Update: Joy-Con design may soon follow

Update: Wed 11th May, 2022 13:40 BST: Jack He, business director of Gulikit, has spoken with WePC regarding the design of the KingKong 2 Pro controller and how the company intends to revolutionise analogue sticks and eliminate drifting issues:

"When I was still a student, I encountered the problem of stick drift when I used the PS1 controller with [the] thumbstick. Until now, I also have met this issue on the latest PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series controllers."

He goes onto explaining the inner workings of the analogue sticks, so this is one for all you tech-heads out there:

“Each Hall-sensing joystick has two hall sensors and two magnets. ‘Hall Effect’ is essentially the principle of the electricity difference generated when the current passes through a conductor in the magnetic field. When the sensor detects the magnetic field is working, the sensor itself has no physical contact with the magnet. Therefore, neither sensor nor magnet has physical wear against each other, and there is almost no loss [or friction] on themselves for a long time.

“Normal sticks use carbon film type potentiometer, in which there is always friction between the metal contact part and carbon film material. Over time these parts can be worn out badly and cause unknown liquids, dust, or residues inside which result in connection failure, performance degradation, and drifting is the common phenomenon.”

Jack He also hints at a potential design in the works for a smaller analogue stick, one that may well fit inside a Joy-Con:

“In fact, in the early stage of our design work, we started to design for a smaller hall-sensing electromagnetic joystick for [a] Joy-con, and we are now still working on this and will finish it soon in the near future so that it can be put into smaller devices. The current bigger hall sensing joystick was finished first in the middle of the design work for use on our controller.”

So there you have it; whilst the official Pro Controllers from Nintendo don't tend to suffer from drifting, it's another story entirely for the Joy-Con controllers. Should Gulikit follow through on its plans to create smaller sticks, we may yet see a drift-free version of the Joy-Con in the future.

If you also cast your mind back a few months, we reported on a $1,300 'rival' to the Switch that incorporates the 'Hall effect' technology mentioned earlier; we stated that the device's sticks were "highly accurate and very comfortable to use".

Original Article Tue 10th May, 2022 18:45 BST:

A new third-party 'Pro Controller' from accessories company GuliKit is aiming high, promising no analogue stick drifting thanks to its 'Electromagnetic Stick' technology.

Costing a surprisingly reasonable $70, the GuliKit KingKong Pro 2 controller also features an 'FPS Mode' which is set to boast no dead zone whatsoever. Also included is the standard Amiibo support, gyroscope gameplay, and full vibration feedback.

In its review of the controller, Gizmodo had the following to say:

"Third-party controllers have come a long way over the years, but instead of simply providing a cheaper alternative to what console makers offer, companies like 8BitDo and Scuf now offer controllers with added customizability and functionality, giving gamers more reasons to choose something other than what Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft offer. GuliKit is doing the same, but with a $70 price tag that matches the Switch Pro Controller, and the promise of never experiencing drifting joysticks again, the KingKong Pro 2 now seems like the best option for Switch gamers."

Here's a rundown of the features from the Gulikit website:

● New Patented Electromagnetic Stick,No Drifting Ever ● New Patented Button,Excellent Conductive Rubber Feel,50 million Times of Ultra-Long Life, Anti-Stuck,Anti-Disconnection ● Support Switch Console Wake-up ● Support wired and wireless connection ● Built-in rechargeable lithium battery can run for up to 25 hours on a full charge. ● Exclusive FPS mode, Patented technology, 100% No Dead Zone

Nintendo have come under a lot of fire for its ongoing issues with drifting sticks, particularly on the Joy-Con controllers. Most recently, a former repairs supervisor stated that the work volume required to counter the problem was "very stressful". In more bizarre circumstances, parents are even getting their children to sue Nintendo over the drifting issues.

If this controller does what it promises and eliminates drift, then it could be a strong alternative to the official Pro Controller, even this gorgeous new Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak one!

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Let us know in the comments if you're looking to purchase the GuliKit KingKong Pro 2, or if you'd prefer to opt for Nintendo's own official offering.

[source gulikit.com, via gizmodo.com, wepc.com]

That's just an Xbox One controller.

Do we know about HD rumble on this?

I don't know what "full vibration feedback" means...

No issues with my pro controller (i got it 2nd hand too). Joy cons however grrrrrr

Im happy with my pro fir now

@Fizza Nothing wrong with that. I like my xbox controller. I'd prefer someone released better joycons though.

$70 isn't bad, but it is questionable, for me at least, if it isn't compatible with other consoles/tablets/phones. I mean 8bitdo's latest is comparable and cheaper, right?

