A patent filed by Nintendo suggests that they’re working on Hall Effect style joysticks for the Switch 2 that would eliminate stick drift almost entirely.

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[–] whileloop 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Two things I notice

would eliminate stick drift almost entirely

I thought Hall effect sensors didn't drift at all?

Second, I'm wondering what exactly Nintendo is patenting here, since Hall effect sensors are nothing new.

[–] dual_sport_dork 12 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they would not be able to patent Hall effect sensors. About a zillion other vendors would be able to claim prior art, especially considering they've been a commercial product for precisely this application for literal decades. The Gravis Stinger leaps to mind, which is so damn old it connects to a 9 pin serial port.

Nintendo is either dumb (unlikely) or doing something different (more likely).

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

They don't get sensor drift, but if the mechanical centering of the stick is sub par, you can get mechanical drift. The N64 is a good example. Flawless sensors, shitty mechanical construction