The Nintendo Switch has been a huge success for Nintendo, but there are still issues with the system that have yet to be addressed since it was launched in 2017.
The Joy-Con controllers that are used with the Nintendo Switch have always had issues. yet there has never been an effective solution offered by Nintendo, with repairs by the company being no guarantee of a permanent fix. The Nintendo Switch is the company's first console to require a paid subscription for its online services, yet it has far less content than the similar online services offered by the other consoles on the market.
The issues with the Nintendo Switch have been brought to the company's attention through social media and during interviews with Nintendo representatives, yet they have still not been resolved. There are two ways in which the Nintendo Switch is demonstrably inferior to its competition and Nintendo needs to address them if it hopes for Nintendo Switch sales to overtake its competitors.
The Joy-Con Drift Problem
The Joy-Cons are impressive controllers, but there has been an issue with them since the release of the Nintendo Switch that has never been fully addressed by Nintendo.
There have been many Nintendo Switch owners who have complained about the issue of "drift" in their Joy-Cons, which is when the controller is responding as if it's pushed in a direction, even when it's not being touched. The drifting effect isn't always apparent at first and it can take several months of play before it becomes noticeable.
It might be understandable for the original run of Joy-Cons that launched with the system to have had unforeseen issues, but the Nintendo Switch was released two years ago and fans are still having problems with them. The Joy-Cons are one of the main selling points of the Nintendo Switch and that the fact that they still have issues in 2019 means that Nintendo hasn't been responding to the vocal complaints from the fanbase.
The Lackluster Online Service
The cheap price of the Nintendo Switch Online service has given Nintendo an excuse to offer fewer features than the competition. Nintendo Switch owners need to use a phone app to chat in most games (with the exception of third-party devices) and there is still no messaging system. The Nintendo Switch lacks an online browser and popular streaming services like Netflix and Twitch are still absent. There are some first-party titles like the Pokémon Let's Go games that don't allow cloud saves, which will likely affect future Pokémon games as well.
The fact that Nintendo is now charging money for its online services means that a certain level of quality is expected, especially in regards to multiplayer titles. Super Mario Maker 2 is the most recent example of a first-party Nintendo Switch title with a poor online mode that makes most matches unplayable due to lag. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is another game with an online mode that is plagued with issues relating to lag.
Finally, there is also the issue with the games given away to subscribers. PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold give away contemporary games, while Nintendo Switch Online subscribers receive thirty-year-old Nintendo Entertainment System games. The subscribers to Nintendo Switch Online received Donkey Kong 3 and Wrecking Crew in July, along with a feature that allows players to rewind their games. Nintendo has an incredible catalog of games that could be used to entice new subscribers, yet there has only been a drip-feed of Nintendo Entertainment System games since the service launched in September.
Nintendo has hinted that games from other systems might be coming in the future, which suggests that Super Nintendo titles might be coming in September when the initial wave of annual subscriptions will be up for renewal.