Didn’t realise pro controllers drifted mines been fine had it a few years now.

still no analog triggers no? GRID autosport unplayable without those, wasted my money on that game!!

No drift ever, huh? The first few thousand consumers purchasing the controller will verify whether or not that claim is BS.

For anyone wondering I’ve had my pro controller since Smash bros ultimate launched and I will catch drift every so often. It’s become more though as of late

@Fizza That a problem? XBox One controllers are great.

My biggest problem with this is it only comes in the most boring color palette imaginable - black on black with silver accents.

Does the official pro controller drift much?

So its an xbox one controller with Nintendo’s features AND no drift??? My dream controller!

@Meehanuk_1987 With the current design for sticks, all controllers will drift eventually. Standard controllers like the Pro Controller, Xbox, and DualShock are just more durable due to size allowing for more durable materials.

Maybe this'll get Nintendo to actually try harder on the issue of drift.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m interested to know what ‘50 million Times of Ultra-Long Life’ provides.

It looks neat but it doesn't look that worth it when you're taking into account that it cost the same as a Switch Pro Controller which has more features than it.

I'll just stick with what I have.

@Dimey Exactly! Only solution is to go into difficulty settings and enable TC support. It’s really impossible without!

It's just...blegh. I didn't ask for an Xbox controller clone

Cool, now take those sticks and put them in Joy Cons and then we're in business!

If it had HD rumble I'd consider one. But I love the ergonomics of Switch Pro so much, and I love the HD rumble so much, and my Xbox Elite magnetic analogs modded onto my Pro Controller so much, and the fact it charges on the Nyko charge block so much, I'm not sure I want to switch.

I've also never encountered drifting on the Pro Controller. Heck, I haven't even encountered it on joycon. Still, the zero deadzone is hugely appealing. They should sell the analogs separately so we can mod them into our Pro Controllers. Or better yet, release a version small enough for joycon so we can mod them in.

I don't know what they're trying to prove here, it's not the pro controllers that had drift issues, it's the joycons. Every single pro controllers I got (like over 15 of them) for Switch from all works of life including Nintendo, Sega, Hori, 8Bitdo, Retro-Bit, Retro Fighter, PowerA, Sony, Microsoft, etc., never had drift issues even if I want them to.

As I do more and more with my computer I've found myself asking the question why are there not really high end controllers? And before anyone says it the xbox elite controller is just marketing gimmicks, it's not really a high quality controller as many people say the xone controller is better. 8bitdos are nice but they're still $30 controllers and it shows, I use them sure but they're not real high end pieces of tech.

I mean on PC you have all kinds of choices of keyboard, from layout to macros to mechanical keyboards some of which you can make every key feel different. High end mechanical switches are rated for like millions of presses. Mice are the say way all different shapes, button layouts, sensors, you even have some with weights in them so you can adjust balance. Flight sticks and racing wheels you can spend hundreds of dollars are.

This tier of product just doesn't exist at all in controllers. Why?

So it's just a regular controller?

I've always wanted, "50 million Times of Ultra-Long Life"

I stick with an original controller from Nintendo, thanks.

I just bought the NYXI Joy-pad that also promisses no drifting issues. Anyone got these?

Nope will stick with tried and true pro controller

@aSmilingMan An XBOX Controller with good Gyro's, Switch Button Layout, native Switch compatibility as well as native compatibility with PC and an optional BUILT-IN Gyro-to-Right-Stick option that works with ALL games. And it even got more cool gimmicks that I don't care to list right now. Needless to say, I bought the controller and I am very happy with it. Never before have I seen a product that makes as big claims as this controller, while not hiding the (controversial to many) fact that it's a completely chinese product, yet fully deliver on what it promises. I may be fanboying, but I'm just happy cuz this is the controller I always hoped to someday exist, and now I own it!

@PhhhCough It is (I have it). Not only can you use a Switch Controller with Steam (and through that, with most things) pretty easily, but it can even switch to dedicated modes for PC (both XInput and DInput) and Smartphone. So I can happily say, this controller basically works with EVERYTHING, lol. (Maybe not out of the box with PlayStations, but there are workarounds to make even THAT work, which aren't too complicated)

@iLikeUrAttitude This one DOES have more features than the Switch Pro Controller. By a wide margin. Supposedly it lacks HD Rumble (I have but but can't exactly tell the difference), but in exchange has Gyro Controls for every game, Macro and Turbo functions that can be configured and used on the fly (pretty easily once you care to learn how to do it), on the fly sensitivity settings and some other smaller stuff. One can even download Macros online, load them onto the Controller like it's an USB stick and thus use other ppl's pre-recorded inputs in games. The manual I have for it here is kinda bonkers, lol. Not saying everyone needs those features, but I like em.

