Nintendo’s Switch is now a week away from launch, but media outlets internationally have been messing with their own consoles for longer than that now. yesterday the embargo on some preview coverage dropped, flooding the internet with thoughts on initial setup and overall functionality of the new console. And amongst all the praise, there were some dark spots. Most of which focused on the Switch’s Joy Cons – and their tendency to act up at times.
Polygon noted the issue with their left Joy-Con, stating that the controllers sometimes desynched with the console and caused some grief in Breath of the Wild.
“Over the course of my time with Breath of the Wild, I’ve had repeated problems with the left Joy-Con controller partially or even completely losing sync from the Switch console while docked and connected to my television. This is a pain in the ass at best, but has also resulted in several deaths playing Breath of the Wild.”
This was echoed by Jason Schreier of Kotaku, who also noted the issue being limited to the left controller.
Yep, my left JoyCon desynchronizes as I’m playing. Gonna be a big problem if they can’t fix this with a firmware update! https://t.co/aCf2K0jOz2
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) 23 February 2017
IGN’s Jose Otero stated the same, and soon many outlets were either re-iterating the point or attempting to reproduce a problem they had not experienced.
I’ve played roughly 20 hours of Zelda and it’s happened 2-3 times. https://t.co/5sGBotcIjG
— Jose Otero (@jose_otero) 23 February 2017
GameXplain wanted to get to the root of the issue though, and in the process found that the issue was not in fact limited to one half of the control scheme. It seems that given a little distance between the controllers and the Switch itself, obstructions between the two tend to break some of the synchronisation. The video below shows the controller being covered with a hand or used behind your back, both of which were able to reproduce the issues that were being reported on. And with both halves too.
The question now is whether Nintendo can fix this. They’ve already made it clear that a firmware patch should address the issue at launch, but the video above seems to make it clear that the issue is more hardware related. Until that update hits though there’s no real way of knowing if it’ll help, which doesn’t help anyone planning to pick up a Switch at launch.
That’s if it’s a dire issue at all. Of all the reports, most only seemed to experience the problem a handful of times over extended periods of use. It’s still annoying, but it’s not as dire as it would initially seem. Still, it’s something Nintendo should do their best to figure out soon.
Last Updated: February 24, 2017
Ottokie
February 24, 2017 at 12:21
Good thing the Beta testing kicks off soon 😛
HairyEwok
February 24, 2017 at 12:27
True, were lucky beta testing for the system starts at 3 March. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad the final product would be if they skipped beta testing.
Ottokie
February 24, 2017 at 12:27
Looking forward to that 2018 release date! Soon man soooooon…
HairyEwok
February 24, 2017 at 12:30
Can’t wait, then I’ll finally have my hands on the Nintendo: Switcharooooooo
https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-31-2013/E5Y8hB.gif
VampyreSquirrel
February 24, 2017 at 12:40
You’re getting yours from Australia?
HairyEwok
February 24, 2017 at 12:49
Right on m8, going to have me a cheeky time with the switch when I get me hands on it.
Captain JJ
February 24, 2017 at 12:32
Damn. This is a pity. I’m really hoping Nintendo gets a win with the Switch. I think they have something good here.
HairyEwok
February 24, 2017 at 12:42
So how will they fix this issue. Boosting the signal that in turn shortens the time the joy-cons can operate, or with the next sequential product line build place better wireless receivers in the joy-cons with stronger batteries?
Either way is is a small concern since not all people have the same size hands and will hold the control differently.
Unavengedavo
February 24, 2017 at 13:03
Wait, are you say people aren’t having any joy with it?
VampyreSquirrel
February 24, 2017 at 13:07
Seems like quite a con.
Galbedir
February 24, 2017 at 17:40
If you buy a console on launch, id like to thank you for beta testing for when I actually pick one up 6 months later when they release the “elite” version.