New Nintendo patent suggests Switch 2 may solve joycon drift

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.

Years after the release of the Nintendo Switch, more rumors of a successor to the popular handheld came to light on September 7, 2023.

On that same day, Nintendo received a series of patents in the US detailing various aspects of the new console, and one in particular stands out the most.

In one filing, Nintendo’s patent details a joystick that uses a magnetic field to send its movement through the controller, which is almost definitely a hall effect joystick.

Hall Effect joysticks prevent Switch 2 Joycon drift

In one of the various patents from Nintendo on September 7, 2023, it goes over a joystick that uses a magnetic field.

Compared to normal potentiometer joysticks like we see in the original Switch that use physical electric contacts to send a signal through the board, Hall effect joysticks use a magnetic field that lacks the ability to physically wear down.

In the listing, they describe a joystick that sends a signal to the console based on how strong the magnetic pull is from the closest sensor.

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By far the biggest issue with the joycons on the original Nintendo Switch is that they were quite prone to experience issues with drift, making your character in the latest hit game walk on its own.

It became such an issue that Nintendo even began offering free repair for the controllers. One of the more permanent ways to fix the issue is to swap the joycons over to hall effect magnetic joysticks in the Switch 2.

We’ll, of course, have to wait to see how Nintendo is implementing the magnetic joystick as it could be a standalone set of joycons for the existing Switch, an upgrade to the Switch Pro controller, or even what’s going to be used in the upcoming Switch 2.

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