Which is not even naming my favourite feature: It being painlessly compatible with ANY gaming device (safe for PS4 which needs some workarounds).

@philwhite @Bret There's nothing wrong with it (in fairness I definitely could've said it better), I just find it funny how similar the two are.

The problem with the Pro controller is the false inputs on the D-pad... I have never really heard of drift being an issue.

Seems like a marketing gimmick to me.

This sounds nice... might try this.

@Dimey analogue triggers are not supported in Grid so it's a software issue which should have received a patch.

8bitdo Pro controller has analogue triggers and I have played Grid with it.

Binbok make excellent replacement joycons. Had mine for a couple of years and no drift so far. Lasted longer than the official joycons that came with mine. But can't go wrong with official pro controller

@Yorumi if there was a suitable demand for high end controllers they would produce them for consoles as no business would leave money on the table. The low demand is simply not worth it

@kobashi100 old gamecube controllers with adaptor by all account are recognised by the software, but i'm not buying both those things to play the game properly!

@kobashi100 I suppose, and maybe it's because it's relatively new to use controllers on PC but they are used there as well and there's certainly demand for high end parts there. I just find it kind of surprising that with all the development that goes into keyboards, mice, flight sticks, racing wheels and heck even cases there isn't someone doing high end controllers.

I haven't noticed any drifting on my pro controller yet but I usually use my 8bitdo anyway

@Dimey yeah it's baffling that the developers added support for analogue triggers using GC controller but won't support any other controllers

So, it's just the normal Pro controller? Never had any drift with that.

This kind of claims needs to be put to a scientific test. Maybe with a robot that twists the sticks a million times in different directions and speed.

I’m kinda a sucker for chrome, i really want this lol.

Put somewhere around 1200 hours into my pro controller since I got my switch and it still looks and functions as well as it did the day I unboxed it. Don't know about the joycons, my switch is docked 24/7, so I've literally never used them. I am aware that drift is a problem and some controllers get it no matter how well you treat them, I just fixed 2 Xbox controllers that had terrible drift, but some of y'all are also way, way too hard on controllers.

Literally just an Xbox controller. Confusing, huh...

My first official Pro Controller has some pretty bad drift to the right in the left stick. I went to calibrate it today and the cursor was wigging the **** out, all wiggly and jumpy with no input. You hold it in one direction and it goes all over the place.

If it doesn't have actual HD-rumble I'm not interested. My pro controller is fine.

@Fizza almost an xbox controller except the buttons are in the correct place so there's no need to remap them 😜

My 2-3 y/o Pro Controller's left stick did start to drift recently. I searched the web (including the related NL article) and found a helpful YouTube video. I took the controller apart (which was kind of a pain) and used natural forced air (my own wind power ... breath, not the other) to clean it out. Seems to have done the trick, but if it starts drifting again I plan to just replace it with another Nintendo Pro Controller.

@MindfulGamer If it happens again, get some contact cleaner (the electronics kind, not contact lens cleaner), take it apart again, remove the thumbstick caps, spray a bunch down into the sticks, and work them around for 20ish seconds. It'll get rid of any dust/dirt or oxidization that may have built up in them. Sometimes they're too far gone to salvage, but if it's just normal wear and nothing mechanically wrong that should be enough to fix them up good as new.

This controller is a beast check out this video testing it https://youtu.be/K1LW_iIYiaI 0.6% of analog error is really above all of the controllers out there. And its got gyro nfc, I am very tempted in getting one.

That's just what they said about the Titanic, and whadda ya know--drifted right into an iceberg.

@NDragon1412 thanks for the notes on this. Does seem quite appealing. Just wish it had HD rumble. I may play it with non rumble games though and use it for ipad gaming.

Yeah it’s great, same as that get crash free ad I clicked on.

Sounds good, but the Nintendo Pro Controller that I bought the week the Switch launched has had zero problems. Works in Steam, too.

I just noticed drift in my Pro Controller while walking in Trials of Mana. Definitely sucks, but I’m working through it for now as it’s inconsistent.

@Indielink That's not true, controllers that use hall effect sensors (like this one and the Dreamcast did) don't suffer from stick drift. The wear on the pots causes the drift, with hall effect sensors there are no electrical parts that see movement and wear, so no drift.

The article explains this if you actually read it.

