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: $$$

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

I have had this problem like 3 times, I have sent my joycons for repair and I always get new ones. Not sure how Nintendo is making money out of this.

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!”

https://www.gulikit.com/productinfo/737791.html mic drop.

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

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.

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