An independent equipment manufacturer may have found a permanent solution to the drift problem seen for years with Joy-Cons. How ? Using technology exploited by Sega in the 90s.
Released in 2017, the Nintendo Switch has suffered since its inception from particularly capricious joysticks, which tend to cause false in-game interactions, even when not touched. Nicknamed ” Joy-Con drift », this hardware problem has never really been the subject of serious fixes by Nintendo. In 2021, with the launch of its OLED Switch, the Japanese manufacturer slightly improved the reliability of its portable console’s joysticks… but without completely solving the problem.
Therefore, it is in this context that Gulikit starts marketing its Hall Joystick for Joy-Con. These replacement joysticks make it possible to permanently correct the drift problem thanks to a technology used by Sega in the 90s for its Saturn 3D and Dreamcast joysticks.
A magnetic system as old as the world (or almost)
As indicated inthe edge(from an article published a few months ago by iFixit), the type of joystick marketed by Gulikit does use magnetic sensors to detect joystick movement. Clearly, the components do not rub against each other, which prevents mechanical wear on the sensors that are used by default in the Joy-Con. In fact, these use potentiometers, which are known to deteriorate over time and use.
Still, the solution proposed by Gulikit is not perfect. Not only does it involve disassembling the Joy-Cons to manually replace the joysticks (some users may not want to risk it), but it also voids the warranty if the operation is performed on recently purchased Joy-Cons. Finally, note that some users who have made the switch report that the Gulikit sticks leave a small gap between their base and the ring which is supposed to keep small dust and dirt out of the Switch. A point to consider.
The Gulikit Hall Joysticks for Joy-Con are available in France on Amazon, starting at 31.70 euros per pair.
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