Why? It sounds as if you believe you're protected or saved from any joystick drifts.
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[iFixit] Here’s Why Controller Joysticks Drift (and Why They’ll Only Get Worse)
- Thread starter SinCityAssassin
- Start date
People have been complaining about these joystick modules pretty much the entire time throughout last gen (even if they didn't realise they were), whenever it gets brought up you have a ton of people saying they've had issues with multiple controllers and then tons of others saying they've never had an issue and putting the blame on the consumer saying they must be abusing the controllers - the hardware is simply not good enough for the usage they get, but it's not going to change because it creates a market for new sales.
Not acceptable. Console makers get your controllers right, like you did for nearly three decades.
So greedy
So greedy
Even worse is the Elite controller lol
I seriously hope Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo take this seriously next time and find a solution to this problem.
Why can't the manufacturers use non-contact parts? At least the Elite controller should be using non-contact tech. This is depressing in how widespread the issue is. Hope we can take them all to court and get some meaningful, responsibile action over this mess. Worldwide, not just one or two regions.
No, The opposite actually,
I know the tech behind this is susceptible to drift and a lot of factors can lead to drift (usage, dust etc.)
I have 3 DS4 controller, I play Apex/D2 regularly on all and notice drift (enough to make me adjust slightly but not game breaking bad) in just a single controller, if its the same here then I'll be fine with it
I'm baffled at how all 3 companies know full well this can happen as early as a few weeks or later down the line but still manafacture controllers like this. Do they really see it as such a minor flaw that the cost of repair or replacements is worth it?
It's a real shitty way to treat consumers.
It's a real shitty way to treat consumers.
The hardware is the same, but the deadzone tuning is not.
I seem to recall people saying that the DualSense had much tighter deadzones than most other controllers - which could explain why drift is becoming apparent so soon.
The only mouse I've had fail in a short amount of time was a DeathAdder 2013, which Razer replaced with a DeathAdder Chroma despite it being slightly more than two years old.
I have a G602 which is about seven years old, a G900 which is five years old, and a G305 which is two years old, and none have developed issues with the left/right buttons.
That's not to say they won't, but it's not like gaming mice are "almost guaranteed to fail within year" like you say.
But gaming mice are going to be more susceptible to failures than office mice because they are tuned for latency - similar to how tighter deadzones mean there is less tolerance for drift in an analog stick.
They probably see it as a flaw that, if it arises, is likely to do so after the warranty has expired and thus result in a sale of a new controller.
Yep there is that. They really need to be taken to town on this. We need judges to start putting the hammer down not allowing them to release products with such flaws.
Realistically how much difference in parts is there between what the third party controllers use and what the big 3 use? In terms of build quality and cost are there big differences or not?
Honestly a trackball might be ideal for the right stick for any game that has anything involving aiming or adjusting the viewport. I enjoy using the Steam Controller with trackball mode a lot.
I doubt it is. As they mentioned all thumb sticks can have this issue.
Tempting as it may be to blame Alps for the PS5's drifting issues, they probably aren't the villain of this story—because, brand name notwithstanding, this joystick module looks extremely familiar. You may already recognize it from the prior-gen PlayStation's controller, the DualShock 4. Or from the Xbox One controllers. Maybe the Nintendo Switch Pro controller. Or, somewhat confusingly, the $180 Xbox One Elite controller. Underneath that plastic cap, the dirty secret is that they all use the same joystick hardware.
Yup. I don't know if I can live with trackpad only movement, but for aiming? Trackpad + Gyro is the way. Good thing about this setup is you don't really need tight deadzones for character movement, so any drift issues can be solved with recalibration.
This sucks. You'd think they'd update the parts they use by now.
Hopefully those affected get their controllers fixed by Sony (or MS and Nintendo if the same parts fails for them too)
But I'll be honest I find it hard to worry about this personally. Had multiple DS4s, Xbox One controllers, 360 controllers and DS3s, and never had any drift issues. I think the last analog stick that broke on me was on a DS2 controller.
Hopefully those affected get their controllers fixed by Sony (or MS and Nintendo if the same parts fails for them too)
But I'll be honest I find it hard to worry about this personally. Had multiple DS4s, Xbox One controllers, 360 controllers and DS3s, and never had any drift issues. I think the last analog stick that broke on me was on a DS2 controller.
Wow I didn't know 4mil DualSense controllers have failed already...
I doubt it. The Joy-Con drift is a fuck up that is supposedly guaranteed to affect every single controller.
We have no indication for that to be the case for the DualSense at this point.
Sony have a tendency to go for cheap parts. Hope they will fix this in future hardware revisions.
Shit. This was a very good video, he made it very easy to understand.
What I don't understand, however, is how come this wasn't very common in past controllers? Were they manufactured by another company, or is it because the parts/tech of the joystick was more rudimentary?
If this is possible for all the controllers, how its less frequent for some and more for others such as the switch joy cons.
All three should be sued for this shit.
What I don't understand, however, is how come this wasn't very common in past controllers? Were they manufactured by another company, or is it because the parts/tech of the joystick was more rudimentary?
If this is possible for all the controllers, how its less frequent for some and more for others such as the switch joy cons.
All three should be sued for this shit.
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i have 3 chinese xbox360 knock off controllers. 2 of them has the same problem but i got them fixed from a local store.
Thanks, I'll make sure to read the article. I knew old controllers were more reliable, even based off just anecdotal evidence.
