Joy-Con Drift Complaints Are Growing In Number And Noise

Mechanical parts eventually degrade through wear and tear, especially when such parts are exposed to extensive use. But when that happens just four months after buying a relatively expensive accessory, there's bound to be some rather dissatisfied owners complaining loudly on the Internet. That seems to be the exact case with owners of the Nintendo Switch Joy-cons who are clamoring for Nintendo to acknowledge what seems to be an increasingly common mechanical problem with the controllers.

It's being called the "Joy-con drift" but it isn't the official name of the problem. In fact, there is no official name as Nintendo continues to remain silent on the matter which only serves to increase the frustration of owners.

The problem sounds almost too trivial to make noise about. A growing number of users are reporting that their Joy-cons seem to gain a life of their own. The joystick on the controller seems to be moving on its own even without anyone touching it. Naturally, the Switch interprets that movement and continues to move the cursor or the camera, depending on the game.

On some games, that may be of no consequence. For titles that require fine movement or, more importantly, no movement, that can be the difference between victory and defeat. More importantly, the cases of Joy-con drift are growing, affecting a random number of controllers of different ages, even with some just being months old without having seen any action.

Owners are understandably frustrated at the situation, considering the $80 price of a pair of Joy-cons. The complaints have been going on for months and Nintendo, unsurprisingly, has remained silent. Nothing short of a free replacement will satisfy affected gamers.