$70 surprisingly reasonable? Sounds like an ad to me. $70 from a 3rd party I’ve never heard of… naah

no drift is good, but does the up button work? the D-pad is janky as heck on pro controller. All the times I just want to go right in mario maker and I grab a vine instead... the only positive is watching the exact same thing happen to professional players.

Lol i would rather just have a wired or wireless gyro sensor bar that by passes the need to press a recenter button every time my in-game cross hair loses accuracy.

What about the d-pad? That's the real disaster on the Switch Pro Controller.

I've given up on Nintendo for a year, now. I have never felt better. I played Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle on Switch, and Xbox. Despite not having a lot of changes, and being pretty small, they made the Switch one so pixelly, and laggy and just unappealing. They would dare make both games the same price, when ones clearly weaker. Shame on Nintendo. Random rant on a controller post, but yeah. You popped in my feed, I popped in your comments.

I bought this controller when it came out. Had to send the first one back as the face buttons kept getting stuck. They feel cheap as heck too. The new one I got is better? But the A button is borderline sticking and may get worse with time. I dunno....this isn't worth $70 at all.

Clever way to say "no HD rumble"

@Not_Soos They claimed that the Titanic was unsinkable. And it didn't drift into an iceberg. Because of calm waters that night the lookouts didn't see any rings that icebergs generally give off giving captains an idea of the size of the iceberg's base underneath the waterline. Because of that the captain didn't steer it wide enough the fatal iceberg.

I had a Switch pro controller that drifted. It was about 3 years after purchase and I'm mostly gentle with my controllers. (I do play smash on occasion though). Nintendo had the nerve to charge me $40 to repair it (with a 90 day warranty). Been using third party controllers ever since.

I actually went out and bought one of these controllers and actually like it. It works really well. It's very comfortable to hold all the buttons respond like they supposed to very clicky when it need to be. The triggers actually have adjustments, so even though they're not analog on the switch on PC, Android and iOS, they are analog and you can adjust the pressure sensitivity on them. You can also adjust the rumble sensitivity up to four different times and the dead zone. If you're not wearing any like magnetic watch bands or near high end frequency, stereo equipment should work just fine. The rumble is actually pretty strong on all three settings, including with an off option. If you don't like rumble or you want to conserve battery life, the gyro aiming is actually really accurate. Playing games like far cry call ofJuarez and other FPS's have been really solid. As far as the no drift sticks are concerned, I can't attest to that, but I can tell you they are smooth as butter and what I mean smooth. I'm talking about power, a fusion pro controller smooth with those frictionless rings. The difference is they don't use a frictionless ring and the King Kong pro controller. They use magnetic settings for the gyro which enables you to turn them off and use them as a dead zone. As a stated before, there are three other platforms that it will support. It will support Android, iOS and Windows that includes Windows, legacy. So older version of Windows will work with the controller and newer version of Windows will work with the controller. As far as battery life is concerned, it lasts as long as I need to and he comes in a nice protective case of that way. It doesn't get damaged if it falls. I just recently updated it with a new firmware. Oh, and it actually does something that I noticed that other main third party switch controllers don't really do is give you the battery life. Yes, I know 8-bit do controllers tend to do that but power a and a few others. The main line ones don't seem to get that feature down and like knowing how much battery life I have on my controller before they quit on me. And considering this is the second iteration of their controller with a number of other accessories under their belt, including a mini controller, what uses HD rumble not standard rumble while the actual controller isn't. They're using traditional so I would gauge it as powerful as an Xbox 360 controller when it comes to force feedback. But I would highly recommend you check this controller out. This is the real deal. What's on the box regardless of how bad the English is on, it is as advertised. You're getting a quality product for the price and I've noticed that I've looked back at that controller is that is a gone up over time now. That might be price drops and sales but the one I have with the silver sticks and the silver shoulder buttons for $70. It's a solid replacement for the party controller. Definitely a worthwhile alternative and this comes from a guy who does not like third-party controllers. There's also a number of hidden features so she can has being able to record your replays for certain maneuvers. So for example, if you playing games that have repetition like item trading or item management or multiple button presses that get monotonous, you can program the controller to learn those moves. Even for fighting games, you can teach it to learn a certain number of combos at a given time and it will repeat those combos as many times as you wanted to or would you needed to. Once again, I also say that you can also adjust the rumble. You can turn off the dead space on the analog sticks, adjust the sensitivity on the analog triggers, switch the a and b button. So if you don't like the curtain configurations, for example, if you're an Xbox gamer or PlayStation gamer, it's actually built in for that controller to have those buttons swapped by default without you actually having to go to the Nintendo switch and switching those buttons manually. One of the few third party controllers that supports NFC for your Amiibos. Solid dpad. And mechanical keyboard like Face buttons. Most third parties miss that part. You also can adjust the pro controller setting which gives you better accuracy when playing first person shooters and third person shooters. This is an incredible controller.

