The durability of the Nintendo Switch controllers remains an open question, four and a half years after the popular console's existence.
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Nintendo itself acknowledged this uncertainty in a recent interview in which hardware designers discussed, but did not fully report, efforts to improve the device.
Widespread malfunctions with the Switch Joy-Con controllers have led to multiple lawsuits over the past two years, a free repair option from Nintendo, and an apology from the company's CEO.
- The main issue is the annoying tendency of the system's controls – usually the left one after months or years of use – to start sending signals even when they're not being touched.
- Nintendo, long known for making durable consoles that didn't have such problems, hasn't said much about what it should do to address the Switch problem.
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On Thursday, Nintendo officials revealed that they have revised the test used to determine the reliability of their control sticks and worked to "improve the durability" of the components to pass the new test.
- This was a different message from Nintendo. Just a few weeks ago, at a demonstration of the new OLED Switch model in New York, a Nintendo employee told Axios that the controllers are not interchangeable.
- In the new interview, the company says it meant that the functionality hasn't changed.
- Nintendo's head of hardware, Toru Yamashita, said that "analog components have been continuously improved since their release, and we continue to work on improvements.".
It's unclear what the newer changes entail: People who have opened up Joy-Cons for the OLED model say the controller's guts don't look any different.
- These observers had seen previous revisions.
- Someone assumed that the materials involved could have been improved, but was unable to do the relevant tests to prove it.
This is a sensitive issue for Nintendo, one that it has repeatedly found itself on the defensive about. The company has tried to avoid identifying a manufacturing issue, describing wear and tear as inevitable, like tires on a car.
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“We expect all of hardware to perform as designed,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Axios. “If something does not meet that goal, we always encourage consumers to contact Nintendo customer support.”
Source of information: news.yahoo.com
