Nintendo of America has officially announced that the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 will not incorporate Hall effect sensors in the analog sticks of either its Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers. Speaking with Nintendo Life, Nate Bihldorff, the Senior VP of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America, shared that while the new console won’t feature Hall effect tech, the analog sticks have been thoughtfully crafted with durability in mind.
“The design of the Joy-Con 2 controllers is brand new,” Bihldorff explained. “Even though they aren’t Hall Effect sticks, they feel fantastic. With each hardware release, Nintendo is dedicated to creating the best possible gaming experience for our players. This includes the immediate feel of the Joy-Cons, their interaction with the game, and their longevity.”
The original Nintendo Switch, unfortunately, suffered from stick drift over its lifecycle, causing analog sticks to register movement even when untouched. This issue led to several class-action lawsuits, ultimately resulting in apologies from Nintendo and repair programs offering free analog-stick replacements.
Hall effect sticks offer a contemporary method of capturing joystick movements, differing from traditional potentiometers. Traditional analog sticks rely on physical contact with pads to change voltage and determine position, whereas Hall effect sticks use magnets for detection. The wear on contact pads found in potentiometers can lead to stick drift over time. Despite the reliability of Hall effect joysticks in third-party controllers and magnetic PC keyboards, Nintendo’s choice to bypass this technology raises eyebrows.
According to Bihldorff, Nintendo focused on durability when engineering a successor to the Switch controllers, a statement backed by Nintendo’s product leads during a recent developer roundtable on the Switch 2. Producer Kouichi Kawamoto commented that “although at first glance, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller may appear similar to its predecessor, it has been entirely remodeled.”
Tetsuya Sasaki, Nintendo’s hardware lead, elaborated on their ambition to create the ultimate controller. “There’s an ongoing project at Nintendo aimed at crafting the ‘pinnacle of all controllers.'” While Sasaki didn’t specify if this goal was achieved with the Switch 2, the introduction of “smooth-gliding switches” seems to be a point of pride for the engineering team.
We’ll have to wait and see if Nintendo has cracked the code on preventing stick drift with the Switch 2. Given that stick-drift issues started cropping up within six months of the original Joy-Cons’ release, we might hear more by 2026 if the issue isn’t resolved or if Hall effect technology remains unused. To stay updated on the new hardware, including DLSS and ray tracing capabilities, check out our other coverage on the Switch 2.
