Michael Crider
For years Nintendo has been dealing with support claims that the Joy-Con controllers on the Switch are prone to stick drift, wherein the joysticks become inaccurate after use. They’re even fighting a class-action lawsuit. On a completely unrelated note, you can now buy the left and right Joy-Con controllers separately. Yup, completely unrelated.
The controllers will go on sale starting November 9th, at a price of $40 for either the left or right Joy-Con. That’s exactly half the price for the pair, which has been sold for $80 since the Switch’s launch in 2017. Color options are limited to blue for the left and red for the right, the most common colors for the controllers included with the standard Switch.
Starting on 11/9, single #NintendoSwitch Joy-Con controllers will be available for purchase for $39.99. Choose from the left Joy-Con controller in Neon Blue, and the right Joy-Con controller in Neon Red. pic.twitter.com/wXW8BEssS7
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 23, 2020
If you’re experiencing stick drift with your Switch controllers, and you don’t want to buy new ones or wait for the results of that lawsuit, there’s another option. The problem is fairly easy to repair, if you can get past the tricky business of opening and disassembling the Joy-Con itself. iFixIt, ever the friend to the do-it-yourself tech repair fan, sells a $20 kit for just this purpose. and tracking down a replacement stick.
Source: Nintendo Twitter
