Nintendo this week unveiled a new Switch model that adds an OLED display, upgraded speakers, and a much improved kickstand. One thing it looks like the OLED Switch won’t deliver, however, is a solution to the Joy-Con drift issues that have plagued Switch owners for years – and frustratingly, Nintendo won’t even confirm otherwise. Various publications including The edge tried asking the question, but Nintendo won’t tackle it head-on, despite some other helpful answers such as the new Switch not having a new processor.
Switch owners have been reporting Joy-Con drift issues for years, and the issue is serious enough to be the subject of numerous lawsuits – although Nintendo is unofficially fixing controllers experiencing Joy-Con drift for free, even if you are no longer under warranty. One of our main requests for a revised Switch was a solution to drift issues, and we were hoping that a Switch review would have been the time when Nintendo finally fixed this major glitch. But it seems likely that Nintendo did not take the opportunity to do so.
In a statement that Nintendo provided to Wired, Polygon, GameSpot and The edge, the company said that “the configuration and functionality of the Joy-Con controller has not changed with the Nintendo Switch (OLED model).” But we didn’t ask about “setup” or “functionality”, as it was pretty clear from Nintendo’s announcement that the controllers would be the same. We asked about drift, which is a reliability issue. And when we asked the question again in an even clearer way, we were sent back to the same claim.
This seems to suggest that there is no change. An FAQ on the company’s UK website goes even further: “The Joy-Con controllers included with the Nintendo Switch (OLED model) are the same as the controllers currently available.
Nintendo’s statement acknowledges that there are issues with Joy-Con controllers – “We are aware of reports that some Joy-Con controllers have not responded correctly,” Nintendo said – but simply suggested to customers to visit its support site to resolve any issues. This language is not new; Nintendo released a very similar statement almost two years ago afterward. Vice released an internal Nintendo memo asking customer service representatives to fix Joy-Con drift issues for free.
And Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said “we apologize for any inconvenience consumers have experienced” due to Joy-Con’s issues during a question-and-answer session with investors last year, but added that “I have no information to share on specific actions we have taken” to correct issues, suggesting his hands were tied due to a class action lawsuit in the United States.
Until someone can open up a set of Joy-Cons included with the new Switch, we won’t know for sure that there aren’t some unannounced fixes for drift issues. But from what Nintendo said, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
While the OLED Switch may not have been the ‘Pro’ upgrade we were hoping for, the improvements still make a big difference, according to my colleague Dieter Bohn, who got to try out the new Switch. But if you decide to pick up the console for $ 350 when it launches on October 8, you might want to mentally prepare yourself for the possibility that your new Joy-Cons will one day end up with the drift problem.
Here’s Nintendo’s full statement on it:
The configuration and functionality of the Joy-Con controller has not changed with the Nintendo Switch (OLED model). The configuration and operation are the same as the Joy-con controllers for the Nintendo Switch console. At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continually improving them. We are aware of reports that some Joy-Con controllers did not respond correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if something doesn’t meet that goal, we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help.
