A patent filed by Nintendo suggests that they’re working on Hall Effect style joysticks for the Switch 2 that would eliminate stick drift almost entirely.

  • Paradox@lemdro.id
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    1 year ago

    Joycon drift, and all other thumbstick drift, is already a solved problem.

    1. Use bushings that actually have some abrasive resistance and aren’t softer than a fingernail.
    2. Use a non-contact based sensor to determine the XY position of the stick. Hall effect, optical, strain gauge, whatever, we’ve had the tech for 50 years.

    The reason why they haven’t done this is one very simple reason: $$$

  • gamer@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I’ll believe it when I see it. Nintendo are cheap bastards, and if they fix the drift issue then they’ll likely cause it to fail prematurely somewhere else. Maybe the rubber will be cheaper so that it wears down and has to be replaced anyways? Or the plastic will be thinner so it cracks sooner, etc.

    • echo64@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Also if they wanted to fix it for their next console, then they could have fixed it for this console. Hall effect isn’t some new technology, the dreamcast controller had it.

  • ono@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Glancing over the patent, I don’t think Hall effect sensors are used here. Note especially the use of a fluid, and the presence of variable resistors (parts that can wear out in current-gen controllers) for each axis.

    Instead, this looks like an analog stick force-feedback mechanism that could also be used for automatic re-centering:

    Accordingly, in the first example, control of current to be applied to the MRF is performed in the way as described below, thus achieving both presentation of a feeling using the MRF and an initial position restoration operation.

    This wouldn’t keep the potentiometers from wearing out, but with the right software, I imagine it could automatically adjust the sticks to compensate for mild drift. (I don’t know if this would work any better than plain old calibration; it’s definitely more complicated.) Also, games could dynamically adjust stick resistance, like the DualSense can adjust trigger resistance, for interactivity/immersion.

    I wonder how much this would affect battery life, how long the fluid mechanism would last with normal wear and tear, and how environmentally toxic it will be when it eventually becomes e-waste.

    The PDF linked in the article seems to be a scanned image, so control+F doesn’t work, but the text is searchable here: https://patents.justia.com/patent/20230280850

  • JokeDeity@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Title seems odd, hall effects already exist, they aren’t creating something new. Also, love my DS5 to death, best controller I’ve ever used.

    • Underwaterbob@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I loved my Dualsense too, and then the left stick started drifting so badly, it’s completely unusable now. It’s only about a year old, too. I blame Sekiro. Both my DS4s still work fine though, and they’ve seen much more use and abuse.

      • tal@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I loved my Dualsense too, and then the left stick started drifting so badly, it’s completely unusable now. It’s only about a year old, too

        I really think that something changed with a major potentiometer manufacturer in the past few years. I don’t recall stick drift on a PS2 controller that I used for many years, but I’ve seen it on a number of controllers from different vendors recently.

        Only thing I can think of other than recent hardware problems is that maybe the controller hardware imposed a certain amount of deadzone at one point in time and stopped doing so in newer gamepads, and that masked the drift.

        • Underwaterbob@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I really think that something changed with a major potentiometer manufacturer in the past few years.

          I’ve heard a lot of hearsay that that is the case. Tech savvy people have taken apart some sticks and say that analog stick quality has taken a nosedive in recent years. Maybe it is just the effect of this sort of thing being discussed on the Internet more often, but I don’t doubt the veracity. I’ve had a few older controllers that I retired because of external wear whose internals were totally fine. Seems like controllers like Dualsense and particularly Switch Joycons are just poorly made.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      I think it’s saying a patent about hall effect sensors specifically relating to Nintendo and Switch style implementations. Obviously it’s not for the concept at large that’s been around for decades.

  • Zellith@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I fixed my drift with a small piece of cardboard. I figure Nintendo could have eliminated some drift by increasing the material thickness in the cad file they use. They just choose not to.

  • whileloop@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Two things I notice

    would eliminate stick drift almost entirely

    I thought Hall effect sensors didn’t drift at all?

    Second, I’m wondering what exactly Nintendo is patenting here, since Hall effect sensors are nothing new.

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, I’m pretty sure they would not be able to patent Hall effect sensors. About a zillion other vendors would be able to claim prior art, especially considering they’ve been a commercial product for precisely this application for literal decades. The Gravis Stinger leaps to mind, which is so damn old it connects to a 9 pin serial port.

      Nintendo is either dumb (unlikely) or doing something different (more likely).

    • Paradox@lemdro.id
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      1 year ago

      They don’t get sensor drift, but if the mechanical centering of the stick is sub par, you can get mechanical drift. The N64 is a good example. Flawless sensors, shitty mechanical construction

  • Destraight@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Yeah?!?! You think so huh? I’m holding my breath on this one and keeping my interests in other game pads like ASUS ROG one, or the one that Logitech is making

  • garretble@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I had to replace my original sticks this year because they finally started to drift after five years or so.

    I now have some Hall Effect sticks in each side, and I haven’t had any problems in the last six months with them. I really hope they go this route for the switch 2. It makes a lot of sense for them to, as well. They wouldn’t have to deal with fixing as many, and consumers would get a better product. Could be a rare win for both parties when I’m sure there’s some bean counters going “but if the controllers break more often we can sell more controllers!”

  • mlg@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I guess they finally found a cheap supplier for magnets so they can save that on what additional whopping 5 cents per stick production cost.

  • Dick Justice@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I lost four sets of Joycon to drift. I even sent two in to be “repaired”. Talking to support was worthless - I’m convinced that the people I spoke to had never seen or used a Switch before. I don’t think they did anything other than calibrate them and send them back. I ended up buying a 20 pair of knockoff Joycon that have worked perfectly ever since.

  • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    Oh, you mean the problem they refused to acknowledge that was very common for a number of years? I wish I could get a refund or replacement on my 3 OFFICIAL NINTENDO controllers that suffer from drift. But alas, I don’t live where they do business “legally”

  • blazera@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Switch drift was so bad, im not getting the new switch unless it goes months without drift reports first.

  • lackthought@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    does the switch pro controller use different joysticks than the joycons?

    my joycons have drift but the pro controller, which I’ve used more often, is perfectly fine

    • Vash63@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      No, it’s just vastly larger so the copper contact strips are also larger and wear slower.

    • Pablo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I bought a pro controller and it had drift out of the box, sent it back immediately and just got a third party Hori controller for half the price

  • cassetti@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Well cool, I hope it does. I’m not a hardcore gamer, but the Nintendo Switch interested me for the occasional mario kart session. But all the Joycon drama scared me off from buying one. I’ll hold out for a few more years before splurging - I’m in no rush, I rarely game or watch television anyway lol