A particular issue withNintendoSwitchJoy-Cons is common enough that the gaming community has even given it a name - Joy-Con drift. A company called Gulikit claims to have the answer to the issue that has plagued many a Switch gamer since the console first launched back in 2017.Nintendofaced several lawsuits over Joy-Con drift, but this has not stopped the Switch console from outselling the Nintendo Wii, and it may even outsell Sony’s PlayStation 2, which at the time of writing is still the best-selling console of all time by some 40 million units sold.
Joy-Con drift is a bothersome phenomenon that causes the affected controller to detect directional input where there is none, which can be extremely frustrating to players as it inevitably causes them to make mistakes, like selecting the wrong attack inPokemonor inadvertently moving a character to a place where they might be vulnerable inMario + Rabbids.OneNew Pokemon Snapplayer became a victim of Joy-Con driftand had their hard-earned, perfect shot of the rare and notoriously skittish Meloetta ruined thanks to the infamous controller issue.
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Gulikit has created replacement joysticks for affected Joy-Cons that use electromagnetic Hall sensors which it claims are not only far more durable than the original components, but also use less power and thus prolong the battery life of Joy-Cons. The main caveat here is that users will have to replace the component themselves using the provided tools to correct the issue, which is allegedly caused byan inherent design flaw in the Nintendo Switch.
A recent survey stated that40% of Nintendo Switch users experience Joy-Con driftwhich is an alarming statistic. The Joy-Con drift issue cropped up relatively early in the Switch’s life cycle and as yet there have not been any significant change to the controller’s design, perhaps in the face of periodic lawsuits that might construe any design revisions as an admission of guilt on the part of Nintendo.
Nintendo has compared Joy-Cons to car tiresin an effort to downplay the drift issue, saying that wear and tear are inevitable. This is true in a sense, but it is hard to ignore the sheer volume of players who are experiencing the dreaded drift. For those who are having issues within the 12-month warranty period, it would likely be best to pursue a claim throughNintendorather than resorting to third-party measures to fix Joy-Cons.
