The Nintendo company had a big week. It took to the web and showcased its official Nintendo Direct stream for the upcoming Switch 2, during which we learned a whole lot about the console hardware and the video games coming to the platform. However, we’re just now finding out that the upcoming console won’t feature the highly regarded Hall effect thumbsticks.
If you think back to when the Nintendo Switch first launched, it wasn’t long ago that players were plagued with the dreaded stick drift. It was a big problem for Nintendo, requiring replacements and repairs. This was due to the controller analog stick degrading over time through players’ use. Ultimately, that prompted the game to trigger the analog being moved without actually being pressed.
This led to more players discovering the Hall effect thumbsticks. Most players love these thumbsticks because they use a magnetic sensor setup. That allows the analog stick to not actually wear anything down because there’s no physical contact. With how much dread players deal with when it comes to Joy-Con stick drift, most assumed we would get these Hall effect thumbsticks with the Switch 2.
Unfortunately, Nintendo Life was able to confirm that wasn’t the case. Speaking with Nintendo of America’s Nate Bihldorff, the senior vice president of product development and publishing, Nate noted that they are not using these thumbsticks.
Instead, they noted that Nintendo built the analog stick from the ground up. That goes for both the new Joy-Con controllers and the new Pro Controller. So, we’re not sure what the internals look like for the new analog sticks and how well they will hold up over time. Regardless, it’s a bit of a surprise that we’re not getting the Hall effect, which would essentially eliminate any surprise stick drift.
Again, we’ll have to wait for the console to drop and teardowns to happen, which will give us a better idea of what’s going on with the new thumbsticks. We don’t have too long of a wait. The new Nintendo Switch 2 console will drop on June 5, 2025.
