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Nintendo's Recent Durability Problems [roundtable]
 
I love my Switch. It's an amazing system with one of the fullest, finest libraries in Nintendo history, and it's only halfway through its lifecycle so far! I've got an extensive collection of modern AAA titles like Mario Odyssey, high-quality third-party gems like Dragon Quest XI and Octopath Traveler, indie darlings like Cuphead, and legacy compilations like Mega Man Zero and Collection of Mana, ensuring that there'll be hours and hours of gameplay to enjoy for decades to come.

But I won't enjoy it for decades to come.

Because the freaking controllers keep breaking!

A year ago, Joy-Con stick drift was a total disaster. The fail rate was very high, although no official polling was taken, it seemed to be as common as 2/3rds of all controllers. If it hadn't reared its ugly head for some players, it almost certainly would soon. But Nintendo (very quietly) offered a solution--send in the controllers and they would fix them, free of charge. Seemingly, this would be the solution. I got all four of my Joy-Cons fixed, and bought a discounted new pair on Black Friday for good measure.

Guess what: they all are drifting again! And the real salt in the wound is that my Pro Controller--a $70 behemoth that's my preferred way to game on the Switch--is also drifting now. This can only mean that the fixes are only temporary, the new controllers still have the problem, and many if not most Switch controllers in existence right now are ticking time bombs to uselessness!

This level of QA isn't acceptable, guys. Part of the value in video games to me is their permanence and the ability to revisit them 10, 20, 30 years later. But over the past decade or so, Nintendo's really been dropping the ball in this department: my Wii U's Gamepad battery life is under an hour now, my 3DS's A button sticks, my Wii U GameCube adapter only works with the 1P port, and my Wii nuked itself and had to be sent in for repairs twice. The days of dropping GameCubes off buildings and bombing Game Boys are over, replaced with games that I simply don't want to revisit because of hardware issues. Heck--I'm considering buying the rumored Pikmin 3 port solely because I don't want to be irked with a 40-minute charge on my Wii U controller. It feels like a rip-off!

So what's the solution? Are they getting cheaper labor/parts in China or something? Are they simply cutting corners in terms of quality to keep costs down? I'd be happy to pay a little more to avoid the hassle of sending things in repeatedly, and I'm sure Nintendo would be happier with Joy-Cons not having to constantly be replaced. It's just a real fly in the ointment and I feel they should know better about analogue stick manufacturing considering they practically invented the dang things.

What are your stories of defective hardware? Am I (and my sister-in-law, and my friend) the odd one out with Joy-Con troubles?

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05/15/20, 21:24  
 
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@nate38

Thankfully never had to send in a Pro Controller, but I can't imagine it being vastly different than sending in Joy Con.

Speaking of which, I just had to send in *another* pair of Joy Con for repair due to drift. I think this is the sixth or seventh pair.

EDIT: Let us know how the Pro Controller repairs go. If there is any difference in sending them in, or how long it takes to get your controller(s) back!
12/17/20, 21:03   
Edited: 12/17/20, 21:04
I have four JoyCons. Three have drift issues to the point where it's distracting. I took one apart and cleaned it, but it's back after three months. One of mine has drift AND can detach from the system without having to press the release button. Repairs right now could take up to eight weeks (not all Nintendo's fault here, COVID slowed down repairs).

The rear panel. Ugh. That thing broke within a few months. I recently ordered a new one from iFixIt since four of the five side pieces holding it in place were broken. One of the back screws was stripped so badly that I had to break the old panel off and unscrew it with pliers.

Now my fan. When I play some games, I'm pretty sure my Switch is going to take a trans-continental flight it gets so loud. (Asphalt 9 is very guilty of this.) This is portable or when docked.
12/18/20, 16:39   
Got my pro controller back... well, I got a pro controller back. The protective plastic film on the top, the non-stripped screws, and the overall cleanliness of it tells me it's almost certainly a new one. Which is fine!

Either way it's got a 90 day warranty, doesn't seem to drift, only took about two weeks to send in and get back, and was a free repair.
01/10/21, 20:45   
@ludist210

My launch Switch (the one my son uses) sounds like an airplane sometimes with no real explanation why. My daughter's Switch and my Switch Lite are both quiet as a mouse, though. Not sure what the deal is.

@nate38

Oh cool, new controller. Neat! Two weeks isn't too bad of a wait (since shipping has been slowed down due to COVID). And yeah, now you have a warranty and it was all free. All is well that ends well!
01/13/21, 19:26   
My fan cover grate just broke off recently. I saw it on the ground and didn't put the pieces together until I saw the gaping, jagged hole on top of my Switch. Which looked and felt truly hideous.

I popped it back into place and was going to glue it properly afterward, but now I can't remove it again!
01/14/21, 16:57   
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