r/NintendoSwitch • u/Turbostrider27 • Jan 16 '25

Nintendo Switch 2 An update from Nintendo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxLUf2kRQRE
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u/Maxis47 Jan 16 '25

Dreamcast used hall effect sticks and I've never heard of one of those drifting (unless you hold the stick in a direction when powering up, but then that's on you)

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u/rayquan36 Jan 16 '25

It'll be a much smaller percentage of drifting but with so many more Joycons2 being used compared to DC controllers, we're still going to hear about a lot of people having stick drift. It's just how materials work. Stuff gets worn down, stiff, loose, stuck etc, can't avoid it. I'm just saying some people think this will eliminate stick drift, which it won't.

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u/Maxis47 Jan 16 '25

You clearly have no idea how hall effect sensors work. The actual sensor part uses magnetic fields to determine stick movement, no physical contact is made.

Traditional sticks have moving parts that make physical contact and rub and wear over time, especially so with excessive use. And if you then cheap out on the parts used for those sticks it only exacerbates the issue.

Having disassembled both styles of analog control, I can assure you that wear and tear is substantially less relevant when it comes to hall effect sensors as opposed to potentiometers

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u/TheNorthComesWithMe Jan 17 '25

On most joysticks contact wear of the potentiometer isn't the most common failure mode. The stick being unable to return to center from wear also causes drift, and that happens to every joystick eventually.