Nintendo of America has announced a surprising decision regarding the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2: It won’t be incorporating Hall effect sensors in the analog sticks of its new Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers. This was revealed in a conversation with Nintendo Life by Nate Bihldorff, who is the Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America. Bihldorff assured fans that despite not using Hall effect sensors, the new console’s analog sticks are designed with durability as a top priority.
In discussing the design of the Joy-Con 2 controllers, Bihldorff explained, “These controllers are built from the ground up. They aren’t Hall Effect sticks, but they provide a great feel. With every new hardware release, Nintendo aims to deliver the best possible experience. This includes everything from how the Joy-Cons interact with your game to their durability.”
The original Nintendo Switch had widely-reported issues with stick drift, where the analog sticks would move erratically without input. This issue led to numerous class-action lawsuits, prompting apologies from Nintendo leaders and the introduction of a free replacement program for affected sticks.
Traditionally, “Hall effect” sticks are seen as a modern improvement over older potentiometer-based designs. While the classic sticks measure movement with contact pads, potentially leading to wear and drift, Hall effect sticks use magnets, offering more reliable performance. This technology has become increasingly common among third-party controllers and magnetic PC keyboards. Consequently, Nintendo’s choice to avoid Hall effect technology is perplexing to many.
Bihldorff reiterated Nintendo’s commitment to durability in designing a successor to the original Switch controllers. This sentiment was echoed at a recent developer roundtable by Kouichi Kawamoto, the Switch 2 producer. Kawamoto noted that the Switch 2 Pro Controller looks similar to its predecessor but has been completely redesigned internally.
Tetsuya Sasaki, the hardware lead at Nintendo, shared insights into the company’s long-term vision for controller innovations. He mentioned an ongoing project with the ambitious aim of perfecting the ultimate controller. Although he didn’t outright confirm the achievement of this goal with the Switch 2, Nintendo’s engineering team takes great pride in their new “smooth-gliding switches.”
It remains to be seen if Nintendo can sidestep the early-onset stick drift that plagued the original Switch. Problems with drift were known to appear in Joy-Cons within six months of use. If similar issues arise in the new models, we might hear about them before 2026. In the meantime, for more updates on Nintendo’s latest hardware, including details on DLSS and ray tracing, keep an eye on our continuing coverage of the Switch 2.
