Just bought a Microsoft official Series X controller so I could enjoy cloud gaming and use it to play stardew valley on my pc. I can already feel the Joystick on this thing slightly falling a part. Like, i think in a few months i might have some real problems with this thing.
Kind of bullshit considering it was damn near 70 dollars. 360 controllers did not feel cheap like this.
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I think it just depends, either way. This is long past the days where shit would last years. I think they're definitely starting to cheap out on parts like you suggested. This controller is about a month old if that.
Parts were overbuilt before modern mechanical design software could simulate how long they would last. Part of it though is that modern devices are thinner and use less robust switches as a result though.
You can look at old pictures of joystick switches on Ebay and see the progression to ever thinner switches .
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N64 sticks (first modern joystick) actually used Hall effect switches. They basically could not drift as the sensor had no moving parts.
The springs would lose tension and the stick would become loose, but the sensor readings would remain accurate.
Yeah, I should have put a finer point on the thinner switches part.
Ounce for ounce the best switches are made today, but they can also make thinner switches and thinner controllers than before.
A USB joystick with the thinnest membrane switch of today is not going to last as long as some of the old overbuilt mechanical switches.
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Logitech has had a rough few years with double clicking and sensitivity problems. Some of the high end Logitech mice in 2020/2021 were so sensitive that moving them normally could result in a right click just by squeezing the sides. I guess they fixed that mostly at the driver level which results in some right clicks not registering now.
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Somehow my fat 80gb PS3 from like 2008 is still going perfectly fine and the sixaxis controller is no worse for wear either
Daulshock 3 joysticks wouldn't drift, but they'd get stuck all the time, that's how'd they'd break. Also went though multiple. Also a very tiny controller for most people, my hands aren't particularly big but I can cover the entire controller with my hand. My friend with small hands loves them though and still uses them to this day as they're the only controllers she can use comfortably.
I believe Nintendo has changed the design of the joycon controllers. I had to constantly replace the joystick on my launch switch because of drift issues. I finally got a new pair a year ago after breaking the ribbon cable on my old pair and I haven't experienced any drifting issues since. IIRC they changed the design of the metal casing on the joystick.
I never had a playstation growing up but my N64 and PC controllers were quite bad (especially the joystick on the N64). I don't doubt that companies cheap out on components but my DS4 and XB1 controllers feel so much better quality than all the crap I had as a kid.
My old N64's joystick would lean almost entirely to one side or the other when not in use. There's also a ton of sugar from a powdered donut still stuck in there, to be fair...