Bad news for those that made the leap in purchasing a Nintendo Switch Lite: Joy-Con drift is still an issue, and Nintendo appears to know it.
In July, we reported on an issue called “Joy-Con drift,” wherein the wireless remote controllers for the Nintendo Switch would move on their own, likely due to some form of a manufacturing defect. Now, Nintendo Switch Lite Joy-Con drift is being reported, and fans are not pleased.
The $200 console comes with the Joy-Cons as a part of the body of the console, meaning that if players want to send in their hardware to get it repaired, they need to send in their entire Nintendo Switch Lite console. I was able to get two of my Joy-Cons repaired for free by Nintendo, but they took around three weeks to come back to me. For owners of the Nintendo Switch Lite, that’s a long time to wait to game again.
Fan reactions* to the new console’s Joy-Con drift reports are vivacious, to say the least.
I don't think I'm gonna get a Nintendo Switch Lite because APPARENTLY ITS GONNA HAVE THE SAME JOY CON DRIFT 😤😤😤
— spooky slush 🎃 (@ItsSlusho) September 22, 2019
I feel like I should wait to buy the switch lite. I hear they are making a new model to address the joy con drift but idk. I just dont want to spend $300 just to have a paper weight in the end.
— Melissa 🌸 (@Yuyukoyouji) October 1, 2019
With fans reporting issues of Nintendo Switch Lite Joy-Con drift, law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith has added the new console to their class-action lawsuit against Nintendo pertaining to the defendant’s hardware malfunctions. Perhaps in anticipation of further Joy-Con drift issues on the Switch Lite console, it has been discovered that the Japanese gaming company has submitted for a new FCC filing on a v.2 of the Lite.
While the details of what exactly will be different in v.2 are still under wraps, reports are that the inner mechanisms of the Joy-Cons will remain the same. This may mean that Nintendo is tinkering with the outside shell of the Lite’s controllers to prevent dust or debris from entering the Joy-Con joystick sensor area. Hopefully, the changes coming in v.2 of the Lite will prevent the console’s reported Joy-Con drift issue from continuing.
The Switch Lite released on September 20, 2019. The smaller Switch can play most of the same games as the regular Switch, and trades the functionality of docking to a TV for a lower MSRP.
*$299.99 is the CAD MSRP for the Nintendo Switch Lite