If you think this is true then you haven't been paying attention. I had to get 4 dualshock 4 controllers over the course of my limited console lifetime and drift is a known and very common issue.
The most frustrating thing is people showing up in dualshock drift threads (as they are doing here) and saying how theirs works fine or underplaying the whole fucking thing. Whop de fucking do. I am still screwed. Y'all gotta stop defending these big corporations and their anti consumer shitck.
Surely it would be easier just not to release products in such state. Its not like they don't know this will happen.
Still when people will pay to buy replacements what incentives are there for these companies to fix it before it goes to market.
We need the law to hit them and then maybe they might choose to release better products.
Yep, this is the real reason the DualSense's drift more noticeable than the DualShock 4 and XB controllers even though it uses the same parts. I first noticed the tiny deadzone in Cyberpunk and figured they'd configured it incorrectly, just like so many other things in the jank-ass console versions, but then I started noticing it in other games too.
Had to replace 3 DS4s
Im glad Sony is getting sued because I dont want to deal with buying new controllers again
Im glad Sony is getting sued because I dont want to deal with buying new controllers again
The elite controllers have their own issues. Mine fell apart, and the V2 model released about 2 years ago isn't much better.
Well, you're using a 20 year old controller.
If i understand the video correctly, the ease of repairability aside, there is no increased chance of drifting compared to what we saw on the PS4 and Xbox One? Or is there anything unique/different with the PS5 controller since that is being highlighted? Or is that only due to the more recent lawsuit? If so, i can see that, and thats fair enough.
I'm also curious about the "and why they'll only get worse" part in the article. Is that referring to the wear and tear etc.? If so, isnt that normal, or are there cases where drifting on a controller fixes itself over time? Honestly wondering.
But if theres no increased chance of drifting now compared to what we've seen during the last 8 years or so, then i personally wont worry much about it. I had a PS4 controller where the left stick started to act funny, but that happened after about 2 years of nearly daily use, so it could be more towards normal wear and tear (i cant remember if the controller drifted, but when i tried to move, or run pressing the L3 button, in games, it was like the signal got cut for 0.1 second at random times, making the movement in the games inconsistent). Other than that, my PS4 controllers have worked good from what i can remember. It sucks when controller issues happens of course, but hopefully it wont be more widespread now compared to the previous generation at least (which i'm under the impression wasnt that widespread). I'm also curious to see if the lawsuit changes anything, either in regards to extended warranty or a redesign of the current joystick parts.
I'm also curious about the "and why they'll only get worse" part in the article. Is that referring to the wear and tear etc.? If so, isnt that normal, or are there cases where drifting on a controller fixes itself over time? Honestly wondering.
But if theres no increased chance of drifting now compared to what we've seen during the last 8 years or so, then i personally wont worry much about it. I had a PS4 controller where the left stick started to act funny, but that happened after about 2 years of nearly daily use, so it could be more towards normal wear and tear (i cant remember if the controller drifted, but when i tried to move, or run pressing the L3 button, in games, it was like the signal got cut for 0.1 second at random times, making the movement in the games inconsistent). Other than that, my PS4 controllers have worked good from what i can remember. It sucks when controller issues happens of course, but hopefully it wont be more widespread now compared to the previous generation at least (which i'm under the impression wasnt that widespread). I'm also curious to see if the lawsuit changes anything, either in regards to extended warranty or a redesign of the current joystick parts.
I honestly didn't know the DS4 had issues with drifting. I still have the controller I bought with my launch PS4 Pro and no drifting. If there is anything, the X button is a bit stiff at times.
But I have 3 other DS4's I use (rotate all of them out regularly) and none of them drift.
They all use the same parts lol. This isn't just a Sony thing, the same failures can and will happen with Nintendo and Xbox controllers too.
Literally all three brands use the same part. Even the Xbox elite controller. It's in the article.
Grateful for this video as it really dispels the myth that those that suffer such fate its down to just a numbers game where a small percentage of newly released products will have hardware failures.
These things are built to fail its just a matter of when and not if.
Threads like this always surprise me. I've never had any hardware malfunctions with any PlayStation products outside of some firmware issues around launch.
I must be incredibly lucky.
I must be incredibly lucky.
If I understood it correctly, all controllers are like this. There might be no revision.
You cannot blame a large portion of people who never see these issues as somehow defending a company, when the very limited part suppliers are the culprit. I had around ~30 DS4s break over the life of the PS4 due to the L3 press wearing out, thankfully they were essentially all free replacements. At least Sony has done what they can to mitigate that issue according to earlier teardowns.
Since the video addresses that these same parts are used in controllers from all the console manufacturers, the title has been updated to reflect that
I remember people complaining alot about the DS4 controller, maybe they should have made more noise
I mean they were built differently but all my old N64 controllers have drifting sticks. It's all wear and tear.
Everything device fails after some time, so it IS a question of "when" - if that "when" is long enough, it's fine. Things are not "built to fail", it's a consequence of wear & tear.
I guess I'll have to see how long my DS lasts. Had no issues with my DS4 or Xbox Controller, I did get drift in my Joy Cons.... As long as a controller lasts 2-3 years, I'm fine with it. I do hope they make them more reliable, but it's not some deal breaker or anything. And I certainly don't see these as "built to fail", like I don't see my phone's battery as "built to fail" - that's just how things go.
We need to push companies to do better, but I think we can do it without hyperbolic statements and drama that these issues seem to inspire (I'm talking about all devices, not controllers specifically).