Nintendo addresses Joy-Con drift and says it's taking Switch Online feedback ‘seriously’

Nintendo has addressed Joy-Con drift concerns once again and promised to improve its Switch Online service.

In an interview with The Verge, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said that the company was "making continuous improvements to the Joy-Con," which have been plagued with issues for several years.

"As we've gone through the first five and a half years of the Nintendo Switch, we've observed gameplay, we've observed as people have returned units how they've worn, and we've been making continuous improvements overall to the Joy-Con, including the analog stick," said Bowser. "This latest version, Nintendo Switch OLED, has the same updated analog stick that's now available in the original Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite."

Shortly after the Nintendo Switch OLED launch, Nintendo's development team admitted that Joy-Con drift is inevitable, although the team had improved the controllers' reliability. 

Nintendo's new premium online subscription tier, Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, has also come under fire from consumers for being too expensive and hampered by technical issues. Bowser has said Nintendo is aware of the feedback and is taking it "very seriously."

"We're constantly looking for ways to make our online features and those games better and continuing to add value through more services and more games as we go forward," Bowser told The Verge. "We take the feedback very seriously, and we're continuing to look at ways to improve the overall performance. For us, it's about quality and great content at a great value."

Nintendo recently announced that Switch Online has over 32 million members, which means that around a third of Switch owners are signed up.

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Analysis: Switch demand is set to continue

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Despite the runaway success of the Nintendo Switch, there's still work for Nintendo to do. Hardware faults like Joy-Con drift have persisted since the console's launch and have led to multiple lawsuits over the problem. 

Nintendo Switch Online has also rightly been criticized for its relatively lackluster feature set. Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack added N64 and Sega Genesis games for players to enjoy, but some users have complained about the quality of the N64 emulator. 

But these issues haven't prevented Nintendo from selling millions of units, and Nintendo of America President Bowser also spoke about how supply issues will continue to impact Switch sales and said the company is working hard to meet demand this holiday season.

"These challenges have been facing many industries, and they've been going on for quite some time. But we're working to meet the demand for our holiday products, including Nintendo Switch OLED model," said Bowser. 

"I will say things are constantly changing, but we've been working across the supply chain — from production to overseas transport to local distribution channels — to make sure we have a steady flow of hardware and games through the holiday cycle. Now, despite all of our efforts, I'd say there's still a high level of uncertainty. I'd certainly recommend if you see it, buy it this holiday season."

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