Though it never approached the level of the Xbox 360's red ring of death, Joy-Con analog stick drift became a serious issue with the original Nintendo Switch, and doubly so with the Switch Lite, which has controllers baked right in.
Gradual wear would regularly lead the sensors on the analog sticks to misread inputs or, infamously, register movement all on their own. It's a nasty hardware fault that many players are hoping the Nintendo Switch 2 will avoid, and we can officially add Doom Guy and Romero Games game director John Romero to that list of players.
Speaking with GamesRadar+ as part of a broader roundtable on developer hopes and expectations for the Switch 2, Romero shared a simple wishlist for Nintendo's new console.
"A stronger and more premium-feeling console with better analog sticks would be great, as Joy-Con drift is a known issue for some people," Romero said. "More RAM, faster CPU+GPU, and 1080p handheld would be nice."
The Switch 2 certainly has better components and processors, and we've got confirmation of 1080p output on its handheld LCD screen, but there are still a few big questions. Per our Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on preview, the console looks and feels more robust, but Joy-Con durability isn't so easily evaluated. We simply have to spend a lot more time with these things to see if they hold up.
What we do know is that the Switch 2 Joy-Cons don't use Hall effect sticks, which are markedly more resistant to wear and drift – if not functionally immune – due to their magnet-based design. Nintendo of America's SVP of product development and publishing, Nate Bihldorff, confirmed this just last month, pouring cold water on the hopes of many fans.
"They're not Hall Effect sticks, but they feel really good," he said of the new Joy-Cons. "Whether it's a new system or an accessory, [Nintendo is] designing from the ground up to be the best possible experience for our consumers – whether it's the immediate effect of the Joy-Cons that you're playing, how they're interacting with the game, or durability. They take it and rebuild it so that we can give the best possible experience."
Hopes for more durable Joy-Con controllers have only gone up on the heels of price hikes in the US, putting a pair of Switch 2 controllers at an eye-watering $95 pre-tax. The system itself is still holding at $450 despite ongoing tariff chaos.
We also spoke to Romero Games studio director and CEO Brenda Romero about her hopes and expectations for Nintendo's new console. She focused on the first-party lineup as a demonstration of what the console can do, saying she's "looking forward to Nintendo’s launch slate of games almost as much as the console itself. Nintendo consistently sets a 'Game of the Year' bar with its launch titles, and I’m hoping Switch 2 is no exception," though "good luck with Blue Prince out there."
Romero Games lead producer Alex Mann, meanwhile, hoped the Switch 2 will advance the handheld gaming space: "With the likes of the Switch and the Steam Deck pushing the limits in terms of what’s possible on the go, it’s exciting to think how other areas of the industry will innovate to cut the cable to the big home setups."