But I don't have drift issues with my Pro controller...

@BTB20 the rumble is pretty good in my opinion.

@Jakejm79 Sorry, I should have been more clear. I figured that saying the "current design" would get across that this new product was doing something different.

I did read the article.

Never once had a problem with my pro controller. If thats the main reason why to buy this controller. Because it promises no drift. Then it wont sell very well.

Would this work on other consoles like ps5?

@Ultrasmiles no, it only works on PC and mobile and switch. It's primarily a Nintendo switch controller though.

@KnightsTemplar controllers bill on the market for about 2½ years now. Has sold extremely well and this is the second interation of this controller with three different color variants with and a few limited edition colors that was released a few years ago. In someone who has had multiple switch controllers that have never had drift except for my Joy-Cons, I will tell you having a controller with whole sensors. Even having a friction ring around. It is a much smoother experience than what you'll currently get from any regular Xbox One, any PlayStation and even Nintendo switch pro controller experience. Not saying that those controllers are inferior to this controller by any means. No, but the sticks are definitely better on this controller. Very similar to the Dreamcast controller.

@Gryffin just sometimes not very much and lightly blowing into them always fixes for a pretty long time

No drifting and the Sega Dreamcast ripoff analogue sticks (you can patent other company‘s old ideas in China?) sounds nice. But then, after 10 or 15 years, you probably don‘t get a replacement battery. It just replaces one breaking point with another.

@Dimey You can use a gamecube controller if that helps. And because NGC controllers are so well moulded you can play for hours without wrecking your hands.

An hour on GRID on PS4 and I have the hands of an 80 year old

Yeah right, no drift ever? It shall get drift sooner than later. But I've had my Joy Cons for about a year and no drift. It really shocks me. Oh, and bit of advice for everyone: Don't let the sticks of your pro controller get tangled up in wool. It will not end well...

Isn't the drift problem is mainly with joycon, not the pro controller?

@Moistnado NO drift is present in all controllers. just more so with joy-cons

I wonder what there patented technology actually means. If this could eliminate drift, Nintendo should buy their patent asap.

@Gryffin I have three official pro controller , and two of them got analog drift without heavy usage. But luckily, it’s very easy to fix, I fixed it myself, you just need a contact cleaner spray and screw driver . Taking apart the controller and spray at the right places, it’s very simple, there’s plenty of videos from YouTube. It’s been more than one year since I fixed it, still going strong without any problem.

I would have been interested in this if it had come out several years ago. Now I already own two pro controllers and two pairs of Joy-cons. Probably won't drop $70 on a controller for a system that is probably on its way out that I already have several controllers for.

Got my order for one in with Ali Express. I'll let you know how I get on. It's going to have to be good to beat the Switch Pro controller

Any game that lets you turn the dead zone to zero pretty much shows drift on all my controllers from my ps4 and ps5 controllers to xbox 1 and series x controller , my pro controller has beat up worn out sticks that squeak, seems to be almost inevitable with any controller using the industry standard stick modules.. i barely use my joycons and am on my third set and third switch (upgraded twice), im very interested in checking this controller out

@tka060681 what is it with Nintendo's Switch-era controllers? I've been playing games my whole life, on every controller, and I've never experienced drift. What did they change about the mechanics, and why?

Any chance that the sticks get demagnetized or interfere with other devices?

@PhhhCough It look like the Gulikit controller works with Windows, Android, and Switch. The 8bit Do controller additional works with Apple/iOS (which was important to me). The 8bit Do controller is not as premium in the hand as the Nintendo Pro Controller, so I would get that if you only need Switch. The 8 Bit Do Pro's weakness is that it can't wake the Switch up from sleep. It's strengths are a better start/select buttons, D-Pad front and center for retro games, and customizable software layouts with 4 profiles. (Oh and this always confused people, the 8 Bit Do controller can make any button rapid fire EXCEPT while using it on Switch, so for other systems, this works on the fly.). There is no perfect controller so I tried to list things that might suit your needs more or less.

@Gryffin maybe quality drop, ya DualShock 1,2 and 3 never had drifting problems, DualShock 4 and pro controller have drifting problems, or maybe different technology.

I may not be an Xbox fan but I recognise a good Controller when I see one and I always did prefer Xbox Controllers to Playstation ones. Personally I've never had drift with a Pro Controller but I do like this Controller though.

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