to court to fight against consumers despite the fact that they know they're wrong.

They then design a new switch and fail to properly fix the issue with a well known solution. I'm so happy that they're launching the switch 2 at the most in opportune time. As much as I dislike the current US administration, I hope they add further tariffs on Japan and Vietnam. This way the switch 2's launch can be the biggest flop of all time.

F*** Nintendo. They're a company with the memory of a goldfish. As soon as they taste a little success, they immediately turn into asshats.

 

[SHAKEZ]

Man Nintendo is just funny.

 

[Robb]

Switch 2 Joy-Con Will Not Feature Hall Effect Sticks

 

[Gambit2483]

I don't care as long as fixes the drift issue.

 

[Kataploom]

Oh damn... Well, I'll get the Pro Controller anyway, the moment it fails me is the moment I'll get a third party one. My current Pro Controller hasn't failed me btw, it works great so far after 3 years.

 

[SimTourist]

No Hall, no Oates, this day is terrible

You're out of touch

 

[LordCBH]

"Why would we make them less likely to fail when over half of the owners of failed Joycons likely said fuck it and just bought new ones?"

 

[marjo]

You're out of touch

I can't go for that.

 

[Power Pro]

 

[proandrad]

Arrogant Nintendo.

 

[Mr Moose]

He didn't say they aren't TMR.

 

[Lokaum D+]

How much again for this piece of trash controller? U$90

Hopefull ill be able to use my PS5 controller on this like i use on switch.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Seriously how much do these hall effect parts cost them ordered in volume? How can you cheap out this hard?

 

[lughnasadh123]

It'll come with the $600 OLED model.

 

[Horseganador]

They sell it to you at a higher price and with almost guaranteed drift, so you'll have to buy more. Good business for Nintendo.

 

[Baemono]

You're out of touch

Well your kiss is not on my list

 

[IDKFA]

Not great news.

Have they even released the cost of the Joycons yet? Like the new pro controller, I'm expecting them to be more expensive than the previous Joycons.

 

[Muddy]