Details of a new Nintendo patent application for a controller with magnetic analog sticks have surfaced, suggesting the company’s next peripheral won’t suffer from Joy-Con Drift.
Anyone who has owned a Nintendo Switch knows that one of the console’s most annoying problems cannot be avoided: Joy-Con Drift. As a reminder, this causes the analog sticks to drift in a certain direction, so that even if you leave your thumb off the stick, your character will continue to move slowly.
Despite Nintendo’s apologies and its progress on the subject, the company has so far failed to get rid of it, even on the most recent Switch OLED. Some players have managed to correct the defect, sometimes even with a simple piece of paper, but most of the time it takes return your controllers to the company’s technical department. Fortunately, given the scale of the problem, Nintendo had made the procedure free, even though the warranty has expired.
Also read – Switch: victim of “joy-con drift”, a 9-year-old child sues Nintendo
Nintendo files new patent application that could change everything
A new patent from Nintendo appears to confirm the existence of new controller technology that could be implemented on what we’ll call the Switch 2 in the future. This patent was filed in May, but was not made public until September 7, before being discovered and shared over the weekend.
The new patent demonstrates in particular the operation of a controller which uses magnetic fields rather than physical contacts. This revolutionary controller would thus transmit a signal to the console depending on the intensity of the magnetic attraction in the controller, which varies depending on the position of the controller at a given moment.
Hypothetically, this could well be Nintendo’s response to the famous Joy-Con drift. As well as mitigating wear and tear (since the joysticks shouldn’t have to rub against anything), this should mean that joysticks will return to center when not in use. So there is less risk of them being a little off and reading entries that don’t exist.