Toru Yamashita is the Deputy General Manager of Technology Development at Nintendo. If anyone has been on the beat when it comes to Joy-Con drift, it’s this man. Last month in an interview with Nintendo’s own website, Yamashita-san breached that notorious topic, albeit obliquely. In a part of the discussion that generally covered what it means for a system like the Switch to be improved upon during its shelf life, Yamashita-san and his colleague, Ko Shiota were encouraged to talk about whether the Joy-Con had changed as the OLED model was developed. Though Nintendo has strictly avoided using the term “Joy-Con drift”, they have continued to offer repair free of charge beyond normal Joy-Con Warranty. This ambivalent tone makes it little surprise, then, that the two developers’ comments were similarly careful to promise improvement while avoiding a mea culpa. Yamashita-san remarked,

Joy-Con controllers have lots of different features, so we’ve been continuing to make improvements that may not always be visible. Among others, the analog-stick parts have continuously been improved since launch, and we are still working on improvements.

He was also keen to point out that the ongoing stress tests focused on the analog sticks and the amount of wear they can tolerate.

As we have always been trying to improve [Joy-Cons] as well, we have investigated the Joy-Con controllers used by the customers and repeatedly improved the wear resistance and durability.

The worthwhile interview also covers the evolution of battery life and how the Switch family of systems will be maintained throughout its lifespan.

Have you dealt with Joy-Con drift? Do Yamashita-san’s comments give you hope for a reliable experience? Let us know in the comments or in our Discord.

Source: Nintendo (via Nintendolife)

Featured Image: Nintendo