Nintendo of America recently announced that the new Nintendo Switch 2 won’t incorporate Hall effect sensors in the analog sticks of their Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers. During a chat with Nintendo Life, Nate Bihldorff, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing, emphasized that while the sticks won’t be using Hall effect technology, they’ve been crafted with durability at the forefront.
“These Joy-Con 2 controllers have been built from scratch,” Bihldorff explained. “Although they aren’t Hall effect sticks, they handle wonderfully. With every new piece of hardware we release, we’re designing from the ground up to deliver the most stellar experience for our users, focusing on everything from the immediate response of the Joy-Cons to their interaction with games and their durability.”
The original Nintendo Switch had its fair share of stick drift woes throughout its lifecycle. Users often reported their analog sticks moving slightly in random directions without any applied force. These issues resulted in several class-action lawsuits against Nintendo, prompting both its president and the president of Nintendo of America to apologize and offer free repairs for affected controllers.
Unlike traditional analog sticks that rely on potentiometers, “Hall effect” sticks use a modern method involving magnets to track movement, avoiding the wear-and-tear that can cause stick drift. As these magnetic solutions become more prevalent in third-party controllers and even some PC keyboards, Nintendo’s choice to skip this technology in their new console raises eyebrows.
Bihldorff reassured everyone that durability was a significant priority in creating a successor to the Switch’s controllers. This sentiment was echoed at a recent developer roundtable with Nintendo’s leading minds on the Switch 2 project. Kouichi Kawamoto, a producer for the Switch 2, mentioned that although the new Pro Controller may look similar to its predecessor, it’s a complete redesign.
Delving deeper into Nintendo’s vision for controller development, Tetsuya Sasaki, another key figure in hardware, shared, “Nintendo has long pursued the ‘ultimate controller.’ Whether we’ve achieved that with the Switch 2 remains unclear, but these ‘smooth-gliding switches’ are definitely a triumph for our team.”
The question remains whether Nintendo has finally tackled the stick drift issue with the Switch 2. Given that Joy-Cons have experienced drift as early as six months after purchase, we’ll need to wait and see if reports emerge before 2026, especially with Nintendo steering clear of Hall effect technology. For further insights into the Switch 2, including details on DLSS and ray tracing capabilities, don’t miss our complete coverage.
