It's been three years since the original Nintendo Switch launched, and now Nintendo is ready to look toward the future. New reports suggest that Nintendo will release a new Switch console in 2021, along with impressive new features and a legion of new games. However, the company is still struggling to fix the Joy-Con drift issues that have plagued its other Switch consoles. If the company wants a successful launch for their new console, then Nintendo is going to need to fix these Joy-Con drift problems for good.
Despite some issues, the Nintendo Switch has sold 62 million units and already become the company's second best-selling home console of all time. On several occasions, the console has been hard to find at retailers after Nintendo struggled to meet the Switch's high demand. But then, not long after release in 2017, people began to complain of Joy-Con drift, in which a joystick would get stuck in one direction and cause unwanted movements on-screen. This wasn't just a problem with a certain version of the Switch — this was a massive problem affecting all versions and even the latest Joy-Con releases.
In 2019, Nintendo unveiled the Switch Lite, a handheld-only version that many hoped would fix the Joy-Con drift issues of the original Switch. Now, about a year after the Lite's release, it's apparent that Nintendo's handheld-only platform suffers from the same problem. Eventually, Nintendo admitted to the controller defects and started a service to fix them — no questions asked. Still, lawsuits followed and many gamers are still angry at Nintendo, despite an apology from Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa. Now, with a new-and-improved Switch seemingly on the horizon, Nintendo will have to fix Joy-Con drift for good.
Nintendo's Joy-Con Problems Need To End
If new reports are true, then Nintendo will soon release a new version of the Switch, perhaps the long-rumored Switch Pro, and with it will come new features to entice buyers. A lot of the specs will undoubtedly focus on things like graphical improvements (perhaps even 4k) and an extended battery life. However, if Joy-Con drift persists on the newest Switch, it's going to be a major problem for Nintendo.
Financially, Joy-Con drift has to be putting a ding in the company's profits. Besides lawsuits, Nintendo was fixing Joy-Cons for free, with no questions asked. As prevalent as Joy-Con drift is, a lot of people were sending in their Joy-Cons, which means Nintendo had to hire a lot of people to fix them. Because of COVID-19 preventative measures, repairs were halted, which was understandable, but still caused a major source of frustration for users who experienced Joy-Con drift. It's also hurt the company's image, as those lawsuits show, and a lot of players likely feel that Nintendo isn't doing enough to fix Joy-Con drift issues permanently.
With a new Nintendo Switch console seemingly releasing in 2021, Nintendo will need to ensure they fix the problems of its predecessors. Releasing a third Switch console that still has Joy-Con drift defects is a major risk for the company, and it's a reality consumers may have to face if Nintendo doesn't fix the issue soon.